Scouting Out AI Search
Yahoo is trying to convince publishers and media buyers that it’s not like other companies jumping on the AI bandwagon.
During its NewFronts event this week, Yahoo touted its AI-based answer engine as a centerpiece of its efforts to bolster ad targeting and user experience. Yahoo Scout entered beta in the US in January.
One major differentiator for Yahoo Scout is that it belongs to a digital publisher that’s losing web traffic to the likes of Google’s AI Overviews. “We’re a top publisher whose content is also taken by other AI answer engines that drive little to no traffic back to publishers” due to inadequate source citation, said CEO Jim Lanzone from the NewFronts stage.
By comparison, he said, Yahoo Scout’s interface is “full of links” that, when paired with personalized responses to queries, could incentivize users to visit a publisher’s website – including one of Yahoo’s.
“For AI answer engines to exist at all, the publishers who create the content from which these answers derive have to survive in this AI era, too,” Lanzone said.
Naturally, Yahoo’s business model raises questions about whether – and to what extent – Yahoo Scout will elevate links to Yahoo-owned sites over other publishers.
But perhaps these are questions we can leave until next year’s NewFronts.
Unclipped
A week ago, we called attention to the rise of a social-native form of promotional post called “yappers.”
Now we’re back with “clippers,” a social phenomenon where creators are paid to pare down podcasts, movies, livestreams, songs or any type of medium-to-long format into more shareable seconds-long clips for TikTok and Instagram feeds.
But we’re not talking about star creators with name recognition here. The “elite clippers” run hundreds of accounts rather than focusing on building one single account into the millions.
Top clippers can earn tens of thousands of dollars per month, including a retainer. With a monthly retainer, “we can ask them to post 20 or 30 times a month, instead of whenever they feel like it,” Evan Stanfield, co-founder of clip marketing agency Clipping Culture, tells Business Insider.
For others, though, it’s just a low-lift side hustle that promises a couple of bucks per 1,000 views, with additional incentives for true viral hits.
“These clippers have become an ecosystem and a community out there that kind of know what they’re doing, and know the pros and cons of it,” says Johnny Cloherty, CEO of Genni, which hosts a marketplace for clipper gigs.
Drafting The Agencies
The US Army has begun laying the groundwork for a review of its advertising business, putting Omnicom’s grip on one of the largest government accounts under pressure, Ad Age reports.
On March 12, the Army issued a sources sought notice – a government tool to scout vendor interest – alongside a request for information (RFI), both early signs that a formal review will happen ahead of 2028, which is when the contract expires.
Omnicom’s relationship with the Army dates back to 2018, when DDB Chicago won the account. DDB Chicago was later folded into TBWA following Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG.
While the contract carries a value of $4 billion, only a fraction flows to the agency as revenue, with the majority spread across media, production and a network of partners. What may matter more is the structure. The RFI indicates that the Army is open to a multi-agency model, a shift that would chip away at Omnicom’s share.
The review comes at an interesting moment for the Army. After years of missing recruitment targets, it’s recently regained its footing and even exceeded its 2025 goals. Riding that momentum, maybe the Army feels like it’s time for a change.
But Wait! There’s More!
A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay over $375 million over child safety violations. [NYT]
On top of that, Meta and YouTube have both been found liable by a California jury in a landmark social media addiction trial. [CBS]
Oh, and Meta cut 700 jobs in its Reality Labs metaverse division, in addition to some positions across Facebook, sales and recruiting. It’s the second time Meta has cut hundreds of jobs this year and coincides with the rollout of a new stock program for its six top executives. [NYT]
And finally – just one more Meta-related thing, we promise – President Trump still plans to install Mark Zuckerberg, along with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, to a technology panel. [WSJ]
After OpenAI announced that it’s shutting down its Sora video generation app, Disney exited its $1 billion deal with OpenAI to license Disney’s characters for video creation. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Predictive behavioral intelligence platform ZeroToOne.AI acquired GroundTruth, an advertising and measurement platform and owner of the Weatherbug app. [release]
