When Agents Start Closing the Sale

Bi-Weekly Signals for Mobile Industry CEOs, CMOs, CTOs, and CROs — Ending 02.15.26

For a decade, app growth has been a game of surfaces: win the feed, win the click, win the session, then optimize the funnel. That model is cracking. The point of curiosity is being captured by systems that don’t need your UI, and conversion is increasingly executed by software that doesn’t care about your brand story unless it can verify it.

Agents Become the Conversion Surface

Agentic commerce monetization isn’t just “shopping chat.” It’s a shift in who does discovery and who decides what counts as “best,” pushing assistant-driven discovery and conversion into the operating layer of the funnel. That’s why the old playbook of optimizing screens starts to fail: conversion moving behind the screen means your UI can be perfect and still be bypassed.

When an assistant can interpret intent, compare offers, and move straight into purchase steps, the battleground becomes eligibility and default selection. Your machine-readable product data and offer integrity (availability, price, shipping promise, returns logic and the structured metadata that proves it) starts behaving like ad creative used to. If the agent can’t read it cleanly, it can’t recommend it confidently, and the sale routes elsewhere.

Monetization Moves Into Agent-Readable Proof

You can see the end state forming in “tool-enabled” commerce stacks where assistants can interact with the systems that set bids, manage offers, and tune retail media. Ads inside AI shopping agents isn’t a format shift as much as a selection shift: the “best offer” becomes whatever the agent can validate and execute with the least risk.

You can also see it in travel, where orchestration collapses steps: planning folds into booking, and booking folds into payment and post-purchase changes inside a single flow. When Sabre pairs with PayPal and Mindtrip on an agentic booking path, it’s a signal that conversion gravity is moving toward whoever owns the integrated flow, and the fees that come with it.

So the monetization question is no longer “How do we drive taps?” It’s “How do we get chosen when the chooser is an agent?” Publishers who used to monetize on the path to purchase now must monetize inside the decision engine or risk being demoted to inventory. In practice, that means investing in agent-readable merchandising: proofs and constraints an assistant can safely act on, plus incentives it can compare without ambiguity.

The Assistant Becomes a Paid Intent Gate

At the same time, the assistant itself is turning into a paid gate. When conversational surfaces like ChatGPT begin running ads, they don’t just add a channel; they change the power balance.

A user asking a question isn’t browsing; they’re delegating. If ads sit underneath that delegated decision, the price of access becomes the price of being considered at all, and rev-share economics get squeezed unless you control a high-trust handoff to checkout.

Don’t get distracted by the screens. Monetization is migrating behind the UI into protocol-like mechanics: what signals the agent can ingest, what incentives it can compare, and what fulfillment certainty it can depend on.

Measurement Credibility Becomes Pricing Power

And then there’s the constraint that makes all this real: measurement. As privacy enforcement tightens and signals fragment, the industry’s ability to prove ROI wobbles at the exact moment agents are reshaping discovery. Budgets move toward what can be measured, attributed and defended in a finance meeting, because “we saw conversions” is no longer enough when routing happens upstream.

That’s why the push toward AI-assisted measurement and standardization matters. When the IAB’s State of Data frames an AI-powered measurement transformation and the industry talks about initiatives to refresh campaign measurement, like Project Eidos, they’re responding to the same leadership pressure: incrementality proof, delivered faster, under more scrutiny.

This isn’t a tooling story. It’s a fight over whose numbers are believed, and belief determines who gets funded. If you can’t show incrementality, you lose pricing power. If you can’t reconcile spend to outcomes across platforms and walled gardens, you lose the ability to scale. Then attribution becomes a constraint, not a dashboard.

The Big So What

For CEOs

  • Treat agent readiness (product truth + offer integrity) as revenue infrastructure, not a feature.
  • Shift partner strategy toward “where the agent transacts,” and price your value accordingly (fees, rev share, preferred access).
  • Fund measurement modernization as a defensive moat: incrementality proof is pricing power.
  • Set a governance line now: what you will and won’t automate in conversion and monetization.

