X-AT Launch Event

Date : Thursday 15th October 2026 – start at 12:00pm

Guest speaker: Christopher Huggins, Head of Department – Conversational Commerce (Conversational AI) at Virgin Media O2

Venue: Rotunda Bar and Restaurant, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG

Join us! RSVP here 

To mark the launch of our new Conversation AI ad platform X-AT, we are bringing together a curated group of AdTech leaders for a private roundtable lunch, joined by guest speaker Christopher Huggins. 

 

The ad click is the wrong destination. 

Digital advertising is built around a click that sends consumers somewhere else. Most of those clicks are wasted. The average display ad achieves a 0.27% click-through rate. 60% of those clicks are accidental. 54% of consumers say they don’t click banner ads because they don’t trust them. 

 

Consumers have moved on. They research in conversations, not clicks. They expect answers, not redirects. 

Conversational ad formats change that equation. Microsoft’s own platform data shows conversational ad placements generate 73% higher click-through rates and 16% stronger conversion than traditional search advertising. Consumers who interact with AI during a shopping journey convert at nearly four times the rate of those who don’t. 

 

About X-AT:
C-Centric’s Cross-site Agentic Transfer (X-AT) brings that conversational experience into publisher environments — without disrupting them. A consumer seeing a brand’s ad can ask questions, explore products and take action without leaving the page they’re on. 

 

Depending on the advertiser, they can: 

  • Research the product via AI agent, in the page 
  • Book an appointment or request a callback 
  • Transfer to a human or AI agent via WhatsApp 
  • Bookmark the product to return to later 
  • Follow a deep link directly to the specific product — only if they choose to 

 

The brand receives the full context of the conversation alongside every lead. 

 

Does it work?
In a live deployment on a major UK price comparison site, X-AT produced an 83% increase in sales compared with standard ad formats. 8% of all sales on the platform came directly from AI conversations. Conversion rates for AI-assisted visits were double those without. 

 

Why now?
IAB Tech Lab is actively standardising the underlying protocols X-AT is built on — MCP and A2A — as part of its Agentic Advertising Management Protocols (AAMP) initiative. McKinsey projects that 10–35% of all e-commerce transactions will be initiated, influenced or completed through AI-native experiences within the next few years. Consumer receptivity to advertising has reached 58% — the highest level recorded — driven by formats that feel relevant and contextual rather than interruptive (Kantar Media Reactions 2025).
 

X-AT is built for the way consumers already behave — and the infrastructure the industry is converging around.

More about the guest speaker: 

Christopher Huggins is an expert in Conversational AI and digital transformation. He specialises in turning emerging technology into scalable customer experiences and measurable commercial outcomes. 

 

Since working at Virgin Media O2, Christopher has led the strategy and delivery of AI-powered customer experiences across conversational and digital channels — bringing together Product, Engineering, Architecture, UX, Data and technology partners to take ideas from strategy through to production.

 

He has also led AI capabilities operating at significant enterprise scale, with conversational channels contributing materially to digital sales, automation improving operational efficiency and AI increasingly augmenting both customers and colleagues.
 

We are excited for Christopher to join us at our event to discuss how AI in AdTech will improve consumer experience and commercial performance.  

 

If you are interested in attending C-Centric’s luncheon, please complete this form: https://www.ccentric.co.uk/rsvp-rotunda-luncheon/  

Contact us for more details:
david.barker@ccentric.co.uk