Ahead of our Retail Media Impact Summit, taking place on 7th October in Amsterdam, we caught up with Paul Dahill, Managing Director, Sales EMEA at Koddi, to hear more about his upcoming session, Five Big Questions About Agentic Commerce.

Agentic commerce has quickly become one of the most talked-about topics in Retail and Commerce media. But beyond the hype, what will actually change for retailers, brands and consumers over the next few years?

In this interactive breakout session, Koddi will explore the latest research on agentic commerce and challenge some of the industry’s biggest assumptions. Together with the audience, Paul will examine where AI-driven commerce can create real value, where expectations may be running ahead of reality, and what practical opportunities exist today.

Q&A - Paul Dahill

Q. Agentic commerce is one of the biggest emerging conversations in Retail and Commerce media right now. Why do you think it is capturing so much industry attention?

Agentic commerce is getting so much attention as it changes who (or what) is making the decision in the shopping journey. As AI agents start to handle discovery and purchase on behalf of users, the traditional model of optimising pages, placements and clicks starts to break down. From Koddi’s perspective, this shifts the focus toward decisioning infrastructure: the ability to understand intent, rank outcomes and monetise in real time within a much shorter, more automated journey.

Q. Your session is called ‘Five Big Questions About Agentic Commerce.’ Without giving too much away, what are some of the big assumptions you are hoping to challenge?

A big one is the idea that agentic commerce is something that’s ‘coming’ rather than already here. As consumers, we’re already outsourcing decisions to AI (search, recommendations, what to buy); we’re just not fully calling it that yet. Another assumption is that this is just about better UX, when in reality it’s a shift in control: decisions moving away from humans browsing pages to systems making choices on their behalf.

Q. Where do you think AI-driven commerce can create the most immediate value for retailers, brands and consumers?

AI is already making discovery faster, recommendations more relevant, and decisions easier, driving higher conversion, better yield and less wasted spend. For retailers, that means monetising intent more efficiently via better ranking, targeting and pricing. For brands, it’s about showing up in the right moment with more precision. And for consumers, it’s just a better outcome with less effort. 

Q. What do you hope attendees will take away from your session at the Retail Media Impact Summit?

Hopefully two things. First, a bit of a reset on how near-term this actually is: that agentic commerce isn’t some future state to plan for in three years, but something that’s already starting to reshape how decisions get made today. And second, a clearer view of where the real value sits. Not just in the experience layer, but in the infrastructure underneath: the data, the decisioning, and the monetisation models that will ultimately determine who captures value.

Q. The Summit theme this year is ‘Beyond the Boom: The Next Chapter of Retail Media Growth.’ What does that theme mean to you, and what are you most looking forward to about joining the event in Amsterdam?

In Amsterdam, I’m looking forward to hearing how teams are actually making this shift happen. There’s a lot of theory in the market, but the most valuable conversations are with those operationalising it today, and driving real performance!

Join us in Amsterdam

Hear more from Paul Dahill and other senior leaders at IAB Europe’s Retail Media Impact Summit, taking place on 7th October in Amsterdam.

Under the theme Beyond the Boom: The Next Chapter of Retail Media Growth, the Summit will bring together retailers, brands, agencies, Retail Media Networks, technology partners and industry leaders to explore the priorities defining the next phase of Retail and Commerce Media in Europe.