For CMOs

  • Plan for assistants as a paid channel and a discovery layer. Test early and measure incrementality, not clicks.
  • Rebuild product proof for machines: clearer claims, cleaner metadata, tighter offer logic.
  • Treat “in-layer” discovery as cannibalization risk and redesign creative and landing flows for delegated decisions.
  • Make measurement credibility a brand asset: consistent methodology beats noisy dashboards.

For CTOs

  • Harden feeds, schema, and real-time truth (price, inventory, shipping, returns) so agents can safely act.
  • Build privacy-resilient measurement: server-side events, experiment frameworks, and audit-ready data lineage.
  • Expose agent-safe capabilities via APIs with strong rate limits, security, and policy controls.
  • Instrument the full conversion chain so you can explain outcomes when the UI isn’t the decision point.

For CROs

  • Renegotiate economics around the conversion locus: if the agent closes, make sure your payout survives.
  • Redesign the revenue model for delegated purchase flows (shorter paths, fewer drop-offs, clearer checkout ownership).
  • Demand incrementality evidence for every new channel, especially assistant surfaces.
  • Package “trust + proof” as a commercial advantage: reliability becomes the differentiator agents reward.

References

  • What will ads in an agent assisted shopping world look like? — Retail Brew
  • ChatGPT rolls out ads — TechCrunch
  • Sabre Teams With PayPal And Mindtrip on an Agentic Commerce Travel Booking Platform — Digital Transactions
  • 2026 State of Data Report: The AI-Powered Measurement Transformation — IAB (free registration)
  • IAB launches new initiative to refresh ad campaign measurements — TheDesk.net (free registration)

Paving A Clear Path to Guaranteed Revenue from Your App Audience

App publishers face ongoing challenges with unpredictable ad revenue caused by market fluctuations, seasonal trends and changing user behavior. Relying solely on advertising puts your revenue at the mercy of factors beyond your control, making it difficult to plan, invest and grow with confidence.

Appnomix offers a straightforward solution that changes the equation: a branded AI shopping assistant
integrated via a lightweight Agentic Commerce Development Kit (ACDK) that helps your users find better deals when shopping online and guarantees you steady revenue in return. This approach makes an immediate impact on your earnings without disrupting your app or user experience.

Here’s How Appnomix Creates Value for Publishers

Guaranteed Minimum Revenue Plus Revenue Sharing
Every publisher that integrates Appnomix’s commerce infrastructure is guaranteed a minimum payment per active user per year. On top of that guaranteed floor, publishers earn 70% of all revenue generated through the shopping assistant, creating meaningful upside beyond the minimum. Your revenue floor is contractually secured, and the growth potential remains fully with you.

How It Works: Simple Steps to Revenue

  • ACDK Integration: Appnomix provides a lightweight Agentic Commerce Development Kit (ACDK) for you to embed into your app. This kit enables a browser extension-style AI shopping assistant fully branded for your app, maintaining your native look and feel.
  • Baseline Measurement: Over an initial 8-week period, the ACDK collects user engagement and revenue data. This phase is passive and does not require any changes to your existing monetization stack.
  • Guaranteed Revenue Established: Using real data from the baseline period, Appnomix sets a custom guaranteed minimum payout per active user per year, and a 70% revenue share. You earn this predictable revenue every month, with no caps.
  • Ongoing Earnings and Growth: As your users engage with the shopping assistant, you earn above the guaranteed minimum based on actual spend and savings activity, creating a new, consistent revenue stream without additional risk or disruption to your current demand.

User Experience and Publisher Control

Your branded AI shopping assistant operates like a browser extension to help your users shop smarter by showing them deals and discounts on products they already want as they shop across the mobile web. Once they opt into the program from your app, the shopping assistant immediately starts bringing value to your audience, improving loyalty and satisfaction with your brand with minimal technical effort on your part.

Importantly, you retain full control over your app’s user experience, ad formats and placements. Appnomix’s ACDK and solution never disrupt existing monetization channels or introduce intrusive ads.

