Topsort Launches First Agentic Ad Format for Retail Media: Sponsored Prompts

Silicon Valley AI-native Commerce Infrastructure Company Topsort launches an AI-native ad format, turning conversational moments into product discovery with auction-based retail media infrastructure

PALO ALTO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / April 22, 2026 / Topsort, an AI-native, auction-based commerce infrastructure company that specializes in retail media, today launched the first agentic ad format – Sponsored Prompts. a new ad format designed to help marketplaces monetize chat interfaces and agent-driven product discovery.

As marketplaces expand into conversational interfaces, a growing share of high-intent product discovery is happening inside chatbot interactions. However, most of these surfaces operate without a monetization layer, creating a gap between shopper intent and retail media revenue.

Sponsored Prompts extends retail media infrastructure into that environment. Instead of introducing a new system, it builds on the sponsored listings auctions, campaign structure, and product catalog that marketplaces already run today.

“For the past two years, we’ve been asking ourselves: What if search goes away? What if the 70% of retail media that is built on it becomes something completely different?” said Regina Ye, CEO of Topsort. “We believe the answer is still state-of-the-art AI technology, auctions, and becoming really good at recommending the right products at the right moment, or even predicting the moment. Agentic commerce is a big topic, and Sponsored Prompts reflects our vision for what Topsort will do in the AI-native era, where marketplaces need to be even more relevant in advertising.”

Turn Chatbot Prompts into Auction-Eligible Inventory
Delivered through a dedicated Topsort MCP server, Sponsored Prompts connects chatbot interactions directly to campaign execution. When a shopper enters a prompt, the system evaluates intent and matches it to relevant advertiser campaigns using semantic understanding rather than keyword-based targeting.

If a match exists, Topsort returns a blended set of sponsored and organic product tiles, with sponsored placements prioritized. This allows marketplaces to introduce monetization while maintaining relevant recommendations and a consistent shopper experience.

Through this approach, marketplaces can:

Monetize a new high-intent surface
Turn chatbot product queries into auction-eligible inventory, adding a revenue layer to conversational interactions that typically generate no yield.

Capture demand expressed in natural language
Match free-form shopper prompts to advertiser campaigns using semantic intent, expanding reach beyond predefined keywords.

Activate using existing campaigns and catalog
Run Sponsored Prompts on the same sponsored listing infrastructure, without creating new workflows or retraining advertisers.

Maintain relevance and user experience
Blend sponsored and organic results together, ensuring shoppers continue to receive useful and contextual recommendations.

Scale across chatbot and agent experiences
Integrate once through the MCP server and extend monetization across multiple conversational surfaces without additional engineering overhead.

Built for the AI-Native Future of Commerce
Sponsored Prompts reflects Topsort’s investment in building infrastructure for how commerce is evolving. As conversational interfaces become a more prominent part of product discovery, marketplaces will need monetization systems that operate natively within those experiences rather than around them.

By combining semantic matching, auction-based decisioning, and existing campaign infrastructure, Sponsored Prompts enables marketplaces to extend retail media into conversation without adding complexity.

Sponsored Prompts is available now for all Topsort customers. Advertiser spend is billed through the existing sponsored listings model when products from sponsored prompt campaigns are shown.

For more information or to request a demo, visit www.topsort.com.

-ENDS-

About Topsort
Topsort is a Silicon Valley based AI-native commerce infrastructure company that specializes in retail media, working with 100+ retailers in 40+ countries worldwide, including Coles, DoorDash, Woolworths, and Falabella.

Media Contact
Holly Zeng
Marketing, Communications and Public Relations
pr@topsort.com

SOURCE: Topsort

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