# Amazon Ads vs Criteo: which do AI models recommend for retail media, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Retail media platforms. Six of fourteen models named Amazon Ads first on the direct prompt; one named Criteo. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/retail-media-platforms/amazon-ads-vs-criteo/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Ads | 33% | #1 of 9 | 2% | 43 | 14 of 14 |
| Criteo | 2% | #6 of 9 | 13% | 15 | 9 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Grok 4.1 Fast: amazon ads first (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: Walmart Connect)
- Mistral Small: amazon ads first (first choices: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect) (alternatives: Pacvue, Quartile)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: amazon ads first (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: AdLib, Microsoft Advertising, Walmart Connect)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: amazon ads first (first choices: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect) (alternatives: Criteo, Target Roundel, Teikametrics)
- MiniMax M2.5: amazon ads first (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: Best Buy Ads, Criteo Commerce Media Platform, Walmart Connect)
- GPT-6 Luna: amazon ads first (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: Pacvue)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: criteo first (first choices: Criteo, Mirakl Ads) (alternatives: Moloco Retail Media Platform, Osmos)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Walmart Connect) (alternatives: Amazon Ads, Criteo, Pacvue)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Faire, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager) (alternatives: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: Microsoft Advertising) (alternatives: Amazon Business Ads, Criteo, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Moloco Retail Media Platform)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: Demandbase, StackAdapt) (alternatives: Amazon, Home Depot's retail media network)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Pacvue) (alternatives: CitrusAd, Kevel, Mirakl Ads, Skai)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: StackAdapt) (alternatives: Criteo Retail Media)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named

## What the models said about Amazon Ads

- "Start with Amazon Ads if your B2B products appear on Amazon ... it has the broadest tools, mid-market accessibility, and some B2B extensions." (Grok 4.1 Fast, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Amazon Ads (including Amazon Business and the DSP) is the most practical "best-fit" retail-media platform for most mid-market B2B companies." (MiniMax M2.5, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Amazon remains the default for many brands due to its scale, mature tools, and proven performance. However, it can be competitive and expensive." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, comparative prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Criteo

- "Platforms to AVOID with Limited Budgets ... Built for scale; requires large catalogs" (Kimi K2, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "entry threshold is high — self-serve starts around $10K/month ... likely too steep for a mid-market B2B company" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt, soft negative)
- "Criteo is also repeatedly listed as best for cross-device targeting in retail media shortlists." (Muse Glimmer 30B, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Choose Criteo if you want a self-service retail media platform with campaign management and performance reporting." (Perplexity Sonar, paraphrase prompt, alternative)
- "pair it with a multi-network platform like Pacvue or Criteo to manage campaigns centrally" (GPT-5.4 mini, direct prompt, alternative)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.