Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
The Arc Of History
The Browser Company is backed by tech elite like Instacart CEO Fidji Simo, Medium founder Ev Williams, Zoom founder and CEO Eric Yuan and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
TBC makes a browser called Arc, and this week it launched the search app Arc Search, neither of which monetize with ads or affiliate links.
But TBC faces an impossible road to profitability. Someday, perhaps, they’ll have to charge?
Neeva, a search and browser startup co-founded by Google vets, had the same issue. It was acqui-hired by Snowflake.
How does a challenger replace Apple or Google when they’re playing their game?
TBC founder and CEO Josh Miller took to Twitter the day of the Arc Search release because, despite being the No. 1 search result in the morning and seeing a strong flow of organic downloads, it sunk down the App Store rankings over the day.
Nikita Bier, who founded and sold the social app Gas to Discord and TBH to Facebook, chimed in with a reason why.
TBC hadn’t accompanied the launch with a big ol’ Apple Search budget. Bier suggested TBC begin an Apple Search campaign, then have employees rerun installs via searches and choreograph new users to find the app by search, scrolling and downloading.
By flattering Apple into thinking it’s generating installs, the app’s ranking will improve.
Good luck upending the system.
The Parent Trap
The FTC is considering restrictions on how online platforms can monetize kids’ data.
Several states have passed laws restricting data collection for minors, while some might try to outright ban minors from social media.
And social media companies have responded with controls for parents over their kids’ accounts and browsing.
The only problem? Hardly anyone uses those controls, The Washington Post reports.
As of a year ago, 10% of teen user profiles on Instagram enabled parental controls, and a single-digit percentage had changed any settings. Research conducted by Meta found that parents don’t know the controls existed or how to use them.
Meta also introduced separate features for parents to monitor their kids’ Instagram use, but a convoluted registration process resulted in only hundreds signing up.
The low rate of adoption of Meta’s parental controls is a blow to the idea that platforms can self-regulate. Industry analysts say most of the solutions proposed by the platforms shift responsibility to parents, rather than companies themselves taking responsibility for kids on their platforms.
The AI Way
WPP laid out its AI strategy during its investor day, with plans to invest 250 million euros ($317 million) in 2024, Adweek reports.
The agency holdco has an AI platform, WPP Open, which it hopes could span media, creative production and commerce practices.
WPP’s news comes days after Publicis Groupe announced it would invest 300 million euros ($327 million) over the next three years on generative AI, including a forthcoming AI platform called CoreAI.
WPP may push aggressively into AI to prove to investors it can navigate a long-term turnaround. Its share value has declined by almost a fifth over the past five years, compared to Publicis (up 60%), IPG (up more than 40%) and Omnicom (up 20%).
But AI alone won’t be enough. WPP must find savings of 175 million euros ($222 million) this year. Last week, for instance, it combined PR agencies Hill & Knowlton and BCW into one entity, Burson.
But Wait, There’s More!
Overheard at IAB ALM. [Digiday]
Google expands conversational chat product, which replaces account support services and campaign creation with its Gemini AI. [Search Engine Land]
Apple says the UK could ‘secretly veto’ global privacy tools with new potential regulatory powers. [BBC]
Adobe ditches plans to build a competitive web design product in the wake of its failed $20 billion Figma acquisition. [Bloomberg]
You’re Hired!
Brand Metrics announces four senior-level hires. [release]
EXTE hires Matthew Doherty as CEO of North America. [release]
PubMatic promotes Robin Steinberg to SVP of advertiser solutions. [release]
IPG promotes Danny Robinson to CEO of The Martin Agency. [release]
