#795: Resident Expert: Novi CEO Kimberly Shenk on how agentic AI changes buyer's journey

This episode is brought to you by Novi. Novi is the infrastructure powering brand growth in AI commerce. By connecting brands, certification bodies, and major retailers, Novi ensures verified product data is accurate, consistent, and surfaced where shoppers and AI models search, turning credibility into authority, visibility, and conversion. Learn more at noviconnect.com

As we look ahead to the next holiday season, will your marketing strategy even matter if an AI agent is making the final recommendation for the consumer?

Agility requires more than just the latest AI tools. It sometimes requires fundamentally re-engineering how your brand earns visibility and trust in an algorithm-driven world. It demands a shift from winning clicks on a search page to becoming the definitive answer for an AI agent.

Today, we're going to talk about how agentic AI is quietly becoming the new gatekeeper between brands and consumers, radically changing e-commerce discovery and purchase behavior, especially in the CPG and retail space.

To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Kimberly Shenk, CEO at Novi, our Resident Expert on AI-Driven Commerce. Kimberly, welcome to the show!

About Kimberly Shenk

Kimberly Shenk is co-founder and CEO of Novi, a technology company that helps CPG brands and retailers ensure consumers can easily discover and select their products when using AI assistants to shop. A serial tech entrepreneur, Shenk has led data science teams at early and midstage startups such as Eventbrite, Domino Data Labs and NakedPoppy, where she was a co-founder and Head of Product. Before transitioning to the private sector, Shenk served as a United States Air Force Captain for five years, holding the chief data scientist position at the Pacific Air Force headquarters in Hawaii. She holds a BS from the U.S. Air Force Academy and an MS in data science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2025, she was named to the Inc. Female Founders 500 list for a second time.

Kimberly Shenk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyshenk/

Resources

Novi: https://www.noviconnect.com/

This episode is brought to you by Novi. Novi is the infrastructure powering brand growth in AI commerce. By connecting brands, certification bodies, and major retailers, Novi ensures verified product data is accurate, consistent, and surfaced where shoppers and AI models search, turning credibility into authority, visibility, and conversion. Learn more at noviconnect.com

Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/

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