Artificial Intelligence

Enjoy this weekly comic from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Walmart Connect’s deal with The Trade Desk isn’t so exclusive anymore; Amazon is competing with everyone except publishers; and Meta’s chatbots don’t exactly inspire confidence in the company’s ability to deliver effective AI tools.

Human-made content will remain the most important source of information for consumers online. And our appreciation for human expression will only grow as we experience derivative outputs created by AI models.

Paul Longo, GM of AI in ads at Microsoft Advertising, breaks down what it means to bring ads into conversational experiences and how AI-powered tools are changing the way advertisers work. Plus: Microsoft may be shutting down the Xandr DSP next year, but that doesn’t mean Microsoft is getting out of the ad tech game.

Almost a decade ago, running multiple retargeters across the same user base was a recipe for inefficiency. But the landscape shifted, and the data makes that clear.

People Inc. – the former Dotdash Meredith – is fighting on multiple fronts to keep its business growing as Google Search declines precipitously as a source of referral traffic.

Google’s former SSP practices are the legal gift that keeps giving; Perplexity has been disregarding robots.txt files; and ads prop up a large chunk of the US economy.

Coinbase is getting into ads; Etsy can’t rely on search ads for very long; and Zuckerberg wants to buy AI companies.

Enjoy this weekly comic from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Meta is making a massive investment in AI because “we have a conviction that superintelligence is going to improve every aspect of what we do,” Mark Zuckerberg told investors.

DSPs are building tools to bypass SSPs, and SSPs are trying to cut out the buy side. But the real question in the noise is whether the technology improves effectiveness, says Kara Puccinelli, chief customer officer at Nexxen, which just so happens to describe itself as an end-to-end platform.

FC Barcelona is giving the beautiful game an AI-powered upgrade.

Reddit is surging with advertiser demand; not everyone is Substack material; and Trump released his AI Action Plan.

Ad agency hold cos have broadcasted their earnings. As AI and acquisitions transform their businesses, there are clear winners and losers. With media as a strong spot, we discuss the paradox of “transparent nontransparency.”

Carat is using “people-powered” AI to build agents that understand how to best reach specific audience personas.

Amazon acquires AI-equipped wearable manufacturer Bee; the UK’s CMA shares competition guidelines for Google and Apple; and AI models may be learning from each other in unexpected, potentially harmful, ways.

From one perspective, publishers are up a creek thanks to the rise of generative AI search; the impact on discoverability and traffic is palpable. But that doesn’t mean publishers can’t adapt and find new ways to make money, says Mediavine CRO Amanda Martin.

Marketing zippers is harder than you think; What should the new SEO be called? And TV-era consumer brands are all-in on influencers.

Pixels attached to articles explaining a recent health diagnosis – without consent  – led Healthline to a record $1.55 million fine for violating CCPA. Plus: the new AI contract.

Enjoy this weekly comic from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

The rapid evolution of generative AI technology has created uncertainty between brands and their agencies. But finding answers can be difficult when advertisers often don’t even know what questions to ask.

The Trade Desk makes the S&P 500, triggering a stock price rebound; Estée Lauder is the latest big legacy brand to embrace influencers; and CMOs are trying to measure their return on AI, but it’s tricky.

Nextdoor isn’t ruling out AI data licensing, but it has concerns; NBCU touts sports and streaming as drivers of its record Upfronts; and Scholastic follows kids and parents to YouTube.

The IAB Tech Lab’s new initiative suggests regulations for how AI bots can access content, ensuring that publishers are fairly compensated.

Hearst has seen improvements in addressability between 30% and 200% since introducing AURA, its AI-powered ad targeting solution, last year.

Enjoy this weekly comic from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Amazon locked in two more publishers for its AI shopping engine; AI companies are working on web browsers now; and platforms have a hard time telling AI from reality.

Generative AI tech is hurting publisher search traffic, but it’s also helping pubs optimize their ad sales efforts. The head of publisher ad tech solutions for AWS explains how AI is transforming how advertisers value media and the implications for publishers large and small.

YouTube accounts are uploading recent Hollywood movies, racking up views while advertisers (and sometimes creators) remain in the dark. Plus: Could Cloudflare’s AI bot blockers provide a salve for digital media’s traffic declines?

AI Overviews are even dinging Google Search ads’ traffic; WPP downgrades its earnings forecast; and Google’s AI competitors launch their own web browsers.