Why It Matters

Advertising revenue has long been unpredictable for app publishers. With Appnomix, you gain a reliable, transparent revenue floor based on your active users, regardless of external fluctuations.

Zero-Click Doesn’t Mean Zero Intent: How Retailers Can “Fish Where the Fish Are”

Search used to be a gateway to websites. Now, more often, it’s the destination.

Ian Newfeld, CEO at Appnomix

In 2024, analysis from SparkToro estimated that about 58.5% of U.S. searches and nearly 60% in the EU ended without any click to the open web. One year later, Similarweb reported that after Google’s AI Overviews expanded, the share of searches with no external click rose from roughly 56% in May 2024 to about 69% by May 2025.

That sounds bleak—until you realize the fish didn’t disappear; they moved. If answers now live on the results page, retailers must cast their line where intent gathers—on the product detail page (PDP).

What Changed in Search

AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, and other answer-engine experiences have compressed the journey. Instead of “query → click → read,” users see a synthesized response at the top of the results page and often stop there or refine the question. This isn’t just interface polish; it’s a shift in incentives. Search engines are competing to satisfy intent immediately, which reduces friction for users but removes the handoff that once sent traffic to retailers.

Discovery hasn’t vanished; it’s happening inside the answer itself.

When a shopper stops at an answer card, their needs don’t evaporate. They still want confirmation of the exact model or fit, clarity on price and stock by fulfillment option, and—if the item isn’t available—the same product from an approved partner. That’s why the product page should behave like an answer surface: resolve the question in place with model confirmation, real-time price and availability, and identical-product alternatives, then convert.

Fish Where the Fish Are

Treat the product page as the answer surface you control. A lightweight Answer-AI on the PDP can confirm the exact model, resolve price/stock questions in the shopper’s context, and, when needed, surface same-product alternatives from partners without conquesting competitors. It mirrors how an answer card resolves a query—but on a surface where you can turn certainty into revenue and relationships.

Teach the Product Page to Answer Like an Expert

For years, product pages have been static showcases: images, specs, and buy buttons waiting for clicks. But in a world where shoppers expect instant clarity, a good product page must behave like an expert. It should recognize the question behind the visit, confirm the shopper’s intent, and respond with confidence.

That starts with identity. Each PDP needs to understand what it’s showing and who’s asking. When a visitor arrives from search, the page should instantly verify the SKU, model number, or variant that matched the query and return a short confirmation such as, “You’re viewing the 512GB model of the Galaxy S23 Ultra.” It’s the digital equivalent of a store associate double-checking that a customer picked up the right box.

Next, that confirmation should trigger context-aware data—live pricing, local availability, and delivery options—drawn from the same feed that powers merchant listings and partner catalogs. If an item is unavailable, the page should offer nearby pickup, back-in-stock alerts, or identical-product alternatives from approved partners, framed as service, not competition.

Every answer should be traceable. Displaying the data source the information came from—your feed, merchant center, or partner network—builds trust and keeps compliance simple. Finally, track what shoppers ask for most often: which confirmations, stock checks, or delivery clarifications happen repeatedly. Those insights become a roadmap for improving PDP content, refining your data pipeline, and tuning future AI responses.

Teaching the product page to answer like an expert isn’t about adding a widget; it’s about turning a passive display into an active dialogue that reassures, resolves, and converts.

How to Measure Success When Clicks Fade

Search engines now satisfy more shopper intent directly, which means traditional success metrics—clicks, sessions, referral traffic—no longer tell the full story. To understand how well your product pages perform, measure what happens after intent arrives.

Focus on indicators that reveal how effectively your PDPs resolve questions and guide decisions:
Model or variant confirmation rate — how often shoppers validate that they’ve found the exact product they were searching for.

  • Price and stock interaction rate — clicks, hovers, or expansions on availability data that show shoppers engaging with real-time information.
  • Add-to-cart and assisted conversions — sales or cart actions that occur after a shopper interacts with Answer-AI elements.
  • Time to decision — how quickly shoppers move from first interaction to cart or checkout once their questions are resolved.
  • Alternative product selection — frequency with which users choose an identical-model alternative when the original offer isn’t available.

