Retail media platforms: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank retail media platforms 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 platforms used by brands and retailers to buy, sell, manage, and measure on-site and off-site commerce advertising inventory. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
Download this ranking as a PDF
We'll email it to you. One-off send — no list, no follow-up, no surprise marketing.
When buyers ask AI engines like ChatGPT and Google AI about retail media platforms, Moloco Commerce Media consistently emerges as the leader. Other top brands that frequently appear include Kevel and Criteo. Notably, Moloco Commerce Media garners 37.5% of citations among these AI engines, indicating its strong presence and recognition in the field.
The rankings of these platforms largely derive from sources like osmos.ai, guideflow.com, and adtelligent.com. These are often aggregator and review sites, which compile expert opinions and user feedback. The visibility of Moloco Commerce Media and others in these rankings reflects their presence across these authoritative sites, where their functionality and customer satisfaction are frequently discussed.
For buyers going through this list, it's crucial to consider factors that AI engines value, such as recent reviews and third-party validation. The significant citation percentage of Moloco Commerce Media suggests an emphasis on topical authority and positive recognition within the retail media space, which can guide buyers towards informed and confident decisions.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Moloco Commerce Media leads the retail media platforms category with a composite score of 11.2 and a citation rate of 37.5%, well above the category average of 3.8%. Kevel sits second at 25.0% citation and a composite score of 7.5. The gap between first and second is meaningful, but the more striking fact is that every brand in the top 10 records 0.0% visibility, meaning no brand is being named in AI-generated overviews directly, only cited as a source behind the scenes.
The divergence between visibility and citation is a defining feature of this category. Moloco Commerce Media is cited in 37.5% of relevant queries yet holds zero visibility, meaning the AI draws on its content without surfacing its brand name in responses. Kevel and Criteo show the same pattern. Brands ranked 4 through 10, including Cervinodata, Mabaya, Pacvue, and The Trade Desk, record zero on both metrics, so they receive neither naming nor citation credit from Google AI Mode.
The top cited sources list reveals that Google AI Mode is anchoring heavily on third-party intermediary sites rather than brand-owned domains. Osmos.ai, guideflow.com, adtelligent.com, fieldtrip.agency, and tinuiti.com all appear as cited sources alongside moloco.com and trustradius.com. This suggests the AI is treating review aggregators, agency sites, and analyst resources as its primary reference layer for this category, which explains why direct brand visibility remains at zero across all 20 tracked brands.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Kevel 12% → 0% · rank #1 → #2-12pp
-
Criteo 12% → 0% · rank #2 → #3-12pp
-
Pacvue 12% → 0% · rank #5 → #7-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
moloco.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Moloco leads all 20 brands with a 37.5% citation rate and composite score of 11.2, yet records 0.0% visibility, the highest citation-to-visibility gap in the category. |
||||
| 2 |
kevel.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Kevel holds 25.0% citation and a composite score of 7.5, but has fallen from rank 1 with a visibility delta of -12.5 points, signalling recent momentum loss in AI recognition. |
||||
| 3 |
criteo.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Criteo's 12.5% citation rate is above the 3.8% category average, but its -12.5 visibility delta indicates it has lost ground since the previous audit period. |
||||
| 4 |
cervinodata.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Cervinodata records 0.0% on both citation and visibility, placing it among the majority of brands that currently have no measurable presence in Google AI Mode responses. |
||||
| 5 |
mabaya.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Mabaya also sits at 0.0% citation and 0.0% visibility, indistinguishable from six other brands ranked below it, with no differentiation signal in the current audit data. |
||||
| 6 |
smec.ai
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
pacvue.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
skai.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
promoteiq.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
thetradedesk.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
citrusad.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
perpetua.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
gotvantage.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
mirakl.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
epsilon.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
stackadapt.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
cocarri.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
quartile.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
koddi.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
mikmak.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on retail media platforms, 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 platforms 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 platforms AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in retail media platforms?
Moloco Commerce Media leads with a composite score of 11.2 and a 37.5% citation rate, roughly three times the citation rate of second-placed Kevel at 25.0%.
Why do all top retail media platform brands show zero visibility despite some having strong citation rates?
Google AI Mode cites brand content as a source reference without naming the brand in the generated response, so citation and visibility scores decouple entirely across this category.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for retail media platform research?
The top cited sources include osmos.ai, guideflow.com, adtelligent.com, fieldtrip.agency, and tinuiti.com, alongside moloco.com and trustradius.com, indicating a heavy reliance on third-party and agency-run sites.
Which brands have lost the most AI visibility in retail media platforms recently?
Kevel, Criteo, and Pacvue each recorded a visibility delta of -12.5 points, dropping from 12.5% to 0.0% visibility between the previous and current audit periods.
How does the category average compare to the top-ranked brand in this space?
The category average citation rate is 3.8%, while Moloco Commerce Media's citation rate of 37.5% is nearly ten times that figure, showing extreme concentration at the top.
Are well-known brands like The Trade Desk and Pacvue visible in Google AI Mode for retail media queries?
No, both The Trade Desk and Pacvue record 0.0% on visibility and citation in this audit, placing them among the majority of brands with no measurable AI Mode presence.