AI recommendations are reshaping financial services discovery. In this industry’s inaugural report, we track ChatGPT brand visibility in Q2 2026, the sources informing recommendations, and what it takes to stay competitive.

YouTube is becoming TV. As its viewing shifts to TV screens and ad budgets blur across channels, marketers need to rethink where TV ends and digital video begins.

Fox is acquiring streaming platform Roku for $22 billion, creating what analysts call the third-largest player in US streaming by share of viewing. The deal gives Fox direct access to Roku's 100 million households worldwide and positions the combined entity to dominate the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) market. "For Fox it really jumpstarts their digital ad revenues," said our analyst Ross Benes on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers." "Fox is still mostly a legacy company, and what they do have for streaming has largely been acquired, such as Tubi."

Human motivation, not technology, drives AI adoption. Our Building Blocks model helps marketers understand why people use AI, where adoption runs deepest, and where they can reach the right audiences.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the three biggest questions surrounding Google right now: Is Google spending too much in the AI race? Will the company finally rationalize its AI product naming conventions? And what will the next phase of YouTube's growth look like? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Principal Analyst Nate Elliott and Analyst Marisa Jones. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

AI’s spending surge is moving from ambition to accountability. Rising AI costs, agentic commerce, Apple’s assistant strategy, and consumer trust issues are changing the marketing landscape.

Microsoft reports strong Q4 FY2026 results: AI expansion points to more AI-driven search, cloud, and ad inventory.

Google sends fewer clicks to websites: Brands may need to rely less on organic search as AI Overviews and zero-click results make traffic harder to earn.

Tech firms launch new coalition: The group backs open-source models, which could give marketers more AI options but deepen industry divide.

Agentic commerce is reorganizing retail around five ecosystem layers. As AI agents gain influence, retailers and brands must decide where to compete, where to partner, and who controls the customer relationship.

What Q2 earnings say about the future of advertising

YouTube’s ad business stays resilient: Revenues may cool as video budgets fragment, but strong marketer and user demand keep it ahead in creator content.

Google beats Q2 expectations as AI spend accelerates: Marketers should expect Google's ad products to become more automated as AI spending continues.

GenAI user penetration is high across Asia-Pacific, but every country has its nuances. Government policy, local AI ecosystems, demographics, and digital infrastructure are creating distinct paths to adoption in China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

AI shopping lifts retail media clicks: Marketers may have opportunities to influence shoppers as purchase decisions take shape via retailers’ AI features.

YouTube has evolved into a sprawling advertising ecosystem that spans premium video, social, commerce, and AI. Its scale creates new opportunities, but marketers must navigate growing complexity to unlock better business outcomes.

OpenAI's ad target is not realistic: A 90% shortfall points to ad infrastructure that still isn't ready to attract major marketing budgets.

US programmatic advertising is consolidating around video, CTV, walled gardens, retail media, and agentic AI. Marketers need to balance signal, scale, transparency, and control as automated buying enters its next phase.

AI research has moved from novelty to habit in the shopping journey, and it's changing more than where consumers start looking. It's changing who wins.

The race to build AI infrastructure has triggered an unprecedented rush for capital and spending, reshaping capital markets and creating new pricing, platform, and vendor risks for marketers.