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AI shopping assistants and the economics of marketplace ads

a16z argues that marketplaces earn money when people browse, while AI assistants shopping for users skip that step. It compares 2025 ad revenue with operating income: 2x for Amazon retail, 1.9x for DoorDash and 2.2x for Instacart.

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1 Source, 10d ago, first seen 10d ago

TLDR

a16z argues that AI assistants could change who gets paid when people shop online by skipping the browsing marketplaces earn money from. It cites 2025 ad-revenue-to-operating-income ratios of 2x for Amazon retail, 1.9x for DoorDash and 2.2x for Instacart, and contends assistants would not need to rebuild Amazon’s warehouses to match its profits.

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96.3K

1 Source, first seen 10d ago

549 likes44 comments555 saves56 reposts

Combined views

96.3K

1 Source, first seen 10d ago

549 likes44 comments555 saves56 reposts

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1 Source

a16z@a16zMarketplaces earn their money when you browse, not when you buy. An AI assistant that shops for you skips the browsing. Ad revenue vs operating income (2025): - Amazon retail: 2x - DoorDash: 1.9x - Instacart: 2.2x AI assistants don't need to rebuild Amazon's warehouses to hit Amazon's profits. Full piece from @aleximm and @santiago__rdz on who gets paid when AI does the shopping: https://www.a16z.news/p/who-gets-paid-when-ai-does-the-shopping10d
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    a16zAlex Immerman

    1 Source

    a16z@a16zMarketplaces earn their money when you browse, not when you buy. An AI assistant that shops for you skips the browsing. Ad revenue vs operating income (2025): - Amazon retail: 2x - DoorDash: 1.9x - Instacart: 2.2x AI assistants don't need to rebuild Amazon's warehouses to hit Amazon's profits. Full piece from @aleximm and @santiago__rdz on who gets paid when AI does the shopping: https://www.a16z.news/p/who-gets-paid-when-ai-does-the-shopping10d
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