The First Mile with MetaRouter

Send us a text AI doesn’t start with algorithms. It starts with data flow. In this episode of the First-Mile Podcast, we sit down with Patrick Harrington, Head of AI & Machine Learning at MetaRouter, to cut through the noise and talk about where real AI capability is actually being built. Patrick explains why most AI systems today still operate like archaeology—analyzing the past instead of shaping outcomes in the moment—and why the real breakthrough happens in the first mile, where data ...

Send us a text Retail media is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a core growth system. In this episode, Second-Gen Retail Media: It’s No Longer Just a Nice to Have, we sit down with Neerav Vyas, VP of Data & AI at Capgemini, to unpack how retail media is evolving from outsourced ad placements into owned, composable platforms that power real differentiation. We start with outcomes. Retail media inventory only works when it serves the shopper—think native sponsored listings, contextual placeme...

Send us a text

Send us a text What happens when shopping moves from websites to conversations? In this episode of The First Mile Podcast, host Dom Burch sits down with Patrick Harrington, Head of AI and Machine Learning at MetaRouter, to unpack one of the biggest shifts in digital commerce yet — the rise of agentic commerce, where AI agents like ChatGPT drive discovery, comparison, and checkout without ever visiting a website. From Walmart’s OpenAI partnership to the mechanics of the Agentic Commerce Protoc...

Discovery has moved from links to conversations, and that shift is rewriting how customers find, evaluate, and buy. We sit down with Patrick Harrington, head of AI and machine learning at MetaRouter, to unpack generative engine optimization—what it is, why it matters, and how marketers can align content, consent, and speed to win in an LLM‑first world. Patrick draws on experience across Walmart, Block, and Workday to map a clear path from theory to practice: treat the first mile of data as yo...