[STUDY] AI Puts Pressure On Client Agency Relationships
AI is starting to change the economics of media buying at the same time that CMOs are already under pressure to get more from flat budgets and leaner teams. Gartner expects more than 70% of global advertising spend to flow through self-service platforms where AI materiall ....
08/09/2026
ChatGPT Ads Reach US$1bn In 200 Days
08/09/2026 James Fitzgerald
ChatGPT Ads has reached a US$1 billion annualised revenue run rate less than 200 days after launch, giving OpenAI an advertising business of meaningful scale far sooner than many would have expected. The company says tens of thousands of advertisers are already using the ....
ChatGPT Work Expands Business Automation
31/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
For most organisations, generative AI still begins with someone deciding to use it. A marketer opens ChatGPT, asks for an analysis, uploads a document or gives an agent a task. Even increasingly sophisticated AI systems usually wait for a person to initiate the process. C ....
Meta Removes More Advertiser Controls
31/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
Meta advertisers may soon lose another familiar control inside Ads Manager, with the company beginning to alert some users that placement options could be removed from ad sets, potentially limiting their ability to decide where campaigns appear across Meta’s advertising ec ....
[STUDY] ChatGPT Ads Defy An Easy Verdict
31/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
ChatGPT Ads have been live for six months. That is apparently long enough for people to start deciding whether they work. The available evidence suggests the answer is considerably less satisfying. Some early advertisers are reporting expensive clicks, limited engageme ....
ChatGPT Work Starts Doing The Work
24/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
ChatGPT Work is only six weeks old, but OpenAI is already pushing it deeper into everyday workplace activity. Since its July launch, Work has added voice control and tighter desktop integration, while its core proposition remains much bigger than another chatbot upgrade. ....
YouTube Hands Brands A View Windfall
24/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
Brands are in for a YouTube performance windfall from this week. From 24 August, YouTube is extending the first-frame view methodology already used for Shorts across long form video, podcasts and Live. A video beginning ....
Meta AI Takes On ChatGPT For Marketing
24/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
Meta is trying to move Meta AI from the sidelines of the AI market into the middle of everyday marketing work. New capabilities can connect Meta AI directly with professional Facebook and Instagram accounts, Meta advertising campaigns and Google Workspace. Businesses can ....
Google's AI Answers Are Creating Brand Reputation Problems
17/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
Google’s AI search products are creating a new reputation management problem for brands. Businesses are already reporting cases where AI Overviews have confused companies, surfaced unrelated complaints and presented outdated information as part of authoritative looking sum ....
LinkedIn Builds Its AI Search Advantage
17/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
LinkedIn is making a stronger case for its role in AI search, backed by new Semrush research showing that the platform is already appearing regularly in answers from ChatGPT Search, Google AI Mode and Perplexity. The study analysed 325,000 prompts across 12 industry categ ....
Google Boosts Reporting AI In GA4 & Google Ads
17/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
Google is bringing Gemini much deeper into Google Ads and Google Analytics, with a new generation of AI features designed to help marketers understand performance without digging through reports manually. At the centre is Ask Advisor, Google's Gemini-powe ....
Meta’s AI Ads Engine Hits $75bn
10/08/2026 James Fitzgerald
Meta’s automated advertising business has reached serious scale. In its latest earnings call, Meta said advertising running through its Advantage+ solutions had reached a $75 billion annual revenue run-rate during the second quarter of 2026. The number needs context. ....