Generative AI (genAI) has been pitched as a path to efficiency. Instead, 95% of enterprise pilots have failed to show measurable impact, per MIT Media Lab. AI adoption among larger firms peaked at 13% to 14% in early 2024 and dropped to about 9% by mid-2025—a nearly 30% YoY drop. AI adoption fluctuations serve as a warning. CMOs face a choice—either invest in structured AI training and workflow integration or risk eroding brand credibility and trust. Training employees to know when not to use AI will be as important as teaching them how to use it.
A growing share of consumers are integrating AI into their shopping journeys, with ChatGPT driving nearly 21% of Walmart’s referral traffic in August and playing a major role for Etsy, Target, and eBay. GenAI is now the second-biggest source of product recommendations, with trust in AI shopping tools soaring from 46% to 86% in just months. Retailers are experimenting with frictionless AI-driven checkout, while Salesforce predicts AI tools will drive 21% of global holiday orders this year. Amazon, however, is blocking AI crawlers to protect its ecosystem, a risky strategy that may drive shoppers to rivals.
The news: Cloudflare is rolling out a new feature that gives content publishers greater control over how Google scrapes and presents their content and helps them keep content out of AI summaries without opting out of Google search results all together—a choice Google hasn’t allowed. For publishers, Cloudflare’s feature could provide further control over how content is indexed and brands are compensated. Experimenting with the tools will help companies understand how AI summaries are affecting their traffic and searchability.
Alibaba released two cutting-edge additions to its Qwen 3 large language model (LLM) that are ripe for enterprise application.Qwen3-Omni gives enterprises a rare mix of flexibility, cost savings, and global reach that many proprietary models can’t match. Qwen3-Max could push Alibaba into the frontier of agentic AI, combining massive scale with code-generation tools that could rival other developer-first models. For CMOs, Qwen3-Omni’s multilingual and multimodal skills could power richer customer interactions and unlock real-time insights from video, audio, and text data.
OpenAI and Google are racing to lock in users in two of Asia’s most populous markets with budget-friendly AI subscriptions, per TechCrunch. OpenAI’s $4.50-per-month ChatGPT Go has expanded from India to Indonesia, while Google countered with a similarly priced AI Plus plan ($4.56). Marketers should prepare for audiences in India, Indonesia, and beyond who will be AI-native from the start. Analyzing AI adoption and usage trends opens opportunities for when campaigns run along AI search results. That means testing localized creative strategies and viewing Asia as the engine driving the next phase of generative AI growth, not a secondary market.
AI is no longer a nice-to-have in retail, it’s becoming essential. It helps make shopping smoother, sparks product discovery, and guides motivated customers to make purchases. But trust still matters most. The retail playbook needs to adapt, using AI to enhance the shopping journey rather than replace it.
A new Teads Connected TV paper shows AI has firmly entered the mainstream of video advertising. Sixty percent of marketers now use generative AI to create scripts, voiceovers, and visuals, while others rely on AI tools for audience insights, performance analysis, and real-time optimization. The findings highlight a clear opportunity—marketers that combine AI’s scale and predictive testing with human oversight can build campaigns that are both efficient and distinctive.
Now that most financial institutions (FIs) have deployed or piloted genAI, some recurring lessons have emerged. Implementing these lessons learned can help FIs prevent massive losses from failed pilots. Governance helps set expectations, parameters, and metrics before the bulk of the money is spent—helping prevent project failure and disappointment. 79% would prioritize governance if starting AI implementation over. Seventy-one percent of respondents would have engaged stakeholders earlier, involving them in planning meetings. This would help FIs ensure alignment and reduce delays that could arise from misunderstandings and disagreements partway through.\
Nvidia will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI in $10 billion stages and supply the processors for 10 gigawatts of new AI data centers—an energy load equal to New York City’s peak demand or enough to power 7 million to 9 million US homes, per CNBC. Big Tech is locking arms to secure control of the AI future. These alliances blur the lines between investor, supplier, and customer, concentrating power among a few giants. If the project delivers, Nvidia’s dominance grows. If not, the “Stargate effect” looms—ambitious AI ventures that overpromise and underdeliver.
