Publishers

Web publishers are seeing revenue and traffic evaporate thanks to AI searches; LG Ads is finally preparing to go public; and women’s dating safety app Tea has some shady marketing practices.

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.

With over $200 billion in programmatic spending on the table next year, maximizing yield is the name of the game for publishers in 2026. Capturing that opportunity demands maximum optionality across demand paths and signals. And with AI reshaping the landscape (referrals from ChatGPT to news publishers saw a 25x increase from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2025, while traditional search traffic heads in the other direction) it is more important than ever for publishers to optimize their monetizable inventory.

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.

If journalists don’t decide the best use of AI in journalism, then AI firms will decide for them, says Christian Broughton, CEO of The Independent,

There’s a decision! On Thursday, Judge Leonie Brinkema published her long-awaited ruling in US v. Google, finding Google guilty of having monopolized two online advertising markets.

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

This year, Black Friday stretched on for days and days. And the retail holidays is evolving in other ways, as online shopping takes over.

Index Exchange CEO Andrew Casale, fresh off the witness stand for US v. Google, and AdExchanger’s courtroom reporter, Allison Schiff, join us to analyze the ad tech trial of the century.

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