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Daily Mail’s ad-light subscription soars; YouTube Shorts takes another cue from TikTok; and MAGNA predicts an ad spend slump due to tariff-induced uncertainty.

Many in the industry see Google’s fingerprinting reversal as an irresponsible move due to privacy concerns, particularly in regions with strict data regulations.

Oracle’s TikTok bid is a warmed-over Project Texas; Amazon’s ads biz has its sights set on Google; and gen AI search is a good traffic source for retailers, but bad for news pubs.

Omnicom and IPG have both received additional information requests from the FTC about their merger. Plus, publishers don’t know how AI overviews fit into their referral traffic.

Based on the way advertisers deal with publishers, you’d think they were sworn enemies. Our failure to prioritize collaboration on the open web and build a positive value chain has been our collective downfall.

Canadian tech investment firm Redbrick has acquired Paved, a programmatic newsletter platform for publishers that specializes in native ad formats.

PMax has joined Search as what Google dubs “the power pair.”  Plus, TikTok usage and ad spend are still dropping.

Amazon’s ad tech ambitions are crowding out Amazon specialists; EU regulators have concerns about Apple ATT; and Google says breaking it up could threaten national security.

T-Mobile may be considering an acquisition in the mobile data market; Google’s glitch shuts down ads for a weekend; and ad tech’s old guard is salivating over AI startups.

Google has been spotted triple serving ads to search pages. Plus, good luck getting ads next to Oscars content this year.

YouTube advertisers prefer long-form videos to Shorts; Microsoft tests an ad-supported version of its Office suite; and Chegg sues Google over lost traffic from gen AI search.

Not every retailer has a solid handle on emerging AI tech. While some thrived, others stumbled – sometimes spectacularly. Here are some lessons to learn from Q4 campaigns.

Why Google Demand Gen is struggling to grow; embattled web browser extensions test the limits of last-click attribution; and the State Department demands diplomats cancel their news subscriptions.

Spotify faces obstacles in its ticket sales aspirations; Apple switches to view-through attribution; and The Washington Post and Meta remove ads that were critical of Elon Musk.

US judge rules generative AI has no fair use claim; Snap sets its sights on SMBs; MMM comes to CTV; and Disney introduces ads in live TV, even for paid users.

Reddit’s ambitions to build its own AI-powered on-platform search business suggest even Google’s allies need to find ways to protect themselves from its influence – sometimes by copying its playbook.

The Google Chrome team is getting closer to deciding on its cookie consent mechanism. And  Paramount resolves its four-month standoff with Nielsen, as the mechanics behind currency change forever.

Publicis looks to capitalize on potential fallout from the Omnicom/IPG merger; Google Cloud is seeing an influx of ad sales talent; and Spotify advises investors to be patient with its growing programmatic ads biz.

Alphabet is beset by challenges on all sides. But the company’s revenue growth remains unchecked.

Fiat is taking luxury car-branded apartment complexes to the next level. Plus, the new FCC Chair is launching an investigation into NPR and PBS.

Google’s open-source MMM product goes live; Amazon Prime Video’s ad biz turns one; and teens don’t trust Big Tech and have doubts about AI.

The IAB predicts what privacy laws might be passed by the new congress; AI-generated newsletters are competing with local news; and the IAB Tech Lab ramps up production of new OpenRTB specs.

DSPs have been slow to adopt the Tech Lab’s new signal for classifying online video, causing confusion about which placement signal should be prioritized.

Google says it plans to stop restricting fingerprinting because of two shifts in the advertising ecosystem: the rise of connected TV and the rise of privacy-enhancing technologies.

AI chatbots entice users into subscriptions with free trials; non-pornographic content creators are raking in ad bucks on PornHub; and the US TikTok ban has Americans flocking to other China-based apps.

Starting on February 16, Google said it will no longer prohibit fingerprinting for companies that use its advertising products. Oh, how times have changed.

Helen Havlak, publisher at The Verge, chats with AdExchanger at CES about how publishers should pivot in response to the dropoff in traffic from Google search.

Google plans to create an “AI Mode” for its web search engine users. Plus, the social media vultures now circling the air above TikTok.

Rival browsers raise an objection to Google being forced to sell Chrome; ad agencies pivot to software and services; and people are turning to chatbots instead of search, with error-filled results.

Where and how brands choose to advertise is perceived as a reflection of the brand itself. That means we’ve entered the era of responsible advertising.