For advertisers, the increasing fragmentation within the search landscape can be quite frustrating and challenging.

“But for consumers it feels like ease and convenience," said our analyst Sarah Marzano on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers." "We're able to conduct product searches wherever we're spending time and go on a journey that's tailored to the mindset we're in."

As search becomes embedded across shopping destinations, retail media networks (RMNs) are capturing a growing share of ad budgets, even though traditional search platforms like Google maintain dominance.

• Retail media search spending will reach nearly $38 billion in the US this year, according to an EMARKETER forecast.
• "Retail media's share of search ad spending is growing, but it's worth pointing out that the total pie is still getting larger. Traditional search is still forecasted to grow every year, so it's not a zero-sum game," Marzano noted.

The AI wildcard: Potential disruption ahead

As retailers refine their ad search capabilities, a new disruption looms: AI.

• US AI search ad spending is projected to be just $1 billion this year, but that figure will grow fast over the coming years, per EMARKETER.
• This includes spending on AI services like Google Gemini, but the more disruptive potential lies in AI shopping agents that could bypass search ads entirely.

"Even if the retailer-specific offerings like Sparky or Rufus start including sponsored listings in their replies to users, it's never going to be at the same density or scale that you see in a search engines result page (SERP)," said Willens. "Even if you can really raise the cost per click rates (CPCs) on those units that appear in those conversations, it is potentially something that could really damage this income stream for a lot of retailers."

What it means for marketers

The fragmentation of search across retail media and emerging AI tools creates complexity for advertisers. Strategies that were once focused primarily on Google now require consideration of multiple platforms, each with different consumer behaviors and ad capabilities.

For brands, this means balancing budgets across platforms based on customer search behavior, while managing campaigns across disparate systems.

• “RMNs are still struggling to make it really easy for advertisers to buy across a broad swath of networks,” said Marzano.
• The challenge for marketers isn't just about where to allocate search budgets, but how to adapt to a landscape where the definition of "search" itself continues to evolve.

Listen to the full episode

This was originally featured in the Commerce Media Weekly newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.

This article was prepared with the assistance of generative AI tools to support content organization, summarization, and drafting. All AI-generated contributions have been reviewed, fact-checked, and verified for accuracy and originality by EMARKETER editors. Any recommendations reflect EMARKETER’s research and human judgment.