Retail media networks: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank retail media networks by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured monthly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Retail media networks used by brands and agencies to buy sponsored placements, onsite ads, and offsite audience campaigns across major retailers and marketplaces. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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When buyers inquire about Retail media networks, AI engines frequently highlight Walmart Connect as the leader, with over 50% visibility in responses. Roundel and Epsilon Retail Media are also notable mentions. Walmart Connect's strong presence in AI outputs indicates its dominance in this field, making it a prime contender for brands seeking a robust retail media solution.
The rankings are shaped by the top sources AI engines pull from, such as adtelligent.com and osmos.ai. These include both aggregator and review sites, which suggest that the data is comprehensive and leans heavily on community and expert evaluations. The frequent mention of these sources showcases their influence and role in shaping AI's perception of brand authority.
For buyers, this page emphasizes the importance of considering recent reviews and third-party validations. AI engines appear to value brands with strong topical authority and those frequently cited by reliable sources. Therefore, selecting a brand from this list may benefit from checking how recently it has been reviewed and the strength of its validation by external experts.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Walmart Connect leads the retail media networks category with a visibility score of 50.0%, more than double the 25.0% held by second-placed Roundel and vastly above the category average of 3.8%. This gap is significant because it means Google AI Mode is surfacing Walmart Connect in half of all relevant queries while 15 of the 20 tracked brands record zero visibility. Amazon Ads, despite being the most recognised name in retail media, has fallen from rank 1 to rank 4 with 0.0% visibility, a drop of 12.5 percentage points since the previous period.
A notable divergence between visibility and citation appears at rank 3, where Epsilon Retail Media holds 0.0% visibility yet a 50.0% citation rate, the highest citation figure in the entire dataset. This means Google AI Mode trusts Epsilon's domain as a source without surfacing Epsilon as a named brand in responses. Roundel shows the opposite pattern, with 25.0% visibility and 0.0% citations, meaning it is named frequently but its domain is not being pulled as a reference source.
The top cited sources in this category are predominantly third-party intermediaries and agency domains: adtelligent.com, osmos.ai, fieldtrip.agency, tinuiti.com, and funnel.io all appear alongside epsilon.com and broadsign.com. Google AI Mode appears to anchor its answers on independent analysis and agency commentary rather than on the owned domains of the major retail media networks themselves. This explains why brands like Kroger Precision Marketing, Instacart Ads, and Albertsons Media Collective score zero on both visibility and citation despite their market presence.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Walmart Connect 12% → 50% · rank #2 → #1+38pp
-
Roundel 0% → 25% · rank #5 → #2+25pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Amazon Ads 12% → 0% · rank #1 → #4-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
walmartconnect.com
|
50% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Walmart Connect leads with 50.0% visibility and a 12.5% citation rate, both figures well above the category averages of 3.8% and 3.1% respectively, after a 37.5 point visibility jump. |
||||
| 2 |
target.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Roundel holds 25.0% visibility after rising from 0.0% in the previous period, but its 0.0% citation rate means Google AI Mode names it without referencing its domain as a source. |
||||
| 3 |
epsilon.com
|
0% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
Epsilon Retail Media records 0.0% visibility yet a 50.0% citation rate, the highest in the category, indicating its domain is used as a reference source rather than a named recommendation. |
||||
| 4 |
amazon.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Amazon Ads fell from rank 1 to rank 4 with a 12.5 point visibility decline to 0.0%, making it the category's biggest faller despite its dominant market position outside AI Mode. |
||||
| 5 |
criteo.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Criteo Retail Media sits at rank 5 with a composite score of 0.0, matching ranks 6 through 10 and showing no differentiation from mid-tier competitors in Google AI Mode responses. |
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| 6 |
kroger.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
instacart.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
citrusad.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
nectar360.co.uk
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
albertsons.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
cvsmediaexchange.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
walgreensadvertisinggroup.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
bestbuyads.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
ebayadvertising.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
doordash.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
uber.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
homedepot.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
lowes.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
macysmedianetwork.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
dunnhumby.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on retail media networks, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →
Rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 30 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Get your own retail media networks brand audited
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about retail media networks AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in the retail media networks category?
Walmart Connect leads with 50.0% visibility and a composite score of 38.8, well above second-placed Roundel at 25.0% and the category average of 3.8%.
Which brand has the highest citation rate in retail media networks despite low visibility?
Epsilon Retail Media holds a 50.0% citation rate while recording 0.0% visibility, meaning Google AI Mode uses its domain as a source but does not surface it as a named brand.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for retail media networks research?
The top cited sources are third-party and agency domains including adtelligent.com, osmos.ai, fieldtrip.agency, tinuiti.com, and funnel.io, rather than the owned domains of major retail media networks.
Which brand has seen the biggest drop in AI visibility in retail media networks?
Amazon Ads fell from rank 1 to rank 4, losing 12.5 percentage points of visibility and 12.5 percentage points of citation to reach 0.0% on both metrics.
How concentrated is AI visibility across the retail media networks category?
Visibility is highly concentrated, with 15 of the 20 tracked brands recording 0.0% visibility and the category average sitting at just 3.8%, while Walmart Connect alone accounts for 50.0%.
Does high market profile translate to strong AI visibility in retail media networks?
Not consistently. Amazon Ads and Kroger Precision Marketing both score 0.0% visibility, while Walmart Connect and Roundel have risen sharply, suggesting AI Mode is not simply reflecting market scale.