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

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

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instacart Ads | 2% | #5 of 9 | 14% | 29 | 14 of 14 |
| Criteo | 2% | #6 of 9 | 13% | 15 | 9 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- 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)
- Kimi K2: neither first, one named (first choices: Microsoft Advertising) (alternatives: Amazon Business Ads, Criteo, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Moloco Retail Media Platform)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect) (alternatives: Criteo, Target Roundel, Teikametrics)
- 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)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: Walmart Connect)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect) (alternatives: Pacvue, Quartile)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: AdLib, Microsoft Advertising, Walmart Connect)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: Faire, Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager) (alternatives: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: Best Buy Ads, Criteo Commerce Media Platform, Walmart Connect)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: Amazon Ads) (alternatives: Pacvue)

## 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)

## 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.