These are outcomes you can directly influence inside your own ecosystem—measures of clarity, trust, and conversion that remain steady even as external traffic patterns shift.

Why This Framing Resonates with Shoppers

Those metrics matter because they mirror how people actually shop. Most shoppers don’t think in channels; they think in tasks: is this the right item, can I get it by Friday, is the same one in stock somewhere else. The winning product page feels like a capable clerk who answers quickly, not a billboard hoping for a click. When your page confirms the exact model, clarifies price and stock, and offers an identical alternative when needed, it aligns perfectly with those tasks—and lowers the effort required to buy.

The Net Effect

Zero-click isn’t an apocalypse. It’s a redistribution of attention toward answer-style experiences. When retailers bring those answers onto the product page, they stop waiting for referral traffic and start resolving intent where it still converts. The fish didn’t vanish; they changed ponds. Go cast there.

AI Takes the Lead in Mobile Ad Creatives: H1 2025 Report

This is a guest article created in collaboration with SocialPeta

As AI Generated Content (AIGC) continues to reshape industries worldwide, the global mobile app market is undergoing rapid transformation and unlocking new opportunities. To help industry professionals stay ahead, SocialPeta recently released its “H1 2025 AIGC Mobile App Marketing Analysis Report.”

Drawing on a database of over 1.6 billion ad creatives and real-time data updated hourly, the report delivers a comprehensive look at the market landscape, key marketing trends and standout case studies across the AIGC mobile app sector.

Smarter, More Targeted Advertising

In the first half of 2025, the AIGC mobile app market showed a striking trend: while the number of active advertisers declined, ad creative investment surged. This shift signals a move from broad expansion to deeper engagement in existing markets, with marketing strategies becoming increasingly sophisticated, data-driven and precisely targeted.

In H1 2025, the global monthly average of active AIGC advertisers reached 2,041, representing a 47.07% year-over-year decline. This drop reflects growing market saturation in certain sectors, resulting in fewer new entrants. At the same time, leading players doubled down on creative investment: the monthly average number of creatives per advertiser climbed to 416, an 84.22% increase year-over-year. This surge underscores advertisers’ efforts to enhance brand visibility and deepen user engagement through more frequent creative updates.

Chart showing share of video vs image creatives and distribution of video lengths

Distinct regional dynamics further shaped the market landscape:

  • Europe remains home to the largest number of AIGC advertisers, but saw a steep 45.7% decline, reflecting heightened competition.
  • North America, supported by mature user payment habits, leads in total creative volume, solidifying its role as a core growth hub for emerging products.
  • Japan and South Korea stood out with creative volumes surging 262.3% and 266.1% Y/Y, respectively, positioning them as high-potential growth markets.
  • Emerging regions such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East also recorded growth of over 100%, highlighting the accelerated global expansion of AIGC apps.

Video remains the dominant format, accounting for 84.05% of all creatives, while images represent 14.93%. Within video ads, 15–30 second clips lead at 56.91%, followed by shorter clips under 15 seconds at 36.51%. Together, these two formats make up over 93% of total video creatives, underscoring user preference for high-density, fast-paced content, a style that perfectly aligns with the communication dynamics of short-video platforms such as TikTok.

Practical Models of Technology Implementation and Scenario Integration

The report spotlights representative AI+ products across key verticals, particularly in imaging and content creation.

AI + Imaging: Meitu’s Dual-Engine Model of “Technology + Product”

Meitu has sustained strong commercial growth by deeply embedding AI technology into its imaging and design products. In August, Meitu Inc. (1357.HK) released its H1 2025 financial report, reporting total revenue of RMB 1.8 billion, up 12.3% Y/Y, driven primarily by growth in paid subscriptions powered by AI features.

