Technology

It’s the end of an IPO era for ad tech; Business Insider looks for solutions to its cratering traffic; and Amazon and Walmart’s AI chatbots face criticism.

When a creator already loves the product they’re marketing, it’s easy to work it into their content in ways that feel natural. That’s exactly what the Try Guys did.

In the AI era, according to Tim Frank, the man in charge of AI monetization at Microsoft, “information is the new bid.”

Chrome is introducing new metrics that give advertisers and publishers a more data-driven picture of what users actually experience on ad-heavy sites.

Where teens were once swept into the same cohort as 18-34, brands will have to have separate strategies and tactics to engage them. And this shift comes just as Gen Alpha comes of age.

Google tests out a “pay per value” AI licensing scheme; Netflix, Amazon and YouTube join forces; and Apple may soon launch integrations with third-party LLMs.

While Eric Seufert’s “everything is an ad network” mantra keeps being proven correct, a new truism is also taking shape: “Wherever an advertising business emerges, the measurement challenge follows.”

The Trade Desk is less than a third as valuable as it was a year ago. It retains about one-tenth of its high-water market cap from December 2024, when the company was worth almost $70 billion. Why did investors lose the faith?

Two Big Tech moments capped the summer: The FTC sued Amazon over its kinda-sorta second-price auctions, alleging deceptive practices. And Judge Brinkema declared that Google will not have to spin off its ad server.

The IAB raises its forecast for ad spend growth; Google continues to develop Meridian, its open-source MMM tool; and Partiful is still learning how to monetize.

McGrath left Prebid in June following five years as board chairman after stepping down as SVP of product management at Magnite. But now, overseeing Prebid will be his full-time job.

Actionable uses causal AI to determine what leads to customer dissatisfaction, and addresses those problems before they lead to churn.

Shunned by streamers, cable news builds its own app bundles; Grindr pays $35 million to settle a UK lawsuit over selling data to advertisers; and LG TVs can be hacked to record audio.

With AI eating everyone’s traffic, publishers could use a sympathetic ear. AdTech Therapy’s Jana Meron and Scott Messer talk through the sell side’s biggest challenges and break down what Google avoiding an ad tech breakup means for media owners.

AI needs a babysitter: Google was outbid on Spirit Airlines’ data; and AI-generated food makes for terrible ads.

Buy-side experts said it’s another example of a Big Tech platform taking advantage of the lack of transparency built into programmatic ad auctions. And they’re not optimistic change is coming.

AI is creating new problems for advertisers; Amazon Prime’s new privacy feature irks customers; and the Trump administration sides with OpenAI in the copyright lawsuit brought forth by the NYT.

Google will not be required to break up its ad tech business, despite a federal court ruling last April that found the company operated a monopoly.

The company is launching an accelerator program to help tech vendors pitch their solutions in a way that makes sense to advertisers.

CTV’s growth will hinge on randomized experiments that prove premium video advertising delivers incremental business results, writes measurement expert Rick Bruner.

The FTC sues Amazon, alleging ad auction manipulation; some agencies are hyping that their ads are made by humans; and more people are paying for ad-free streaming.

Why does the buy side remain so smitten with handing control to autonomous systems owned by companies whose economic interests are not its own?

Workweek, a social networking platform for industry professionals, launched a newsletter platform powered by its proprietary ad network.

TTD is introducing agentic AI workflow improvements and automated audience building, which are quickly becoming table stakes for programmatic platforms.

Reuters wraps its series on Meta’s shrinking headcount; The Trade Desk has a new centralized AI interface; and USA Today Co. will restructure its content for bots.

This documentary streamer found new life as an AI trainer; the NFL is taking public shots at Nielsen, but is it a negotiating tactic?; and Nielsen’s new focus on 18+ audiences dings streaming viewership.

Agentic AI just ran a CTV campaign end-to-end through a new, agent-driven buying workflow with far less manual optimization and a lot less waste. Butler/Till’s Scott Ensign explains what that means for the future of programmatic.

The potential for ads in robotaxis; Crocs is back to seeing year-over-year growth; and ad-free streaming tiers continue to grow more expensive.

OpenX CTO Joel Meyer, who was named Prebid’s new chairman, previews the org’s next phase and helping publishers navigate competing agentic protocols.

NBC News strikes an ad reseller deal with Taboola; a new short-form video app is born; and people care more about social video than TV.