The news: Z.ai’s new open-source GLM-4.5 model is undercutting DeepSeek and US rivals in cost and efficiency and intensifying global AI competition. Our take: For marketers, open-source tools like Z.ai offer affordable alternatives to costly AI platforms, levelling the playing field for smaller agencies looking to compete. But Z.ai (formerly Zhipu) is on the US Entity List due to its Beijing ties after OpenAI flagged its rapid progress. With this in mind, companies piloting open-source options should do so cautiously and consult with compliance teams before integrating.
The news: Employees are underreporting their generative AI (genAI) use and feel company initiatives add to their workload without benefiting them directly. 45% of US employees have used AI at work without telling their supervisors, per Gusto, with Gen Zers and tech workers being the top culprits. Our take: Offer incentives for AI use and encourage disclosure through establishing clear policies to help maximize AI initiatives and build a culture of honesty. Setting up company-specific prompts for employee use and offering free access to vetted tools will help motivate workers to use the right tools in the right way, protecting company data and maximizing AI use to increase productivity. Our take: Offer incentives for AI use and encourage disclosure through establishing clear policies to help maximize AI initiatives and build a culture of honesty. Setting up company-specific prompts for employee use and offering free access to vetted tools will help motivate workers to use the right tools in the right way, protecting company data and maximizing AI use to increase productivity.
58% of US adults have viewed a search result page that included an AI-generated summary, per a March Pew Research Center survey.
The trend: GenAI tools like ChatGPT are providing fewer disclaimers that chatbots are not a substitute for professional medical advice, according to a recent study cited in MIT Technology Review. Our take: Tech players must prioritize user safety—not winning the AI race. Health warnings should be standard, and marketers will need to scale back claims that AI accuracy surpasses physicians’.
The news: Facing mounting pressure from ChatGPT and other platforms, Google Shopping is stepping up its game to stay ahead in the product discovery race. Our take: The best way for Google to fend off the competition is by making Shopping indispensable. Features that mimic personal stylists, surface the right deals at the right time, and boost shoppers’ confidence through virtual try-ons can help ensure consumers keep turning to Google as their shopping companion.
Walmart is going all in on AI as it prepares for a future in which more people rely on the technology to work and shop. The company is making strategic AI hires while streamlining its agents to make them easier for shoppers, employees, and partners to use. Agentic tools are both a threat and an opportunity for retailers. Companies need to prepare for a future where tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity make purchases on behalf of shoppers—which will require them either to make their websites more accessible to these assistants, or to build their own AI agents to make those transactions seamless. AI agents are also a useful investment in the current era of uncertainty, given their ability to unlock cost savings at a time when every dollar counts.
The trend: Consumers generally find that AI-generated responses to their online health queries are only somewhat reliable, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. Our take: As Google’s AI gets smarter, healthcare and pharma websites will lose search traffic. Google is in a race with OpenAI and other tech players to make its AI more intelligent and improve users’ search experiences. Other consumers will conduct more health queries on platforms like ChatGPT. Brands and publishers must optimize content for AI rather than for search, but they should also be developing strategies to connect more with consumers on non-search channels such as social media and CTV.
Alphabet posted strong Q2 results, with Search ad revenue up 12% YoY and YouTube ad revenue climbing 13%. But analysts and advertisers are asking tougher questions as the company shifts toward AI-led formats like AI Overviews and Gemini. Google declined to provide clear data on ROI, clickthroughs, or user engagement, fueling concerns about monetization in a no-click world. Licensing costs for LLM training, brand safety, and competition from ChatGPT and Perplexity are all in focus. While YouTube continues to lead in streaming ad growth, the future of Google’s ad engine may hinge on transparency, AI accountability, and performance parity.
The agency and marketing world is undergoing a strategic shift, with M&A activity surging in AI, experiential, and sports sectors. AI is no longer optional—firms like R/GA, Real Chemistry, and The Shipyard are acquiring to integrate automation, content generation, and efficiency into operations. Experiential marketing is also bouncing back, with global spending surpassing $128 billion and deals like BeCore and JetFuel reflecting renewed momentum. Meanwhile, sports marketing is booming, with Publicis and M&C Saatchi expanding to capture rising media rights value and digital viewership. Across sectors, the common thread is impact: marketers want scalable, measurable solutions that deliver real results.
The news: In the wake of Google’s impressive earnings report, YouTube is getting more creative AI tools on YouTube Shorts for both creators and advertisers. YouTube added an image-to-video generative AI (genAI) tool to Shorts, which can turn a photo into a 6-second video, powered by Google’s Veo 2. It also introduced AI-powered tools that resize ads to fit Shorts’ format. Our take: These new tools could help YouTube outpace rivals by combining TikTok-style virality with Google’s deep AI infrastructure. Instead of recycling or repurposing long-form assets, marketers should push more budget to testing Shorts-first content. A/B testing with Shorts’ new AI resizing tool and audience-specific, unique content for mobile and CTV can help determine which content can be converted with AI for both platforms and which needs to be remade and retargeted.