Globally, Meitu’s product portfolio has delivered impressive results. With multimodal editing functions such as AI one-click outfit changes and AI poster generation, in June 2025, Meitu reached the #1 spot in the photography category in markets like Italy, a major breakthrough in Europe.

Wink, focused on AI video editing and image enhancement, has surpassed 30 million monthly active users worldwide and repeatedly ranked no. 1 overall in app charts across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Thailand.

Meanwhile, BeautyCam, featuring AI beauty enhancement and old-photo restoration, ranked no. 1 during the Spring Festival in multiple countries and has consistently held leading positions in key markets such as Japan and Indonesia.

Meitu’s five overseas AI apps—their features, recent creative volumes, and chart performance across markets (Jan–Jun 2025).

In its marketing creatives, Meitu emphasizes functional impact. For example, Wink showcases “automatic image quality restoration” through direct side-by-side comparisons, while AirBrush highlights the ease of “intelligent object removal,” engaging users with clear, intuitive before-and-after visuals.

Advertising platform: TikTok Like: 12W

Beyond imaging and animation, the report also features product insights in AI-powered education and health, offering a broader view of how AIGC is transforming diverse industries.

GenAI education slide: market to $7.7B (39.5% CAGR) and a Sep 2024–Jun 2025 trend chart

The H1 2025 AIGC Mobile App Marketing Analysis delivers a comprehensive overview of the global AIGC app market, covering market scale, competition, and user consumption trends across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. It also examines future growth opportunities and challenges worldwide, equipping industry professionals with actionable intelligence for expansion strategies.

Spanning roughly 30 pages, the report provides data-driven insights and practical strategies to help businesses navigate the rapidly evolving AIGC mobile app landscape. Download your copy today to stay ahead in this fast-changing market.

SocialPeta is a leading ad intelligence platform for the mobile games and apps industry. It helps marketers benchmark the market, analyze competitive creative strategies and spot growth opportunities across regions and channels.

Monetizing the $1.3 Trillion Shift: How App Publishers Can Capture the Commerce Opportunity

Monetizing the $1.3 Trillion Shift: How App Publishers Can Capture the Commerce Opportunity

The convergence of technology and retail is bringing forward new opportunities for app publishers to diversify their revenue streams with mobile commerce. Appnomix’s new AI-powered commerce infrastructure allows app publishers to improve both user experience and loyalty while also tapping into the lucrative world of e-commerce.

Understanding the Current Limitations of In-App Monetization

Many app publishers face challenges with traditional in-app monetization strategies. Advertising yields are under pressure: the average cost-per-click rose 16% in 2024, and customer acquisition costs have climbed nearly 60% over five years. At the same time, users are increasingly desensitized to ads and privacy restrictions have further weakened ad targeting. This makes ad revenue a shrinking piece of the monetization mix, and relying on ads alone can hinder growth.

The decline is clear in the latest benchmarks: Adjust reports that the global median eCPC fell from $0.04 in 2023 to $0.03 in the first half of 2024, a 25% drop. This mirrors the steady downward trend shown in the chart, underscoring how ad revenue has become a shrinking piece of the monetization mix.

Moreover, the current market dynamics suggest that app publishers are missing out on a substantial share of revenue. It is projected that North American e-commerce sales will reach about $1.3 trillion in 2025, with consumers averaging more than $2,000 annually in online spending. Collectively, this is spending that flows through mobile devices but largely outside of non-retail apps. Publishers have no participation in this revenue stream when their users leave their apps to shop. By adopting a more user-centric approach, they can redefine the in-app experience, foster loyalty and capture a portion of that spend.

The Scale of the Opportunity: Unlocking New Revenue Streams

Imagine the revenue potential for app publishers with turnkey access to a robust commerce infrastructure. With the integration of Appnomix’ AI-powered Commerce SDK, publishers can offer personalized shopping experiences that cater to individual user preferences. This not only enhances engagement but also encourages repeat visits and prolonged app usage. Additionally, by providing users with tailored recommendations and exclusive deals, publishers can create an environment that feels both rewarding and engaging.

