AI agents are changing how products are discovered and selected - but what does that actually mean for day-to-day marketplace operations? In this episode, Ingrid speaks with AI specialist Barbara Branca about why the logic is shifting from rankings to recommendation systems - and why “good enough” product data is no longer sufficient. Barbara argues that listings are turning into decision documents: AI systems no longer operate on keywords alone, but aim to understand intent and prepare purchase decisions based on that. This requires complete, structured, and consistent data - not just within a single marketplace, but across all channels. At the same time, the conversation gets very practical: which tasks in marketplace operations can already be meaningfully automated with AI, where real time savings can be achieved, and how to get started without overhauling everything. Barbara’s recommendation: don’t start with your entire catalogue, begin with your top products and assess whether your data is truly decision-ready. Note from the sponsor eDesk: As soon as sellers operate across multiple marketplaces, customer support quickly becomes highly complex. Irene Epp from Pertemba described this vividly: her team handles more than 1,000 customer inquiries per day - across over 130 marketplaces worldwide. Having spent many years in customer support herself, Irene calls it the “watchdog of the company.” Together with Gareth Cummings from eDesk, she explained in podcast episode 145 how this volume can actually be managed: all messages, orders, and customer data are brought into one central inbox, marketplace SLAs are tracked, and response times stay within required limits. Routine inquiries such as shipping status or returns can be automated - allowing the team to focus on more complex cases that require real judgment. If you missed the episode, it’s definitely worth a listen: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1cKbdDr2ipbnGCwo0KmxKF Note from the sponsor Kaufland Global Marketplace: If you’re looking to expand your marketplace business internationally - for example to Poland or Italy - it’s worth taking a closer look at the Kaufland Global Marketplace. Through Kaufland, you can currently sell in seven European countries: Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and France. The key advantage: you can manage all marketplaces through a single account, without having to set up your products separately for each country. We also have an interesting offer for you: With the promo code MP-UNI2026, new sellers can sell on all Kaufland marketplaces without a base fee for three months. The offer is valid until May 31, 2026. And if you’d like to learn more about how brands can build visibility and branding on Kaufland marketplaces, make sure to tune in to our upcoming podcast episode 147. Our guests will be Markus Anstots (Kaufland), Jan Weiß and Marvin Thöne (both Sleepling).
