Retail Media Professionals Limit AI for Ad Ranking
Data from an October 7, 2026, summit shows industry leaders prefer manual controls over AI for product targeting.
Updated on Oct. 27, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Do you trust artificial intelligence to make automated decisions for product rankings and advertising budgets?
At an October 7, 2026, retail media town hall in Amsterdam, professionals reported that while they frequently use AI for reporting, they remain hesitant to automate ad and product ranking. Many cite concerns regarding trust and control as major barriers to wider implementation.
Why it matters
The retail media sector currently favors manual oversight for targeting to ensure accuracy and transparency in campaign performance. Addressing these trust and control issues is necessary for companies to move toward more advanced, automated bidding and budget management.
Adaptive Transformer Search technology successfully identified 80% of relevant product catalogs within 120 search results, compared to just 48.5% identified by traditional keyword search. Currently, 54% of retailers rely on manual audience segments for targeting.
The players
Particular Audience
This technology company provides search and discovery solutions for the retail sector and hosted the recent industry summit.
The details
While industry adoption of AI remains low for ranking, 83% of respondents indicated they would be willing to delegate campaign reporting within the next 12 months. Retailers currently maintain commercial rules to allow for AI optimization within strict, bounded environments.
Timeline
October 7, 2026: Particular Audience hosted the retail media AI town hall in Amsterdam.
The Tech Race
The transition from traditional keyword search to Adaptive Transformer Search technology represents a significant shift in how retailers predict consumer intent. This evolution marks a move away from legacy manual categorization toward live, signal-based relevance prediction.
For retailers, the shift toward AI-driven ranking promises more relevant product results for shoppers based on real-time browsing signals. However, until trust and transparency concerns are resolved, shoppers may see a mix of automated and manual targeting in their digital experience.
The takeaway
The retail media industry remains in a transitional phase where the proven efficiency of AI is balanced against the need for human oversight. Companies that prioritize transparency in their AI implementation are likely to overcome the current resistance to full automation.
What happens next
83% of surveyed retail media professionals indicated an intent to delegate campaign reporting tasks to AI within the next 12 months.
Further reading
Learn more about how machine learning is shaping the industry in our Artificial Intelligence section.
More information
Review the full town hall findings and presentation for detailed survey data and technical analysis.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Adweek.
Live Poll
Do you trust artificial intelligence to make automated decisions for product rankings and advertising budgets?
