Both Google and Apple ramped up their bug bounty programs and are now offering record payouts to secure sprawling digital ecosystems. Big Tech’s rapid expansion has outpaced internal defenses, forcing companies to rely on external hackers to find and fix security gaps. Big Tech’s growing reliance on outside hackers shows how fast digital risks are rising. Brands can’t wait for problems to surface. Protecting data and trust now requires constant monitoring, quick response plans, and open communication when things go wrong.
Technological advancements are set to transform the automotive industry's cost structure, with managers forecasting 30% efficiency gains within five years, per Bain & Company. Through advanced technologies like digital platforms, intelligence automation, and a fabless future, carmakers can make significant productivity improvements. Successful automotive companies will be defined by their ability to embed technology to solve core problems. To compete, brands must focus on high-impact use cases, build a clean and integrated data backbone, and radically rethink their operating models to prioritize speed and scalability.
The search journey is becoming increasingly fragmented as consumers no longer trust the first answer they see and turn to various other resources for product recommendations and reviews. Nearly 90% of consumers in the US, the UK, France, and Germany now cross-check results across multiple platforms, per Yext’s The Rise of AI Search Archetypes report. Brands need to optimize for how AI tools act on their behalf, per Yext. CMOs should focus on ensuring AI tools interpret their data accurately and present it in the right contexts, which could come from succinct FAQ pages or concrete product listings that avoid vague descriptions.
The number of video streaming services that users subscribe to is rebounding after a weak 2024, per TiVo’s Q2 2025 Video Trends, marking the sector’s resilience. A primary catalyst for that growth? Bundles. Consumers in the US and Canada paid for an average of seven video streaming services in Q2 2025, up from just five in Q2 2024. The fragmented network of streaming services means brands need to prioritize content type and context, not specific streamers, to best reach audiences. Collecting metadata on content’s genre, tone, and mood could help marketers best align placements with audience intent and emotion.
Amazon is closing four Fresh supermarkets in Southern California, following earlier shutdowns and a UK conversion of all Fresh stores into Whole Foods locations, signaling potential retreat from its mass-market grocery experiment. Despite Fresh’s struggles, CEO Andy Jassy remains bullish on grocery, focusing on expanding same-day delivery and launching the low-cost Amazon Grocery line to attract inflation-hit shoppers. Yet Amazon’s limited physical footprint—far smaller than Walmart’s or Kroger’s—continues to hinder its offline ambitions. While digital efforts show promise, the company still lacks a cohesive grocery formula without a major acquisition.
Commercetools has debuted Cora, an AI shopping assistant that enables conversational commerce directly on retailers’ sites. Available in preview, Cora interprets natural language queries (e.g., “a red dress under $150”) and maintains context across devices, guiding users through search, filtering, and checkout. Unlike static chat widgets or keyword search, Cora reduces friction in the path to purchase by making AI a functional part of the shopping journey. The white-label model helps brands retain control and identity while tapping into Commercetools’ infrastructure—positioning Cora as both a conversion tool and a brand-safe alternative to third-party discovery engines.
AI adoption is reshaping how brands work with agencies. According to Typeface’s Signal Report, 83% of marketing leaders would cut agency spending if they could automate content creation, and 11% would stop using agencies entirely. As AI tools like Meta’s creative suite expand, agencies face pressure to prove their value beyond content production. While many marketers are reorganizing teams around AI, agencies still play critical roles in strategy, AI governance, and paid media. To stay relevant, agencies must shift from execution to integration partners that help clients navigate AI transformation and maintain strategic oversight.
OpenAI introduced a wide swath of app integrations for ChatGPT, pushing the generative AI (genAI) chatbot toward super app status. Spotify, Booking.com, Zillow, Canva, Figma, and Expedia are now all part of the ChatGPT experience. Brands should start treating ChatGPT like a search engine, app store, and marketplace all in one. Marketers should create and tag their content so it can surface naturally in ChatGPT responses. Generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies include structuring content and product copy with mini headlines and using concrete language over abstract phrasing to boost appearances in output.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating AppLovin’s data-collection methods, per Bloomberg, sending the mobile ad tech company’s stock down 14% Monday and an additional 3% in pre-market trading Tuesday. AppLovin’s SEC outcome could redefine the balance between innovation and accountability, forcing ad tech firms to prove that smarter targeting doesn’t come at the cost of user trust. Brands relying on opaque data streams or third-party targeting tech may face similar scrutiny. For CMOs, it underscores the need to audit data pipelines and vet AI partners for regulatory resilience.
