AI’s ability to assess datasets and gain a deeper understanding of what’s driving shopper motivation and purchase behavior has already led to stronger messaging and conversions, added Sally Barton, marketing excellence lead, U.S. for Mondelēz International. “How we talk to Gen Z might be different from how we’re talking to a millennial mom because we understand what’s important to them,” she said.
With the right guardrails in place, agentic tooling has utility in supporting overall strategy. “We think of AI as an assistant,” said Wilma Faget, director of digital at Chobani. Although the brand is not looking for a tool to replace the human thought process, it knows the benefits of embracing technology. “You can use it very wisely if you input all the data that you have with trends—a really good recipe will come out,” Faget explained.
(L-R) Mondelēz International’s Sally Barton, Assembly’s Jason LimAgility wins—but only with new workflows
As the trend cycle continues to speed up, rapid insights are outpacing the infrastructure to act on them.
Since the industry isn’t set up to capitalize on such fast-moving trends as, say, the Labubu craze, agencies, clients, and media partners need a new way of thinking, argued IPG’s Owen. The timeline to get content ideated, approved, and executed runs long. By the time teams check every box, she said, the moment has passed.
Starcom’s SVP and head of retail media, Lee Dunbar, agreed, saying there’s a need to embrace more of a flexible environment for creation, or, in the case of updating product flows, a sandbox or vibe coding approach.
Ultimately, the panelists recognize AI’s ability to move workflows out of what Owen called “the mundane tasks of the execution pieces” in manual spreadsheets—where commerce infrastructure long centered—toward more active tools and dashboards that complement each other and drive faster business outcomes.
“There’s never been a dashboard that I presented to a client who responded, ‘Oh, that’s perfect. That’s all I needed. No questions,’” Dunbar shared. “But with AI, being able to have the client ask questions and be able to share data that was important to them that week … I think that’s near term. That’s where I’m the most excited for—less time in Excel, less time in reporting.”