Sellers warned the AI gap is widening faster than they think

AI agents are no longer just answering questions; systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude now recommend products outright, and brands absent from those answers effectively do not exist to a growing share of shoppers. At the same time, TikTok Shop is generating a halo effect estimated at 60-70%, sending large volumes of demand back to Amazon, while most sellers have no strategy to capture it.

The sellers adapting fastest are automating operations with AI, replacing virtual assistant teams, generating creative at scale and running lean businesses in which one person does what once took a department. Observers warn the resulting gap between adopters and holdouts is widening daily.

These themes are the pitch behind an e-commerce and AI conference set for April 8-12 in Nashville, the fourteenth in a series that was voted a top-three e-commerce event in 2025. Organizers say speakers are chosen by invitation only and must still be active operators, with a lineup that includes a creator generating a billion organic views a month, a seller doing $21 million a year on TikTok Shop, and a well-known software company evangelist who publicly skipped the Prosper Show for the first time in eight years to attend.

The agenda spans omnichannel selling across Amazon, TikTok, Walmart and Shopify; becoming the recommended answer inside AI agents; workflow automation; high-converting creative at scale; and using email to multiply Amazon sales. Two stages split content by sophistication: a main stage with tactical material for newer sellers and an advanced stage aimed at operators doing $500,000 to $100 million or more, where the median top-tier attendee runs a $7.5 million business.

Beyond the stages, the event offers a drop-in problem-solving bar staffed by veteran sellers, more than 30 small roundtables, and a matchmaking session pairing brands with TikTok creators driving millions in merchandise value. Evening programming includes a themed welcome party on April 8, a rooftop gathering on April 9 and a cigar and whiskey night at a Nashville speakeasy on April 10.

Organizers report fewer than 146 Gold, 51 Platinum and 26 Diamond tickets remaining, with a 20% discount code bringing entry as low as $398.