• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, 4 hours ago

Advertisers may think agentic creates another audience they need to reach online, but Phil Camarota, chief creative officer at Omnicom’s Flywheel Digital and president of the 2026 Creative Commerce Lions Jury, believes there is still only one — humans.

“AI agentic agents act as facilitators, as they try to give people what they look for, rewarding content based on queries and requests,” Camarota said. “The pendulum could swing too far in one direction if we try to appease the bots.”

Agentic agents see content differently, but view it the same way, he said.

For instance, he explained, in a video of a woman discussing a skincare brand, talking about trying everything to reduce undereye puffiness without success, the algorithm will identify a “problem” followed by a “hook.”

The person watching the video would recognize an individual struggling, see the product solution, and then witness the resulting transformation.

Omnicom agreed and then fully acquired Flywheel Digital for $835 million in October 2023, which likely prompted the integration of AI into digital commerce.

Camarota has spent more than two decades helping brands like AT&T, PepsiCo, SC Johnson, Hershey, and LEGO connect creativity with real commerce outcomes and now leads creative for Flywheel’s Total Commerce approach. 

“All agentic commerce is creative commerce,” he said. “We are defining the term and experiences, because it has never existed before, and we are seeing what’s possible in real time.”

A grocery store retailer, for example, will offer agentic agents as a personal shopper, chef and advisor. Based on the consumer’s request, they will provide insights for a diet, allergy, or budget constraint.

When asked whether he has used an agent to make a purchase, Camarota explained how he purchased a car based on information the agent returned. This allowed him to decide on the brand and model to buy, but he did not allow the agent to purchase the car for him.

The agent provided information about the car and key aspects of how to negotiate the price, and allowed him to understand the amount of time a car might sit on a lot, and how it gives the consumer negotiating power for the price.

ChatGPT took into consideration the behavior of the consumer and which type of cars and trucks they might like. After reducing the choices, ChatGPT then considered budget, which dealers have it, and negotiation tactics to get the best price possible.

The brand does not need a relationship with ChatGPT, but with advertising in the bot that may change, Camarota said.