Episode 161: The State of AI with eMarketer’s Nate Elliott

Nate Elliott, Principal Analyst at eMarketer, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to talk through what’s actually happening with AI adoption in marketing and commerce. He shares a practical view on how many consumers actively use AI tools, why usage stats are often misleading, and why most AI influence on shopping still happens outside chatbots. The group also digs into GEO and AEO, agency and CMO priorities, and the growing debate over content licensing and the health of the open web.

Takeaways

• Only about 15–20% of US online consumers use AI tools weekly, despite AI touching nearly every digital experience.
• Most AI-influenced commerce happens through research and discovery, not direct purchases inside chatbots.
• GEO feels like SEO in 1998, full of experimentation, aggressive tactics, and unclear measurement.
• CMOs are focused more on internal AI productivity gains than flashy external AI activations.
• Agencies may reach near-universal AI usage internally, but that does not mean AI replaces 95% of marketing output.
• The health of the open web is critical to AI platforms, making content licensing a long-term strategic issue.

Chapters

00:00 Nate Elliott’s background and role leading AI research at eMarketer

07:30 How many consumers are actually active AI users

11:50 AI and commerce: direct transactions vs influence

14:40 GEO and the Wild West phase of AI search optimization

18:30 What CMOs are prioritizing in their AI strategy

23:20 Agencies, AI adoption, and the 95% marketing debate

26:00 AI disclosure, creative production, and labeling concerns

32:00 Content marketplaces and whether Google will pay publishers

38:00 Reddit, AI optimization, and measurement challenges

44:00 Agency rebates and media transparency

47:30 Amazon becomes Fortune’s number one company

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