Ecom: The Future. AI, Innovation Chat

Instacart is turning conversational AI into a retail media shelf Instacart’s ad business topped $1 billion in 2025 and now reaches nearly 100,000 stores across more than 2,200 retail banners. It is extending that engine into Cart Assistant, an AI shopping tool built on more than 1.6 billion lifetime orders and live inventory data. Instacart says the assistant has already rolled out to millions of US shoppers, and orders placed through it are running above the company’s $115 average order value. The next move matters even more: Instacart is testing ad formats designed for conversation, including sponsored recipes, occasion-based recommendations, deal surfacing, and product exploration while a shopper is still deciding what belongs in the basket. It has also connected the cart experience to Google Gemini. The commerce signal is clear: AI is becoming the place where discovery, merchandising, and basket-building happen before a shopper ever types a SKU.