google

In a world being agentically orchestrated at scale, human judgment is the indispensable guardrail preventing us from optimizing right over the cliff.

Everyone’s investing in AppsFlyer; NBCU launches Rock Studios, a creative studio for brand integrations; and Meta wants to hop on the TV bandwagon.

Ask Ad Manger offers instant troubleshooting help when a campaign isn’t delivering as expected, ideally by diagnosing the problem and suggesting how to fix it.

Where will OpenAI put its ads?; YouTube may or may not be considered TV; and Uber and Lyft deals really are too good to be true.

Viant creates a direct pipeline between its DSP and media companies; Google and TTD won’t renew their TAG accreditations; and OpenAI may lower the cost of tokens.

The pitch for dynamic take rates is reasonable. Total volume goes up, and the publisher sees more impressions clearing. But the problem is where the extra volume comes from. 

Amazon has third parties selling some of its ad inventory; Scope3 selling Adloox to Peer39 suggests sustainability is out; and “fabric” is the new AI-related buzzword for ad tech.

The programmatic intelligence layer is owned by the same parties that are extracting margin from it. That structure is now being dismantled by an AI-underpinned protocol that moves the intelligence layer into the open.

Agentic shopping is the next big thing. At least that’s the message from Google’s big annual conference for ad product updates.

Keywords, Kinda The tabs, they are a-changin’. As in, campaign analytics tabs and what they’re meant to show advertisers.  The biggest shift has been the move from “analytics” to “insights.” “Analytics” used to mean detailed, exportable data that brands could plug into their own systems. “Insights,” by contrast, are curated summaries and useful-sounding takeaways about […]

The DOJ targets another Google Search ad scam; ICE relies on “advertising intelligence” and support from Palantir to ramp up deportations; and TikTok now lets you book vacations in its app.

People Inc. previewed plans to downsize by focusing mainly on its key properties. The strategy makes sense considering its publishing portfolio has lost about two-thirds of its Google traffic.

Google is launching Meridian Studio, an enterprise version of its Meridian media mix modeling platform and an updated open-source version of its GeoX tool for measuring incrementality across geos. 

Going viral isn’t great; AI search is a nightmare; and CTV is forcing everyone to get along.

Generative AI search has pushed traffic off a cliff across most of the internet, but not on social platforms. Reddit included.

Google announced new features and ad types for AI Max, its AI-based bidding product for search and shopping or sponsored product ads. The company also touted “hundreds of thousands” of advertisers using AI Max.

Alphabet earned $109.9 billion in Q1 this year, up from $90.2 billion a year ago. And that’s not even the truly gobsmacking number.

With its new funding, commerce data platform Chord plans to help brands access their data more easily by unifying it within one platform.

A proposed standard under discussion at W3C aims to redefine how ad effectiveness is measured across the web. This proposal would centralize measurement of ad effectiveness under the control of Google, Apple and Meta.

Law firm Keller Postman is leading mass arbitration suits against Google, seeking advertiser damages for alleged monopoly overpricing. The total available pot is a quarter-trillion dollars.

Surprise! Platforms ignore users opting out of ad tracking; the marketing machine claims credit for Geese’s popularity; and Meta’s MAGA-friendly moderation makes an unforced error.

ChatGPT’s ads manager leaves something to be desired; beware booking vacations via search ad; and YouTube is jacking up its premium prices again.

Now that we have not one but two reporters covering the CTV advertising space, we thought we’d try something different and share the roundup newsletter this week!

Netflix’s MLB streaming is heavy on the ads; the anti-AI movement gains traction; the court dismissed X’s antitrust allegations.

Judge tosses Helena World Chronicle case against Google; Apple will introduce ads to Maps; EU broadcasters push DMA “gatekeeper” label for Big Tech in CTV.

Marketers debate whether to build or buy their tools; Meta is shutting down the VR version of Horizon Worlds; and influencer marketing strives for authenticity.

Publicis recommends some clients ditch The Trade Desk; ChatGPT reconsiders its “unlimited” enterprise subscription; and how NYC’s Washington Square Park became an influencer hub.

Criteo joins OpenAI’s ad pilot; Google considers making its own AI landing pages; and the Supreme Court passes its own judgement (kinda) on AI.

The surveillance state targets state employee’s vehicles; Belgium targets Google’s ad tech business; and brands embrace being targeted by trolls.

The problems with FAST’s rapid growth; streaming viewers get a bot-powered alternative to subscriptions and ads; and IAS uncovers a mobile app fraud network that infected millions of devices.