AI Digital debuts AI Creative Studio: New genAI tools promise scalable, TV-grade creative—but consumer skepticism clouds payoff.

Customer experience (CX) is becoming one of the most important drivers of sustainable growth as retention, trust, and loyalty take priority over acquisition alone. In this video, Principal Analyst Kelsey Voss explores why CMOs are investing more heavily in CX—and how organizational alignment, AI, and journey consistency are shaping long-term customer relationships.

There’s a gap in usage and optimism, as nurses are more optimistic about AI improving care quality and outcomes.

Ten charts reveal where digital markets are headed as AI shapes ad trends, social and retail media take a bigger share of ad spend, and consumer adoption of AI-driven buying influences ecommerce growth.

Omnicom’s AI emphasis is raising talent questions, as sparse mentions of people highlight layoffs and a broader industry tilt toward automation and cost efficiency.

CMOs are expanding their mandate beyond acquisition to include customer experience (CX) as a structural growth lever. But silos, fragmented data, and rushed AI adoption threaten retention. Alignment now determines whether CX builds loyalty or fuels churn.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how much AI is really helping with productivity, the hidden trade-offs of using the technology in the workplace, how to counter slow and uneven adoption, and how AI is affecting the way workers view their roles. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with analysts Jacob Bourne and Grace Harmon. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Agency consolidation is accelerating workforce cuts; Omnicom and IPG reduced 8,200 roles last year, as merger synergies and AI adoption reshape operations.

Omnicom's scale expanded faster than organic growth; its IPG deal-driven revenue surge contrasts with modest underlying performance in its core business.

Anthropic says it prioritizes trust over monetization; the company says ads inside AI chat would undermine credibility in work, health, and reasoning contexts.

Advertisers use AI across creative and targeting, yet 61% report no meaningful gains and only 30% trust it.

Growing consumer adoption of AI tools is positioning AI platforms as an alternative shopping channel—but most AI-driven transactions are still completed on retailer websites.

AI will reshape premium video buying—and NBCUniversal’s proof-of-concept shows agentic systems can unify planning and optimization across linear and streaming in seconds.

Agencies that don’t make AI skills a core part of employee training risk being sidelined in the age of AI.

Retailers experimenting with agentic AI are doing so with commercial urgency, not curiosity. In an EMARKETER interview, Criteo’s Michael Greene said retailers now see onsite AI as “mission critical” for owning the shopping journey—especially as consumers increasingly use chat-based tools for early discovery. Generic LLMs lack real retail signals like inventory, regional availability, and nuanced category expertise, making proprietary data the retailer’s strongest edge. With Gen Z already leaning heavily on AI for purchase research, retailers must build systems that deliver more relevant, trustworthy guidance than general chat interfaces. The mandate is clear: build AI that improves baskets, conversion, and shopper retention.

LinkedIn released a report on the trends shaping small businesses in 2026, proving that technology, trust, and relationship building will be the pillars of success for small businesses in the years ahead. Despite the unique roadblocks small businesses face amid current macroeconomic conditions, success is possible for those who stay on top of emerging technologies, invest in their digital presence, and build professional relationships.

Exclusive survey findings benchmark retail media network structures, capabilities, and priorities as the landscape continues to take shape.​