AI has become one of the most talked-about topics in retail media. From generative content to predictive targeting, it seems every platform has an “AI-powered” story to tell.
But while AI is powerful, it’s not the hero of retail media. People are.
AI shines in the background, taking care of the tasks that slow retail media teams down:
Automating campaign set-up and bid adjustments.
Expanding audiences by spotting patterns humans might miss.
Flagging anomalies or opportunities in reporting.
Recommending optimizations in real time.
These are all essential, but they’re not the endgame. They’re enablers. AI gives teams their time back so they can focus on higher-value work.
Even the smartest AI can’t replace the judgment, creativity, and relationships that drive retail media success. For example:
Merchandising priorities: Only people inside a retailer can weigh margin, availability, and trading goals.
Partnerships: Advertisers want collaboration, not just an algorithm. Trust is built through people, not code.
Strategy: Knowing when to push a category, how to balance short-term ROI with long-term brand value, or how to align teams across silos those are human calls.
AI helps inform these decisions, but it can’t make them.
The most exciting part of AI in retail media isn’t the automation. It’s the collaboration it unlocks. When manual work is reduced, when reporting is clearer, when campaign tweaks happen faster teams finally have the space to come together.
That’s where the magic happens: merchandising and media sharing insights, category managers and ad ops speaking the same language, retailers and brands planning together instead of working at cross-purposes.
AI doesn’t need to replace humans in retail media. It needs to support them. The future belongs to networks that combine automation with collaboration, technology with teamwork, and data with creativity.
👉 Curious how that collaboration comes to life in practice? Read our article: The Rise of Omnichannel Joint Business Planning. It shows why shared planning is the bridge between tech and teamwork.
About the Author
Dominik Elias is a Product Marketing Manager and one of the founding members at Zitcha. With 15+ years in B2B marketing, she loves solving problems and connecting teams which is why Zitcha’s mission to make retail media better for everyone just fits.