Appnomix’ access to an extensive network of 50,000 merchants and over one billion products ensures publishers will always connect users with products aligned to their interests and needs. The ability to suggest relevant items enhances the overall user experience, positioning the app as a trusted resource rather than just a tool for a specific purpose.

Appnomix works by helping users discover the best prices and discounts as they shop the mobile web. Participation is activated inside of the app user flow, but the real value is created outside of the app experience itself. The result is increased revenue, brand loyalty and retention without disrupting user experience.

Integrating commerce into apps also presents an opportunity to deepen connections with users. By offering value beyond the app environment (e.g. loyalty programs, discounts and smart shopping assistance), publishers can foster a community of loyal customers. This shift not only increases satisfaction but also opens up a significant new revenue channel that has traditionally been inaccessible to app providers.

Real-World Examples in Commerce Integration

Consider a successful app like Spotify. With more than 50 million subscribers, retaining their user base is critical. With Appnomix’s commerce infrastructure and SDK, Spotify could extend its value by offering a branded shopping assistant to support its users across the mobile web.
For example, a Spotify subscriber shopping for television at Walmart.com might see a Spotify-branded assistant surface at checkout, offering smarter options:

“There is a better price for this television at Best Buy.”
“The item in your cart has a 25% off coupon today at Walmart.”

By making these types of intelligent, real-time recommendations, Spotify could deliver value for its users outside the app, foster brand loyalty, and capture commerce revenue that would otherwise go untapped. This is not just hypothetical. Appnomix is already active on millions of devices and is generating an average of between $3-12 in revenue-per-user annually. Developers are discovering this new way to generate revenue from out-of-app purchases without replacing ads or disrupting in-app user experience and monetization. It’s proof that commerce integration can be complementary, not cannibalistic to revenue growth.

The novelty and competitive advantage of integrating commerce into apps cannot be understated. As Ian Newfeld of Appnomix observed, “Giving users the ability to shop smarter across the mobile web and then capitalizing on those revenue opportunities is not something apps have traditionally done.”

By offering unique features that provide real value, app publishers can differentiate themselves, attract new users and retain existing ones, ultimately leading to increased revenue potential.

Getting Started: Implementing Commerce Infrastructure

For app publishers ready to enter the world of commerce, the first step is to assess current offerings and identify gaps in value. Understanding user needs and preferences is critical. Publishers can conduct surveys, analyze user behavior and explore market trends to inform their strategy. Once a clear understanding of the target audience is established, it’s time to consider how to implement commerce features effectively.

Utilizing an AI-powered SDK, such as Appnomix, can streamline the integration process. The SDK enables publishers to offer personalized shopping experiences without overwhelming users with irrelevant options. With data-driven insights and AI, publishers can deliver curated product selections that resonate with their audience, enhancing satisfaction and driving conversions. Unlike ad networks experimenting with early-stage commerce ad formats, Appnomix’s infrastructure is designed for partnerships and branded value, not ad placements. That distinction matters: it allows publishers to extend their brand into the shopping journey instead of simply running ads for someone else.

With access to millions of data points related to product SKUs, pricing and availability, the SDK ensures consumers always have access to the best deals and discounts on a wide range of products and promotions. By aligning with reputable merchants, publishers can guarantee that users receive quality offerings, further elevating the app’s credibility. This partnership approach not only enriches the user experience but also establishes a source of income through affiliate commissions.

The Net Gain

Integrating commerce into apps is no longer a distant possibility; it’s a present opportunity for publishers willing to innovate. By providing additional value to users, publishers can create a compelling user experience that fosters loyalty and drives revenue. Embracing AI-powered commerce infrastructure will empower app publishers to stand out in a crowded marketplace, ensuring they are equipped for the future of mobile commerce.

If you’re ready to transform your app and explore the potential of commerce integration, consider connecting with Appnomix. Whether you’d like a demo or to discuss partnership opportunities, the path to enhancing user experience and unlocking new revenue channels starts right here. Let’s embark on this exciting journey together.