Our CEO, Jake Fuller, was recently featured in a forward-looking eMarketer report on the state of affiliate marketing (membership required), and the timing couldn’t be more critical. The affiliate channel is more powerful than ever—projected to drive over $215 billion in e-commerce sales this year alone on its way to nearly $290 billion by 2028.
Yet, as the channel reaches new heights, it faces its most significant disruption yet: the rise of generative AI.
The AI Challenge to Attribution
The core value of affiliate marketing has always been its measurability. Brands invest in the channel because they can track performance and measure return. As generative AI and chatbots become a primary tool for consumer discovery, that fundamental value is being challenged.
When a user gets a product recommendation from an AI and makes a purchase, how is that tracked? How do we attribute value to the content partners that informed the AI’s response? This is the central problem.
As Jake noted in the eMarketer piece, this is a critical issue that demands immediate attention:
“Brands still say, ‘I want the ability to track and measure these efforts against our KPIs.’ Everybody’s unit economics depend on being able to track and attribute affiliate transactions.”
Without a clear path to attribution in an AI-driven world, the performance-based model that underpins the entire industry is at risk.
Our Perspective: A Call for Proactive Innovation
This isn’t a doomsday scenario; it’s a call to action. The affiliate industry has always adapted, and this time is no different. Now is the moment for brands, agencies, publishers, and technology platforms to collaborate on new standards and solutions for attribution.
At JEBCommerce, we are committed to navigating this complexity head-on, ensuring our clients are positioned to thrive in the next era of digital commerce. The future of affiliate isn’t just about growth—it’s about building a resilient, measurable, and intelligent channel ready for what’s next.