Connected TV (CTV) ad spending is a key focus for most marketers, but a substantial confidence gap persists. Over half (52%) of US technology, financial services, retail, and healthcare brands have shifted at least one-quarter of their paid media budgets to CTV in the past three years, per Gracenote. Despite that change, 32% of US brand and agency executives say their CTV advertising is not very effective. By boosting focus on channel-level contextual targeting and integrating metadata, marketers can ensure ads appear alongside relevant programming—like sports events, entertainment genres, or family-friendly shows—improving resonance and reach.
OpenAI’s Sora app surged to the top of the iPhone App Store’s free app chart despite its invite-only status, marking consumer demand for AI-heavy social experiences. It surpassed both OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, the latter of which recently topped App Store charts with its social media-friendly Nano Banana AI image-editing feature. This is a new creative playground, where brands can test community-driven campaigns with a highly engaged audience. Marketers should experiment with various types of content to see what goes viral in an AI-first social environment to prepare for a new social media landscape and capitalize on emerging platforms.
Microsoft overhauled its Digital Direct Sales operation—responsible for selling all first-party products on Microsoft.com across 100+ markets—to run on an AI-first, agent-driven assistant model that drives the company’s ecommerce. The next battle for customer intent won’t happen on search bars or landing pages—it will happen inside conversations. The brands that train their AI agents to listen, reason, and personalize at scale will own those moments of intent. Every chat should be a transaction—brands need to train their AI agents to listen, reason, and personalize at scale.
More than half of US employees are using unapproved AI tools, with managers knowing but not caring—showing both security risks and organizational dysfunction. Of the 59% of employees who are using unapproved AI tools, 57% state that their direct manager is aware and OK with it, per Cybernews. Shadow AI use is a brand risk, not just an IT problem, and is often a workaround for poor internal communication or underinvestment in training. CMOs should lead efforts to define brand-safe tools, identify tools ideal for marketing tasks, and collaborate with IT to train employees on AI use.
Perplexity dropped the $200 monthly fee for its AI-native Comet browser, making it free worldwide but with rate limits. The change follows Google Chrome hitting a record 73.7% share of desktop browsing in September, per StatCounter. Comet can summarize webpages, pull key details, and wade through links on a user’s behalf. Chrome remains the must-buy channel, but ChatGPT’s mobile stickiness and Comet’s positioning prove that audiences may increasingly flow through alternative gateways. The brands that experiment early across these varied environments will be better prepared when consumer behavior tilts away from legacy browsers.
ICEBlock, an app that allowed users to flag US Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, was taken down from Apple’s App Store after the Trump administration pressed for its removal, per The New York Times. This push for compliance is exemplified by the TikTok ban threat in the US. Even though the ban didn’t materialize, it showed how government pressure can reshape platform access overnight. And if a company takes a stance that appears to favor one political side, the fallout can be far-reaching, not just for the platform but for every brand inside its walls.
Retailers are rethinking old tech choices as the channel matures. Mirakl Ads’ Anne Hallock joins EMARKETER’s Sarah Marzano to discuss how AI and a commerce-first approach can reduce friction, capture new ad dollars, and drive growth.
Citi mandated AI prompt training for most of its employees, per the American Banker. Citi’s head of technology noted that so far this year, Citi employees have input more than 6.5 million prompts and reduced time spent on some tasks by orders of magnitude. Fourteen percent of financial services companies worldwide have already benefited from their investments in generative AI, per Broadridge, and another 54% expect payback in no more than 1-2 years. The banking industry’s pivot over the past three years from fear of the unknown to seeking benefits will pay dividends in the long run.
Cleaning brand Bissell revealed at Contentsquare’s CX Circle this week how a mobile-first testing culture, powered by personalization and rapid A/B testing, drove double- and triple-digit gains in engagement and conversions. Bissell’s case shows that conversion breakthroughs rarely come from big redesigns—they come from a culture of disciplined, mobile-focused testing. Small screens magnify every friction point, and users often defy expectations. Assumptions need to be tested, adjusted, and retested. The lesson: Make experimentation part of everyday workflows, follow the data, and double down on what works.
Apple is scrapping plans for a next-gen Vision Pro in favor of developing its own smart glasses to compete with Ray-Ban Meta and others. The glasses will “rely heavily” on voice interaction and AI, per Bloomberg—two areas where Apple has been slow to innovate. With Meta already pushing smart glasses, brands that delay adapting risk falling behind in this emerging medium. As input shifts from screen tapping or gestures to voice, marketers need to ensure their brands sound natural in conversational AI environments and that website data is optimized for voice SEO and consistent brand tone.
Meta will begin using conversations with its AI assistant to personalize ads and feeds across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp starting December 16. The change represents Meta’s most aggressive AI monetization effort to date, moving beyond likes and follows to conversational intent—a richer, real-time signal of consumer interest. Regulators are already raising alarms about surveillance and privacy. With 98% of Meta’s revenues tied to ads, even small gains could shift billions.