AI Agent Shopping Changes E-commerce Marketing Automation Forever with Rytis Lauris

ost Brent Peterson sits down with Rytis Lauris, CEO and co-founder of @Omnisend to explore how AI agent shopping is reshaping the landscape of e-commerce marketing automation. The conversation unpacks why most online stores lose money on first purchases, how automated messaging generates outsized returns compared to bulk campaigns, and what happens when AI assistants start making purchases on behalf of consumers. Rytis shares data-driven insights from 11 years of building marketing tools specifically for online retailers and explains why the role of marketers must evolve from content creators to managers of AI systems.

Key Takeaways
Online stores typically lose money on initial customer transactions because advertising costs through Google and Meta exceed first purchase values, making retention marketing the actual profit driver.

Automated email campaigns generate $2.96 per send compared to $0.10 for bulk campaigns in the United States, representing a 1,480% difference in return on investment.

Trigger-based automated messages account for just 2% of email sends but drive 37% of total e-commerce orders because they respond to specific customer behaviors rather than broadcasting generic promotions.

Businesses should implement 15 to 20 automated workflows covering every customer journey touchpoint instead of limiting themselves to two or three basic sequences.

Web push notifications remain underutilized despite proving highly effective for customers who enable them, creating an opportunity for businesses willing to test the channel.

AI segment creators have become the most popular automation feature because they allow creative marketers to build complex audience segments using natural language instead of struggling with Boolean logic.

The future of e-commerce requires two store interfaces—one for human shoppers making emotional decisions and another for AI assistants navigating programmatically to complete purchases.

Marketers won't be replaced by AI but must transform their roles from individual content creators to managers who oversee AI agents while maintaining distinctive brand voices.

Follow Talk Commerce on your favorite platform:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talkcommerce
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/talkcommerce.bsky.social
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-commerce/id1561204656
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Alx6N7ERrPEXIBb41FZ1n
Twitter: @talkingcommerce
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/talk-commerce
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkingcommerce
Website: https://talk-commerce.com/