Almost half (49%) of worldwide marketers use AI daily for image and video generation, according to January data from Canva and Morning Consult.
The news: The Trump administration unveiled a sweeping AI action plan that trades oversight for acceleration—seeking to supercharge US dominance in artificial intelligence by dismantling regulatory guardrails, undercutting state authority, and fast-tracking infrastructure and development, per Wired. Our take: For marketers, this could mean an influx of new tools, looser content moderation, and shorter time to market for AI-driven campaigns. Marketers should audit their AI tools, implement AI best practices and safety training, and prepare for faster deployment cycles in a looser regulatory environment.
The news: Amazon is acquiring AI wearables company Bee, opening up a path for the Big Tech player to reenter the wearables field. The startup sells $49.99 AI-powered watches, which record and transcribe all conversations. Amazon said all Bee employees have been offered roles at the company. The value of the deal wasn’t disclosed. Our take: With Bee’s technology—and its endlessly refreshed user data—Amazon could incrementally improve its beleaguered Alexa or train future products. If the company plans to keep Bee running, rather than cancel the product and use its software elsewhere, it could have substantial competition in the AI wearables space—especially if OpenAI launches an AI device.
The news: Google’s AI Overviews feature gets users offline and out of search quickly, making it harder for brands and websites to capture attention and clicks. Only 8% of Google users whose search triggered an AI Overview clicked on a link, per Pew Research. Among those who didn’t see an AI summary, nearly twice as many (15%) clicked a link. Our take: Google’s AI tools offer fast answers, but they’re cutting off engagement before it can begin. For publishers, brands, and creators, that means fewer opportunities to connect, convert, or even be seen. Prioritize visibility on platforms favored by AI Overviews, like YouTube and Reddit, and strengthen owned channels like newsletters and apps to help boost appearance in results while reducing dependence on traffic from Google.
The news: ChatGPT isn’t just leading the chatbot race—it’s dominating it. With rapid growth and billions of daily prompts, it remains the go-to generative AI (genAI) tool for both businesses and consumers despite rising competition. The stats: Figures on the AI leader’s user growth are debated, but the most consistent recent number for weekly active users (WAUs) is 500 million—an increase from 100 million WAUs in November 2023, a year after its debut. That number tripled to 300 million by December 2024. Our take: As genAI evolves from a novelty product to a routine tool in workflows and daily life, ChatGPT is maintaining its role as an industry leader. To stay ahead, OpenAI should focus on improving ChatGPT as a core product and prove it can scale profits sustainably before racing to outbuild its rivals.
The trend: Consumer perception of healthcare providers worsens when they find out the doctor uses AI, according to research recently published in JAMA Network. Our take: Healthcare is inherently emotional, and many consumers might be under the impression that their doctor is using AI as a shortcut. In reality, the opposite might be true. Physicians use AI to make them more efficient and free them up to spend extra time with patients. But language and details matter, and providers and marketers must ensure this is reflected in their messaging.
The news: Google is looking to sign licensing deals with more publishers, per Bloomberg, to improve its products and address the threat of dwindling AI training resources. It’s launching a pilot project to partner with about 20 national news outlets, which could help ease tensions between Big Tech players and the publishers that are demanding compensation for their content. Our take: Google’s increased effort to license more media content shows its gearing up for a future in which AI-generated summaries dominate search. As this shift occurs, brands will need to focus on generative engine optimization (GEO) to get their content into AI summaries, such as by including concise takeaways that LLMs can surface. Preparing for a world where more premium content is behind paywalls could also include deeper publisher partnerships.
Conversational analytics tools like Adverity’s Data Conversations are helping marketers bypass traditional data bottlenecks by enabling instant, plain-language access to performance insights. No longer dependent on engineers or BI teams, marketers can now ask natural-language questions and receive real-time analytics—reducing inefficiencies and encouraging deeper experimentation. This shift coincides with growing investment in AI and analytics, especially amid economic pressure to optimize spending. With autonomous agents and AI assistants poised to automate reporting and flag anomalies, the landscape is moving toward faster, more agile decision-making—so long as teams implement governance, training, and clear frameworks for responsible adoption.
The news: Salesforce’s Agentforce has handled over 1 million AI support chats from its customers in the past nine months, resolving 84% of queries and cutting customer support case volume by 5%. The impact on business? About 500 Salesforce support engineers were reassigned to higher-value service roles, per VentureBeat. Our take: For brands, the lesson is clear—automation alone won’t win loyalty. Build or refine AI that reflects a brand’s voice and emotional intelligence. Lean on clarity, empathy, and easy handoffs to humans to reinforce user experience, which in turns drives loyalty and satisfaction.