Nikhil Lai,

Nikhil Lai

Principal Analyst

Nikhil’s research focuses on the evolution of performance marketing, including commerce media, SEO and answer engine optimization (AEO), TV advertising, full-funnel advertising, AI-integrated advertising, and creative adtech. He helps clients with guidance sessions, inquiries, and advisories on the current and future states of performance marketing and channel-specific best practices.

Research Coverage

Planned Research

What research can you expect from Forrester in the next 12 months? Updated biweekly, our publishing plan will keep you current with market and technology trends. Use the link below to download a list of our upcoming research.

Download Planned Research
March 11th, 2026 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Peer Discussions

Why Answer Engines Should Be On Every Marketer’s Strategic Agenda

Conversations with marketers globally make it clear that answer engines are moving from an emerging topic to a strategic consideration — though there’s no single playbook yet. Join this peer discussion to hear from other heads of marketing at B2C organizations as they compare notes on where answer engines fit on the marketer agenda today and what questions they’re still working through. This peer discussion will be facilitated by Nikhil Lai, principal analyst, and Jen Sanning, VP and executive partner, so please bring your questions and experiences to share with the group. Questions for discussion:How are answer engines, such as ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode, changing how your consumers discover, evaluate, and commit to your brand and products?How is this changing consumer behavior impacting how you think about your growth strategies? What impact has this rapid consumer and market shift had on how you lead your teams and agency partners? Peer discussions are available exclusively to Forrester Decisions VIP Leaders and Leader license holders for their own participation.
March 19th, 2026 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Peer Discussions

Agents Of Change: How To Adapt To Agentic Commerce

Agentic commerce is atop many minds but vaguely understood. Is it an inflection point in buyers’ journeys or a fad? Digital business and marketing leaders must grasp its definition and potential. This conversation will be hosted by Emily Pfeiffer and Nikhil Lai and will include open discussion with participants, so please bring your questions and experiences to share with the group. Questions for discussion:What is agentic commerce and how will it evolve? What are the implications for owned channels (brand website) and non-owned channels (answer engines like ChatGPT)?How should digital business and marketing leaders adapt commerce search, product discovery, and answer engine optimization?Peer discussions are available exclusively to Forrester Decisions VIP Leaders and Leader license holders for their own participation.