Consumers are approaching holiday shopping with a sharper focus on value, taking more time to compare options and make deliberate choices, often with the help of AI tools. For brands, this shift changes what will drive results at the tail end of the year.
AI discovery brings new buyers and higher traffic to merchants.
Meta is turning Instagram into a checkout machine: Agentic AI tools could let users tap Reels to buy instantly as Meta tightens its grip on social commerce.
Chatbots rewrite B2B discovery: 71% of buyers use AI for research, 69% switch vendors after chatbot input, rerouting influence from search to LLMs.
Automation clears the campaign bottleneck: Agent-led workflows can cut asset builds from 24 hours to minutes, freeing teams to execute at scale.
45% of US adults cite concerns about how their data is collected or used as their top worry about AI shopping, according to a January survey from Omnisend.
Google builds an AI-ready measurement hub: New tagging, data flows, and geographic testing help prove marketing’s business impact.
Banks must differentiate between adopting agentic AI to remain competitive and becoming overreliant on one provider.
These humongous lending projects are clogging up banks’ balance sheets and driving up risk levels.
OpenAI opens data to marketers: New policy allows limited ID sharing and purchase data to power ChatGPT ads.
Pennsylvania argues in a new lawsuit that Character.AI’s “psychiatrist” bots cross into illegal practice, not just risky advice.
Digital detox drives IRL marketing: From Pinterest to Netflix, companies court screen-weary youth with phone bans and offline experiences.
More curated results could shorten the path to purchase, but ad dollars and consumer trust hang in the balance.
The purchase journey is now chaotic: Constant device-hopping and “random” shopping behavior turns buying into scattered micro-moments.
Flat budgets and rising content demands leave B2B teams churning out video while marketing—and ROI—risk lagging behind.
Abhay Singhal, Co-Founder, InMobi & CEO, InMobi Advertising, sat down with EMARKETER’s Nate Elliott at POSSIBLE to share insights on how AI is shifting consumers from search to research-driven discovery, reshaping brand visibility and competition.
70% of marketers worldwide say generative AI is the most important consumer trend they're watching, nearly 6x the share tracking the metaverse (12%), according to November 2025 data from Mediaocean.
In today’s podcast episode, we discuss what will define Tim Cook’s legacy as he steps down as CEO of Apple; whether the company needs another “iPhone moment”; and the top priority for incoming boss John Ternus. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Analyst Jacob Bourne and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen anywhere, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.
Nearly 60% value mental health more this year than 5 years ago, but cost and access hurdles prevent them from getting medical care.
Instagram creators get optional AI tags: The platform offers labels for AI creators, but voluntary use limits trust.