OpenAI added restrictions for ChatGPT users under 18, prioritizing safety over freedom for teen users. The changes are in response to growing legal and regulatory pressure surrounding AI chatbot risks to minors, per TechCrunch. By segmenting teen and adult experiences, OpenAI sets a precedent that forces advertisers to rethink how and where they engage with users. Age gating pushes marketers to balance reach with responsibility. Those who adapt early—auditing media buys, vetting AI tools, and leaning into ethical safeguards—will secure trust and minimize regulatory risk.
Shoppers are using AI tools at a high rate but are split on brands’ use of AI-generated content and whether companies are delivering on customer experience promises. Half (52%) of consumers are excited by the idea of having an AI agent shop on their behalf, per VML. Nearly two-thirds (63%) say AI-powered personalization helps them discover new products, but 45% think brands are still failing to tailor recommendations effectively. Brands can keep shoppers engaged by demonstrating AI’s value in tangible ways—like smarter recommendations and smoother checkout—rather than relying on broad claims of AI integration.
Brands and agencies are embracing generative AI (genAI) to create highly localized and personalized campaigns at scale. At a recent Automattic event, marketing leaders highlighted how new technology makes previously cost-prohibitive efforts feasible. The advertising industry has shifted from fear to fluency—recognizing that AI fills gaps and scales output but that people decide what resonates. While agencies two years ago feared AI would displace creative jobs, today, they see human craft as the element that gives AI-generated work meaning. For marketers, the strategy is to invest in AI tools but prioritize upskilling teams to direct them.
President Donald Trump is continuing his immigration crackdown with a signed proclamation that adds a $100,000 fee to all new applications for H-1B visas, potentially complicating and clamping down on the market for AI-skilled workers in the US. While intended to spur domestic hiring, the reality is that the US lacks sufficient AI training infrastructure to meet current demand. With a pre-existing lack of employer investment in workforce development to grow US employees’ AI skills, the policy risks shrinking the AI talent pool even more and slowing innovation.
While dynamic pricing has been around for decades, Delta Airlines has recently come under fire for announcing that it would increase its use of generative AI for flight pricing from 3% to 20% of domestic flights by year-end.
SoFi recently reported that its AI chatbot, Konecta, has helped make significant operational and customer service improvements since its 2023 launch, per Yahoo Finance. Banking customers have been experiencing chatbot fatigue when glitches and errors prevent them from getting meaningful solutions to their problems—or when they can’t reach a human. But the more empathetic, human models could undo some of the negative perception of these bots. By demonstrating tangible benefits, like faster service and fewer dropped chats, SoFi is directly addressing these customer pain points. This approach improves efficiency and builds a foundation of trust—particularly with self-service-leaning Gen Zers.
Google Chrome’s latest update embeds Gemini AI into the browser, giving users direct access to AI-powered research, automation, organization, and real-time security tools. Google is infusing its AI features into its most-used product a week after it avoided being forced to divest its browser. Imbuing Chrome with AI unlocks unprecedented volumes of user training data—an advantage no rival can replicate. This development, plus Gemini’s expansion into education, underscores a wider push to make Google’s AI as ubiquitous as its search engine.
Anthropic’s Claude AI is taking on competitors in a multimillion dollar ad campaign. The “Keep Thinking” campaign positions Claude as “the AI for problem solvers” and marks Anthropic’s first foray into brand marketing. The campaign is a necessary start to help Claude gain market share and boost its comparatively small user base, but it’s only the first step in a long journey ahead for Anthropic.
Google introduced new features for Demand Gen campaigns and said it will publish monthly, newsletter-style updates to keep marketers on track with the latest Demand Gen updates. Google is moving to chip away at advertisers’ black-box concerns by adding more visibility, measurement, and testing options into Demand Gen, signaling its push toward greater transparency and control for campaign performance.