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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.
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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