Content maintenance is no longer optional if brands want to stay visible in generative engines and chatbot answers. Over 70% of pages cited by ChatGPT were updated within the past 12 months, per AirOps’ The Silent Pipeline Killer report, making content renewal and refreshing a must for relevance in AI outputs. Brands that treat content as an ongoing performance lever, not just a one-time project, will earn sustained visibility and trust in generative AI (genAI) results. For CMOs, that means rethinking content strategy as a living ecosystem, where freshness is the new SEO.
OpenAI created an Expert Council on Well-Being and AI—a panel of eight behavioral and mental health specialists tasked to guide how AI tools like ChatGPT and Sora interact with users, per Ars Technica. CEO Sam Altman also announced on X that, “now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.” OpenAI’s loosening guardrails shift responsibility to brands and users who must now share in the responsibility to define and enforce their own ethical boundaries.
As CTV ad spending accelerates, buyers are shifting focus from convenience to performance—zooming in on ad quality, viewer experience, and actionable signals that drive measurable impact. Nearly half of global agencies and demand-side platforms (47%) prioritize ad quality and a positive user experience, per BCG and Google. Easy integration, responsive customer support, and platforms’ ease of use rank far lower. Marketers should push for consistent data-sharing and collaboration with publishers to turn CTV from an experimental channel into a predictable growth engine.
Google updated ad arrangements across its Search interface globally, potentially amping up competition for visibility and user attention. Users can now hide sponsored content by collapsing text ads to only see organic results. The “Sponsored Results” label is pinned to the top of the search screen as users scroll, making that section more apparent even when collapsed. Brands that rely heavily on search visibility need to rebalance paid and organic SEO strategies. They should test how collapsed ads change click-through rates and revise bidding tactics to maintain a share of user attention in increasingly competitive results pages.
While marketers fixate on generative AI’s impact on search, the real risk is invisibility. AI crawler traffic jumped 96% YoY, with GPTBot’s share soaring from 5% to 30%, per Cloudflare, yet traditional search traffic flatlined. Thousands of AI crawls now yield only a handful of source links, making it urgent for marketers to optimize for AI bots, not just Google. Brands that address crawl inefficiencies now will gain search visibility, AI discoverability, and revenue edge over competitors that haven’t adjusted. Anticipating shifting search dynamics can help brands stay discoverable no matter how the algorithms evolve.
Lyra Health is debuting a generative AI (genAI) chatbot for mild to moderate mental health challenges like burnout, sleep or stress. AI chatbots for mental health will likely keep growing as consumers, especially younger generations, seek more affordable, lower-pressure alternatives to traditional in-person therapy. Lyra’s measured rollout shows how AI therapy could be deployed responsibly: limiting chatbot use to lower-risk mental health issues and emphasizing safety.
As Google’s Chrome and DuckDuckGo integrate AI tools into their browsers, Perplexity has launched its own, built with agentic AI capabilities from the ground up—Comet. When perusing products, Comet can take complex natural-language requests and surf review sites, listicles, and news articles to find top options. For users looking for an AI-first experience, Comet is a promising entry that blends active assistance with traditional web functions. However, given Perplexity’s recent scaleback on advertiser initiatives, AI search may not be the next frontier for ad formats. Continuing investments in traditional search options like Google Search is crucial to ensuring visibility.
Salesforce’s launch of Agentforce 360 is a sign that agentic AI is moving into the marketing stack, signaling that automation is becoming a core capability rather than a future experiment. Agentforce can help CMOs decide how far to push agentic AI across their marketing stack. To move from experimentation to deployment, CMOs should start with focused pilots in high-volume touchpoints like chat or email with clear success metrics, such as resolution time or customer satisfaction.
OpenAI announced a blockbuster deal to design its own AI chips in collaboration with Broadcom, continuing a trend of AI companies seeking partnerships and investments to own both ends of the AI stack, per The New York Times. OpenAI’s Broadcom deal is a turning point in AI strategy—from chasing smarter models to securing the power that fuels them. For enterprises, this is the moment to pick sides. The competitive advantage in the next decade belongs to those who align with partners that control their infrastructure, not just their algorithms.
Tubi is giving advertisers a broader arsenal of contextual targeting tools through an expanded partnership with Viant. The free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform is tagging its on-demand content based on emotional and thematic cues, per Digiday, with categories such as “hopeful” or “suspenseful.” For CMOs, this represents a turning point—contextual intelligence is a strategic advantage for brand safety, emotional alignment, and performance in an increasingly fragmented streaming landscape. Leaning into emotional targeting tools will let marketers fully capitalize on FAST’s growth, the platforms’ broad range of content, and the opportunity to dominate ad fill.
As AI slop, influencer content, and an abundance of ads push Gen Zers into private messaging spaces, brands have a new channel for contact. The majority (86%) of US social media users are comfortable receiving messages from brands within apps like Snapchat and Facebook Messenger, per a Snap and MAGNA survey. As users retreat into these private digital spaces, the marketing playbook must prepare to meet them there. That may require new efforts, such as rebalancing budgets, building new capabilities, and finding what engagement metrics are key. Start small with a few chat-based campaigns to track what resonates.
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.