The shift to performance marketing has increased thei importance of affiliate operations at publishers. AI is upending the old playbook.

That’s because of AI agents. Agents will increasingly be on the loose to make buying decisions. The question is how publishers will influence those agents with their commerce content but also how they’ll get credit. The recent controversy over Phia’s cookie stuffing is testament to how affiliate is premised on getting credit for the sale.

"If you have an AI agent, the cookie is injected into your browser,” said Madeline Sullivan, founder of shopping app Scout and affiliate publishing veteran who spent eight years at Forbes Vetted. “So if an agent is using a different browser — let's say you have a Mac Mini where your agents live — that agent is going to be on a completely different browser. How are we thinking about people's digital identity to provide credit to the publishers?"

Chapters:

00:00 Beehiiv Spot
01:29 Welcome
02:17 Commerce Journey
05:08 SEO Era And Google Changes
09:38 Owning Audience For Commerce
13:51 AI Citations And Getting Paid
16:49 Scout App
21:48 Affiliate Scandals: Honey And Phia
28:38 AI Agents And Attribution Future
37:59 Distribution And Creator Partnerships
44:05 Trust And Content Evolution