OpenAI struck a landmark $300 billion deal with Oracle to build AI data centers across the US, cementing Oracle as a critical partner in the race to scale artificial intelligence. The agreement, part of Project Stargate, covers more than half of the computing infrastructure OpenAI says it will need over the next five years, per The New York Times. AI’s future rests on who can actually deliver compute at scale. Marketers should diversify cloud and AI partners, experiment early, and prepare to shift strategies quickly as winners and losers emerge in this infrastructure race.
Microsoft is reducing its reliance on OpenAI by bringing in rival Anthropic to power key enterprise features, per The Information. With Microsoft 365’s entrenched position in productivity software, Anthropic’s integration could shift enterprise adoption trends away from OpenAI. If Anthropic gains traction, OpenAI risks losing one of its strongest distribution channels and with it, its influence on how AI is embedded in daily workflows. Marketers should watch to see not just who wins contracts, but who defines the next generation of workplace software.
Major web publishers, including Reddit, Yahoo, Medium, and Quora, are joining forces to push for a new content licensing system for AI publishers. The group is backing Really Simple Licensing (RSL), an open standard that lets publishers dictate how AI bots scrape their content and includes payment and royalty requirements. If publishers’ collective action can successfully enforce licensing terms for content scraping, regulators may follow with broader mandates. Visibility inside generative engines could change, pushing marketers to further prioritize generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies and comprehension of how AI responses source, cite, and surface branded content.
Zendesk’s integration of OpenAI’s GPT-5 into its customer service stack has resulted in 30% faster response times, 95% reliability, and resolution of up to 90% of tickets in some cases, per VentureBeat. Fewer handoffs, quicker response time, and higher reliability are wins for both brands and customers. But there’s a catch—over-reliance on automation risks alienating users who still want a human touch when problems get tricky. For CMOs, lean into AI for speed and scale, but keep people in the loop to protect trust and brand experience.
Consumers want brands to show up on social media as honest, original, and engaged, though risks remain around posting on social issues and chasing trend dominance. What matters more to users is transparency and safety, especially regarding AI-generated content, data privacy, and platform decisions. To establish and maintain consumer trust and interest, brands should root their social strategy in authenticity. Aligning posts, partnerships, and platform choices with internal voices will help brands resonate more than chasing virality or clout.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how Americans view GenAI-made media, if the “AI concern gap” between AI experts and the general public will widen, and why some of GenAI’s negativity might not apply to ads. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson and Senior Analyst, Max Willens. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Sam’s Club is targeting a major ecommerce expansion, aiming to grow digital sales from 18% to at least 40% of total revenues by leveraging Walmart’s supply chain and new digital tools. Recent updates include a redesigned website and app with flexible fulfillment options, larger media-rich product pages, and expanded club-fulfilled delivery. The retailer is testing larger fulfillment spaces and adding online experiences like pizza delivery to drive engagement. With 40% of members using Scan & Go, Sam’s Club is streamlining in-store trips while building a stronger digital ecosystem, boosting ad opportunities and positioning itself against Costco and other rivals.
IBM is positioning itself as a partner and integrator for enterprises at a time when various companies find themselves stuck in AI pilot limbo due to a lack of governance, per Marketech APAC. Its new global campaign, “Let’s create smarter business,” focuses on unifying its hybrid cloud, quantum computing, and business integration expertise to push enterprise AI from experiments to scale. CMOs should seize IBM’s ability to deliver safety and scale but protect agility. Build safeguards into contracts and keep internal or secondary partners ready to test new models as they emerge. That balance ensures AI adoption stays both credible and competitive.
A federal judge rejected Anthropic’s agreement to pay at least $1.5 billion to settle a landmark lawsuit brought by a group of authors. Judge William Alsup expressed concerns that the ruling would be forced “down the throat of authors,” per Bloomberg Law. The case could set a legal precedent for future copyright battles between creators and AI firms. If approved, the settlement could set a legal precedent for future copyright battles between creators and AI firms. It could also push regulators to be more stringent in requirements for content licensing deals and cause AI companies to move more carefully when scraping data, considering the costs of legal proceedings.
OpenAI revised its projected cash burn through 2029 to $115 billion—about 230% higher than earlier estimates. This alteration demonstrates how capital-intensive model training and deployment have become and how far those costs are beyond what traditional startup economics can sustain. These financial forecasts illustrate a ballooning cash burn matched by surging investments and rising revenue expectations. OpenAI might need to explore tactics like affiliate links or in-chat advertising for monetization and added incentives and premium features to convert free users into paying ones.
AI is taking over tasks once handled by junior staff. Agencies and brands are embracing the efficiency and cost savings of AI—but at the risk of cutting the very pipeline that feeds future leadership, per MarTech. Marketers are realizing they can’t afford to treat AI as a zero-sum replacement for junior talent. The smart play is balance: Use AI for short-term efficiency while still investing in entry-level hires who can grow into long-term strategists and leaders. Pair automation with training, expand AI education, and let young staff lead adoption. That balance drives efficiency now while protecting tomorrow’s talent pipeline.
