Future of AI in E-commerce and Ad Tech

Join us for a discussion with Staff AI Researcher and Project Leader from Criteo, Alberto Lumbreras. We chatted about how Agentic AI will transform the AdTech and e-commerce experience.

Alberto shares his unique career journey from telecommunications engineering to AI and machine learning, exploring his involvement in social network analysis and PhD studies. The conversation goes into the evolving landscape of AI in e-commerce, with a specific focus on shopping assistants and agent interfaces. Alberto also discusses the challenges in developing AI systems for commerce, the impact on the ad tech industry, and future predictions. Learn about his views on the importance of unique data, the advent of smaller, more efficient AI models, and how AI will become more autonomous and integrated into daily life.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
01:02 Alberto's Career Journey
03:06 AI and Social Movements
03:53 Joining Criteo and Current Work
04:52 The Future of Shopping with AI Agents
08:25 Impact on Ad Tech Industry
10:48 Challenges and Opportunities in E-commerce
21:06 Data as a Competitive Moat
26:21 Challenges in Retail Catalogs for AI
27:15 Dynamic Data in Travel Industry
28:19 Importance of Comprehensive Data for AI
28:41 User Willingness to Share Data
29:07 Research, Engineering, and Talent Crossover
30:00 Essential Skills for ML Researchers
31:45 Impact of AI Tools on Engineering
32:46 Advice for Working with AI
38:19 Future Trends in AI Development
44:49 Research Directions and Influential Papers
48:18 Books That Shape AI Thinking
51:41 Conclusion and Farewell

Link to the first solo publication mentioned in the podcast: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.04871