The Death of Search: How Shopping Will Work In The Age of AI

The web is unhealthy, and AI agents are about to rewrite how we shop. In this episode, a16z General Partner Alex Rampell and Partner Justine Moore explore how AI agents will change commerce and the implications for Google’s business model, affiliate marketing, online shopping, and more. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction 0:36 Affiliate Marketing and the Evolution of Online Purchases 1:59 Impulse Buys vs. Considered Purchases 2:51 Observing Consumer Behavior and Viral Trends 6:09 Dynamic Pricing and Consumer Surplus 7:14 E-commerce vs. In-Person Shopping 10:20 The Challenge of Attribution in Online Sales 12:28 Aggregators, Brands, and the Commodity Trap 15:36 Trends, Trust, and the Power of Aggregators 17:46 Google’s Freemium Model and the Future of Search 21:17 The Problem of Hallucination in AI Product Recommendations 22:52 The Commercialization and Pollution of the Internet 29:30 The Costco Model: Trust and Value 33:20 The Spectrum of Purchases and AI’s Role 37:57 UPCs, SKUs, and Automation in Commerce 39:52 Opportunities for New Winners in AI-Driven Commerce Resources: Read the article: http://a16z.com/ai-x-commerce/ Find Alex on X: https://x.com/arampell Find Justine on X: https://x.com/venturetwins Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Alex RampellhostJustine Moorehost

Sep 17, 202545mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: September 17, 2025
Duration: 45m
Channel: a16z
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

The web is unhealthy, and AI agents are about to rewrite how we shop. In this episode, a16z General Partner Alex Rampell and Partner Justine Moore explore how AI agents will change commerce and the implications for Google’s business model, affiliate marketing, online shopping, and more. Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction 0:36 Affiliate Marketing and the Evolution of Online Purchases 1:59 Impulse Buys vs. Considered Purchases 2:51 Observing Consumer Behavior and Viral Trends 6:09 Dynamic Pricing and Consumer Surplus 7:14 E-commerce vs. In-Person Shopping 10:20 The Challenge of Attribution in Online Sales 12:28 Aggregators, Brands, and the Commodity Trap 15:36 Trends, Trust, and the Power of Aggregators 17:46 Google’s Freemium Model and the Future of Search 21:17 The Problem of Hallucination in AI Product Recommendations 22:52 The Commercialization and Pollution of the Internet 29:30 The Costco Model: Trust and Value 33:20 The Spectrum of Purchases and AI’s Role 37:57 UPCs, SKUs, and Automation in Commerce 39:52 Opportunities for New Winners in AI-Driven Commerce Resources: Read the article: http://a16z.com/ai-x-commerce/ Find Alex on X: https://x.com/arampell Find Justine on X: https://x.com/venturetwins Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

SPEAKERS

Alex Rampell
host
a16z investor and former founder/CEO of TrialPay, focused on commerce and marketplaces.
Justine Moore
host
a16z investor focused on consumer and commerce, including AI-driven shopping experiences.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of a16z, featuring Alex Rampell and Justine Moore, The Death of Search: How Shopping Will Work In The Age of AI explores aI agents reshape shopping, undermining search, trust, and attribution economics Search is fragmenting as users shift informational queries from Google to LLMs, while high-intent commercial queries largely remain with Google due to better reliability and current LLM hallucination issues.

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