# Amazon Ads vs Instacart Ads: 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; zero named Instacart Ads. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/retail-media-platforms/amazon-ads-vs-instacart-ads/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Ads | 33% | #1 of 9 | 2% | 43 | 14 of 14 |
| Instacart Ads | 2% | #5 of 9 | 14% | 29 | 14 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)
- 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)
- 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
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Microsoft Advertising) (alternatives: Amazon Business Ads, Criteo, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Moloco Retail Media Platform)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither named (first choices: Criteo, Mirakl Ads) (alternatives: Moloco Retail Media Platform, Osmos)

## 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 Instacart Ads

- "such as Swiftly and Instacart Ads, have limited third-party review coverage, making it harder to validate their performance and reliability" (Mistral Small, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "API rate limits can bottleneck high-volume advertisers, the schema has quarterly breaking changes requiring connector maintenance" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Instacart Ads if you are not a grocery/CPG brand, need scale beyond its audience" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Amazon Advertising or Instacart Ads (if in grocery/FMCG) offer the best combination of low barriers to entry" (Kimi K2, budget prompt, first choice)
- "If you are a CPG brand trying to win the digital or physical grocery cart, prioritize Instacart and Kroger." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, comparative prompt, alternative)
- "If you sell grocery products and your customers shop through Instacart, its ads may be a better fit" (GPT-6 Luna, budget 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.