The news: Microsoft will avoid a major EU antitrust fine by agreeing to sell its Teams app separately from Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Brussels is set to approve the deal after a positive market test, with no strong objections from rivals or customers, per Bloomberg. As part of the settlement, Microsoft must not only unbundle Teams but also lower prices on Office packages without it and improve interoperability with rival apps such as Zoom, Slack, and similar productivity tools. Our take: Microsoft sidesteps a fine but loses its bundling edge. The move levels the playing field for Slack, Zoom, and others—while showing the EU’s playbook is evolving from punishing fines to behavioral change.
The news: Virality can push brand awareness and sales, but the pressure to stay relevant online is exhausting marketers and even leading to rushed, imperfect campaigns. 22% of marketers feel compelled to respond to viral social media moments daily or multiple times per week, per an Adobe Express survey. This constant pressure is causing over one-third (37%) of marketers to report a high level of burnout, including 47% of Gen Z marketers. Our take: Trend-chasing can boost growth, but the emotional and strategic costs can be real. The most successful marketers will focus on brand fit, understanding that the key isn't just speed, but thoughtful alignment and knowing when not to post.
The news: Connected TV (CTV) is overtaking linear as television’s growth engine. Once the undisputed king, linear TV has fallen to just 12% of global ad spending, while CTV is on pace to exceed 40% by 2030, per WARC Media’s Global Ad Trends report. CTV already accounts for nearly half of viewing hours, fueling billions in ad revenues for Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube. The shift signals not just changing audiences but also a fundamental rewiring of how ads are bought, measured, and monetized. Our take: CTV is moving from experimentation to expectation. With US spending expected to balloon in the next few years, the question isn’t if brands should shift budgets—it’s how fast. CMOs who lean into retail integration and creative innovation while demanding accountability will set the pace in a US CTV market projected to reach $51 billion by 2029. Those who wait risk losing share as CTV matures into advertising’s most measurable channel.
The news: Facebook is promoting its Pokes feature in an effort to increase user engagement. Pokes—a mainstay feature of the early Facebook experience—are regaining popularity, prompting Facebook to make it a more central part of the user experience, per TechCrunch. Users can now track their “Pokes count” with friends, essentially a streak, on top of a dedicated Poke button added to Facebook profiles. Our take: Meta relies on Facebook for the lion’s share of its ad revenues. While Pokes may seem to be a low-stakes experiment, re-engaging younger users is a high-stakes battle, and even small features can tip the balance if they create sticky user habits.
The news: Apple will reportedly launch an AI-enabled web search tool powered by Google’s Gemini, potentially accelerating long-awaited software improvements and helping Apple enter the AI search race, per Bloomberg. The “answer engine” would be integrated with Siri and could help Apple compete with OpenAI and Perplexity. The feature, internally called World Knowledge Answers, will aggregate information from across the web into AI Overviews-esque summaries. It may eventually be added to Safari and Spotlight. Our take: Apple’s pivot toward external AI partnerships highlights how unready it is to compete head-to-head in foundational AI or search. While a Gemini integration could improve Siri and add powerful search capabilities, it could threaten Apple’s core advantage: total control over the user experience.
The news: Roblox will expand its age-checking procedures to all users by the end of the year, per a press release, building on its efforts to protect children online. Users will need to verify their age to access many features—including Party Voice and chat without filters—by submitting either a selfie or government-issued ID. Roblox will then analyze the selfie’s facial features to estimate the user’s age. The platform is rolling out new systems that limit communication between adults and minors unless they already know each other in real life. Our take: Roblox’s stricter age-verification policies stress the growing need to balance reach, compliance, and trust on youth-focused platforms. Marketers should prepare for smaller, more segmented audiences as age checks filter out unverified users and privacy-conscious adults. Long-term success may depend on building campaigns rooted in creativity and authentic value over hypertargeting.
The news: AI startup Anthropic raised a staggering $13 billion, tripling its valuation to $183 billion, per CNBC. This momentum is driven by enterprise demand for Claude, Anthropic’s AI assistant, and a rapidly expanding customer base that now tops 300,000 businesses. The company’s annual revenues have also jumped fivefold in 2025 to $5 billion. Our take: Anthropic’s ascent is setting a new standard for AI startups—spurring rivals like Perplexity, Mistral, Intelligent Machines, and Safe Superintelligence to chase scale through aggressive fundraising, not quick exits. The message: In this market, go big or get left behind.
The news: OpenAI will acquire product-testing startup Statsig for $1.1 billion as it expands its applications division. Statsig CEO Vijaye Raji, formerly vice president and head of entertainment at Facebook, will join OpenAI as CTO of applications. OpenAI said the deal, pending regulatory approval, will help it develop “even better, more responsive experiences for the people and businesses we serve,” per a press release. Our take: This deal positions OpenAI to launch entirely new categories of AI-powered experiences—personalized content feeds, collaborative AI tools, or productivity suites.
The news: Use of AI search tools is surging, which could soon spell trouble for Google’s market dominance. The share of consumers using of AI search tools on a daily basis doubled to 29% in August, per HigherVisibility’s 2025 How People Search Today report, up from 14% in February. Meanwhile, Google’s share of general information queries fell from 73% to 67%. Our take: Brands and marketers need to tailor their campaigns and strategies based on user intent. Those looking to attract new shoppers should invest in social media and AI search placements, while those focused on driving traffic for services or capturing high-intent buyers should prioritize Google, especially for initial discovery and location-based queries.