“The real danger isn’t that AI will take agency jobs. It’s that agencies that don’t use AI will lose their clients to the ones that do.” – Matt O’Daly

In Episode 4 of the Ultra Commerce Podcast, Jamie sat down with Matt O’Daly, Delivery & Technology Strategy Director at SQLI, whose career spans Magento, Adobe, Shopify, and more. Beyond his day job, Matt is also a luthier, building custom guitars in his spare time, bringing a craftsman’s eye for detail to the fast-moving agency world.

The conversation explored how agencies are adapting to AI, the shift from builders to consultants, and why personalization is quickly becoming an expectation rather than a luxury.

You can listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify or view our episode page.

The AI Pressure Every Merchant Feels

Matt noted that every client he works with is asking about AI. Businesses know they need to embrace it, but most don’t know where to start. The challenge isn’t a lack of interest, but a lack of clarity: what problems should AI solve first?

Agencies like SQLI are helping merchants focus on practical wins, starting with personalization and sales optimization. As consumer behavior shifts (whether through voice assistants, ChatGPT, or other AI-driven searches) being “top of the result” is becoming just as important as SEO once was. Rich product data and clear storytelling now play a decisive role in who gets recommended.

From Cookie-Cutter to Consultative

One of Matt’s strongest points was that agencies can no longer afford to sell cookie-cutter solutions. Every merchant has unique goals, challenges, and customer expectations. That means agencies must act less like builders of websites and more like strategic consultants, mapping customer challenges to the right tools and solutions.

This consultative approach is especially important in AI. As Matt explained, the tools are evolving so quickly that what looks promising today may disappear tomorrow. Merchants don’t just need someone to install software. They need a partner who can help them identify what’s relevant, sustainable, and uniquely valuable for their business.

Shifting Roles and Skills

The conversation also touched on how AI is reshaping agency work itself. Developers are being asked to deliver ten times faster, which means understanding how to challenge and refine AI outputs is as important as writing code. Junior talent may even have an advantage, being more open to using AI tools without clinging to older ways of working.

Meanwhile, roles like project managers are evolving too. With AI making it possible to create demos or proofs of concept independently, the focus shifts from managing delivery to crafting vision and strategy.

Creativity Meets Data

Both Jamie and Matt agreed that while AI excels at processing data, true creativity still comes from humans. The opportunity lies in pairing human insight with AI’s speed and scale. As Matt put it, AI can accelerate creativity by removing the steepest parts of the learning curve, allowing teams to focus on ideas, not just execution.

A Call to Action

The episode closed with a challenge: Jamie and Matt want to work with a merchant willing to go on record with their AI implementation journey, documenting the challenges and solutions step by step. The goal? To make the first “live consultancy” podcast series in e-commerce.

For merchants, this is a chance to shape the conversation on how AI really impacts retail.

Key Takeaway

The danger isn’t that AI will replace agencies. It’s that agencies that fail to adopt AI will lose clients to those who do. The winners will be those who combine technical tools with strategic consultancy, personalization, and creativity.