Bloomreach CEO Raj De Datta on Consumer Sentiments in using GenAI and future of Search and Shopping

Welcome to another informative Retail Tech Podcast interview where Darius speaks with Raj De Datta, CEO of Bloomreach.

The conversation unfolded as a deeply insightful, forward-looking conversation about the evolution of digital commerce in the age of AI, touching not just on Bloomreach’s product vision, but also on consumer behavior, platform shifts, the future of search, and the emerging agentic commerce paradigm. Here's an overview and the major themes that shaped the dialogue:

Raj discusses his 15-year journey at Bloomreach, sharing how the company has evolved from an AI-powered personalization engine into a full-scale commerce experience platform. We start by unpacking Bloomreach's latest research on consumer AI usage and explores how the future of shopping will be agent-led—where AI agents represent both consumers and brands in a new form of interactive commerce.

History and profile:

Born in 2009 Bloomreach is a leading digital experience platform (DXP) company focused on delivering personalized commerce experiences across web, mobile, and other digital touchpoints. It provides AI-powered search and merchandising (Discovery), content management (Content), and marketing automation (Engagement) tailored for commerce.

Core Products include:

Bloomreach Discovery: AI-driven product discovery (search, merchandising, recommendations)

Bloomreach Content: Headless CMS optimized for commerce

Bloomreach Engagement: Customer data and marketing automation platform (acquired as Exponea in 2021)

Bloomreache's key sectors include Retail, B2B ecommerce, manufacturing, travel & hospitality, and financial services — essentially any sector that operates digital storefronts or commerce sites.

Over 1,200 brands utilize Bloomreach products including Puma, Bosch, FC Bayern Munich, Staples, and Albertsons.

 

Bloomreach has raised over $450M raised from investors such as Bain Capital Ventures, NEA, Battery Ventures, Sixth Street, and Goldman Sachs and was last valued at $2.2 billion as of the last reported round in 2022.

 

Main Topics of Conversation

 

1. Consumer Adoption of AI in Shopping

60% of U.S. consumers say they use AI in shopping already.

Conversational shopping is gaining ground, with high trust metrics.

Bloomreach’s study reveals shifting expectations in how users want to engage with shopping experiences.

 

2. Changing Nature of Search and the Rise of Conversational Commerce

Consumers are moving from keyword searches to natural language and conversational interfaces.

Raj discusses how Bloomreach is seeing longer, expressive search queries and how that is reshaping product discovery.

Conversational agents (like Bloomreach Clarity) act more like in-store assistants online, fielding questions about sizing, returns, and even fashion advice.

 

3. "Buy it for me" Agents and the Future of Delegated Shopping

The idea that agents will eventually make purchases for consumers, not just guide them.

While still in its early stages, Raj notes that this shift has begun—especially for routine or replenishable purchases.

 

4. The Future of Google and Classical Search

Discussion around how traditional search models are under pressure.

Raj believes exploratory shopping doesn’t work well in keyword search environments—and AI agents will take over that space.

Google’s profitability in click-based ads creates tension with moving toward conversational AI, even though it's inevitable.

 

5. Monetization Models in the AI World

Raj outlines the three paths: ad-supported, subscription-based, and transactional.

Google, OpenAI, and others must decide where they fall, and each model has structural implications.

Bloomreach doesn’t serve consumers directly, but builds tools for brands to create their own monetizable agentic experiences.

 

6. Vision of Agentic Commerce

Raj paints a future where every shopper has a personal AI agent.

Brands, powered by Bloomreach, will have their own agents that converse and transact on their behalf.

Shopping becomes a dialogue—“a friend in a store, scaled digitally.”

 

7. Role of Commerce Platforms in the Agentic Future

Commerce platforms (like Shopify) must offer modular services via API—checkout, payments, promos—so agents can transact.

Raj credits Shopify’s Shop Pay as a standout example of agent-ready commerce infrastructure.

 

8. Experimentation, AI Measurement, and Customer Impact

Bloomreach bakes A/B testing into every AI feature—from vector search to marketing agents.

Raj shares a 20–25% lift in revenue per visit when using conversational agents like Clarity—remarkable results that validate the shift.

 

9. Guardrails and Hallucination Control

Hallucinations are a major concern for brands.

Bloomreach addresses this by localizing AI to each brand’s corpus—product data, tone, approved messaging.

Their platform allows customers to configure tone, guardrails, and boundaries to avoid generic hallucinations.

 

10. People, Process, and the Challenge of Change Management

The biggest challenge isn’t the tech—it’s changing how brands operate.

People and process are the bottlenecks. Helping brands modernize how they market, personalize, and engage is the hard work ahead.

 

Broader Implications

This episode isn't just about Bloomreach—it’s about how retail will be reshaped at the infrastructure level. Raj argues for a shift from "websites" to "agentic front ends," rethinking not just UX, but the entire stack: data, personalization, automation, and platform interoperability.