AI is rapidly becoming central to retail operations, with 45% of organizations using AI tools daily and nearly all planning to sustain or increase investments next year, according to an Amperity survey. While fears of mass job losses have yet to materialize, ongoing economic pressures—including weak consumer sentiment, rising inflation, and a softening labor market—are driving a surge in layoffs. As companies turn to AI to boost efficiency and manage costs, the challenge lies in balancing automation with the human expertise needed to navigate uncertain times.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how much of a splash ChatGPT’s new ‘Instant Checkout’ is likely to make, what kinds of things people are most likely to use it to buy, and if Amazon and Google can offer compelling alternatives. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and guest host, Marcus Johnson, and Senior Analysts, Carina Lamb (formerly Perkins) and Zak Stambor.
Gen X and millennial women are a key force in the personal care and beauty market. They’re outpacing overall market averages across several core product categories, underscoring their importance for brand growth and retailer strategy.
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.
DirecTV and Glance will bring AI-powered ads to idle TV screens in 2026, per Digital Trends. Instead of a screensaver, DirecTV’s streaming devices will display personalized AI content, opening doors for shoppable ads, travel ideas, news, and more. Personalization is key for those spots to succeed. Advertisers should focus on demographics and viewing context for placements. If the ads don’t feel relevant or include images that delve into uncanny valley, consumers could turn off the TV and leave the brand altogether.
Google is embedding its Gemini AI deeper into Gmail with Help Me Schedule—an assistant that proactively identifies when users are trying to set a meeting and auto-suggests times directly within the message. The recipient just picks a slot, and it’s booked for both. GenAI is now part of the fabric of work—booking meetings, writing copy, summarizing calls. Tools like Gemini and Copilot go beyond boosting output to freeing agencies and creatives from menial tasks, giving them back time to focus on ideas that actually move the brand forward.
Google and WPP struck a $400 million, five-year deal to expand AI tools and services across the UK ad agency’s services. The extension of their partnership, first announced in April 2024, marks a structural acceleration of how AI is becoming embedded in marketing operations. Deals like Google and WPP’s redefine what “AI maturity” looks like in marketing and how alliances are reshaping competitive dynamics. For CMOs, announcements like this emphasize the need for strong oversight of agency partnerships and a clear framework for measuring AI-driven efficiency and creative quality.
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.
Holding company Publicis Groupe reported a strong Q3 2025, growing organic net revenues 5.7% YoY, above analyst growth expectations of 5.19%. The company now expects 2025 revenues to grow between 5% to 5.5%, up from its previous forecast of 4% to 5%. Publicis’ heavy AI push and performance-driven strategy means it is well-positioned to continue growing while rival agencies struggle to remain competitive amid economic turbulence.
Walmart Inc. announced a partnership with OpenAI to enable Walmart and Sam’s Club customers to make purchases within ChatGPT using the latter’s Instant Commerce feature. Even if agentic commerce’s adoption is gradual, early movers like Walmart will have the outsize advantage. Being discoverable in channels where users conduct product and pricing research could help retailers reinforce their value proposition and stay top-of-mind with prospective customers as this commerce scales up.
This sponsored article by Fetch will explore AI in the consumer goods sector.
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.
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is evolving into a dynamic, data-rich medium that blends physical and digital engagement. Speaking at Advertising Week New York, OAAA’s Anna Bager and Vistar Media’s Lucy Markowitz described how AI, measurement, and social media are redefining OOH’s role in omnichannel marketing. Digital formats now make up over 36% of total OOH revenues, while programmatic buying and AI-driven creative optimization are transforming static screens into responsive canvases. Partnerships like TikTok’s “Out of Phone” show how viral content can extend into public spaces. The next phase of OOH will be defined not by size, but by intelligence and interactivity.
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.
47% of US banking decision-makers say their institutions have already rolled out generative AI, up from 10% in 2023, said data from EY-Parthenon.
Klarna and Splitit are pursuing AI initiatives to keep their products top-of-mind for consumers, per press releases. Klarna partnered with Google Cloud to power AI-backed hyperpersonalized marketing campaigns. Splitit debuted its Agentic Commerce Partner Program, bringing card-linked buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans to agent-powered shopping. Replacing human created art with AI generated images is a risky play for marketing, but Splitit’s BNPL angle with agentic commerce may help it establish a foothold in the installment plan arena, especially when tied to shoppers’ preferred cards that they trust and earn rewards.
Once seen as a revenue channel, commerce media is fast becoming the connective tissue between brands, retailers, and consumers. The industry’s focus is expanding from monetization to meaning, a theme that resonated throughout Advertising Week New York.
At Tech Futures 2025 in New York last week, IBM general manager of corporate strategy Roger Premo and VP of AI and automation Nick Fuller outlined how enterprises and brands can scale AI responsibly—and profitably. Acting as “client zero,” IBM has improved its run rate by $3.5 billion—about 8% of its revenues—through internal AI adoption. Brands that treat AI as a business transformation, not a tech trial, will move faster from proof of concept to profit. Align leadership vision with a disciplined data strategy, invest in unified platforms, and embed governance from the start.
At Philadelphia’s 1682 conference, Coca-Cola’s Benny Lee and Hershey’s Andy Hunt shared how two of the world’s oldest CPG brands are transforming retail through creativity, data, and AI. Coca-Cola is evolving from selling beverages to designing experiences—using AI to power global design systems and create immersive in-store storytelling through products like Y3000. Hershey’s is closing the gap between physical and digital by embedding data into every stage of retail, from aisle feedback to retail media KPIs. Both executives envision the store of the future as dynamic, data-driven, and human-led—where AI supports storytelling, not automation.
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.