Last October, PayPal an integration with OpenAI so that ChatGPT users could transact within the app. Apparently, PayPal is now ready to take that idea to other retailer chatbots. Of course, now that ChatGPT is making its foray into advertising , other LLMs and chatbots are bound to follow suit, if they haven't already done so. Walmart, for instance, rolled out ads in its generative AI agent Sparky earlier this month.
Statistics from the 2025 holiday shopping season clearly show that AI is playing a huge role in how people shop. But new research from retail payment platform Adyen found that many consumers are ready for AI to become their personal shopper. Just over half-51%-said they're open to letting AI take over the entire shopping process, including making final purchases. Millennials are the most willing to let agents do their shopping, with nearly three in five saying they are ready for such a shift.
The promised AI revolution in shopping is starting to materialise, with shoppers increasingly trusting agents for personal recommendations ahead of the festive season. Traffic to retail sites from AI tools is expected to surge fivefold year-over-year, with particular boosts on Cyber Monday and Black Friday, according to Adobe. "Traditional models of how consumers react with the web are going out the window," Max Sinclair, Azoma CEO, said. "Intelligent assistants begin to handle browsing, recommendations and purchasing on behalf of users."
This week brought big shifts in streaming, fresh AI experiments in commerce, major agency consolidation, and regulators keeping a close eye on ad tech. In today's MadTech Daily, we cover Meta planning to use conversations people have with its chatbots to personalise ads on its platforms, OpenAI preparing a social app for AI video, and the UK ordering new data demands for Apple users.
