For eCommerce, digital, product, UX and trading leaders that want to make sense of how AI “shopping assistants” could reshape the customer journey, and form a clear point of view on what changes (and what doesn’t) in discovery and decision‑making.

 

If customers can ask an AI assistant to find, compare and choose products for them, do they still “browse” in the way they do today, and what happens to the product listing page as the main shopping doorway?

In a structured, high‑energy debate hosted by the charity Debate Mate, Karl Lillrud argues FOR the motion (“assistants become the new default shopping experience”), while TBC argues AGAINST (“assistants will support shopping, but PLPs remain essential for browsing, trust, and retail control at scale”).

 

What you can expect to takeaway:

- Two credible future paths for online shopping and what would need to be true for each to win.

- The big “journey shift” questions every retailer should be debating internally.

- A clearer view of what customers may start valuing more: speed, certainty, inspiration, reassurance, or control and how that changes discovery behaviour.

- Where the real tension sits: convenience vs. exploration, automation vs. brand experience, and what gets lost (or gained) when “scrolling” becomes “asking.”

- An audience vote that helps you benchmark your own view against peers and leave with a stronger, more defensible opinion.

 

Level it’s for: Head of / Director / Executive