Napster’s CEO is rebuilding the company around conversational AI agents that show up on the website, the phone line, and the showroom floor.

John Acunto has spent more than 25 years building companies across music, media, gaming, and advertising, with five exits behind him. Now, he’s reshaping Napster as an AI company with the same challenger posture that defined its first act.

“One of the most energizing aspects of being CEO of Napster is the ability and responsibility to live in tomorrow,” he said. “We don’t just ask, ‘What’s next?’ but ‘How does this play out over the next 20 to 30 years?’ And the answer to that question inevitably requires us to look at the impacts of AI on the future of media and commerce.”

The web still doesn’t answer back

Most commerce sites work the way they did a decade ago. A visitor lands, scrolls, guesses, and leaves. Online conversion rates hover between 2.5% and 3%, according to Napster research.

“Today’s websites leave too much on the table,” Acunto said. “What consumers want is the equivalent of the best in-store sales associate: someone who knows their needs, makes relevant suggestions, and helps them discover new products. Most businesses simply don’t have that online. We’re here to change it.”

Napster Agent is the company’s answer. A business pastes in a website URL, and the platform builds an AI specialist grounded in that site’s own content. No code, no training data, no prompt engineering. The agent holds a live video conversation with visitors, answers from the company’s actual pages and product documentation, and integrates directly with Shopify and WooCommerce catalogs to handle recommendations, cart management, and checkout guidance.

Video presence is the part that really changes customer behavior. A specialist with a face, a voice, and memory of the last conversation improves engagement and business outcomes, as shown by Napster’s work with Spa Grand Prix, the organizer of the F1 Belgian Grand Prix. Spa saw a 70% lift in clickthroughs to checkout from visitors that used Napster’s agentic solution vs. the static site, to the tune of nearly $300,000 in anticipated additional revenue in just 30 days.

One agent across every channel

But the website is one surface. Napster’s biggest differentiator is bringing the same agent to every surface, so the customer interacts with one persona with persistent memory across online, phone, and in-person kiosk experiences.

That capability is central to Napster’s relationship with Microsoft, one of the cornerstones of its partnership ecosystem. Napster API launched in May 2026 as an Azure Native Solution, available directly in the Azure Portal. In August, the company added Session Initiation Protocol support, putting Napster agents on existing call center phone infrastructure in any language, with escalation paths to human staff. The API integrates with Microsoft Foundry and is transactable through the Microsoft Marketplace, so Azure customers can find, buy, and deploy through the procurement relationships they already have.

That same agent identity extends into physical environments through Napster Station, an AI concierge built for high-traffic spaces like hotels, stadiums, and convention centers, and to the desktop through Napster View, a $99 holographic display recognized by Tom’s Guide as one of 20 AI products shaping how consumers interact with AI.

Owning the customer relationship

For Acunto, the through-line is data ownership.

“Most businesses feel beholden to large tech intermediaries that limit their view of the customer,” he said. “We believe owning the customer relationship, and the data that comes with it, is existential. Without it, you’re building on borrowed ground.”

That principle traces back further than the current product line. Napster was founded on democratizing access, first to music in 1999, now to expertise in the AI era. The company that once put a music catalog in front of anyone with an internet connection is now pointing the same idea at specialized knowledge.

“We’re investing heavily in AI to ensure our customers are ready for the internet’s next act,” Acunto added. “What will not change is our challenger mindset, making bold decisions, empowering businesses to own their data, and creating immersive, personalized experiences that consumers love. That’s how Napster stays true to its legacy while leading in a new era.”