On today's podcast episode, we discuss how bad "serial churning" has gotten and how to fix it, whether inventing new sports tournaments can work, if Perplexity's "search engine" will threaten Google, the use case for AI computers in your ears, where you can see 16 sunrises and sunsets every day, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, forecasting analyst Zach Goldner, and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

“The restaurant industry is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic,” our content director Becky Schilling said on an episode of “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast. On top of that, inflation and economic uncertainty has made for a tough four years. In face of these persisting challenges, restaurants are turning to AI and unified commerce solutions to improve the customer experience, build loyalty, and supercharge personalization.

The integration of AI into marketing is a top priority. Nearly 60% of organizations worldwide are integrating genAI into their marketing efforts, and almost 80% had allocated or planned to allocate budget to genAI in their marketing initiatives in the six months following an October 2023 survey by Capgemini. AI offers benefits but also introduces ethical and regulatory considerations and the need to improve data management.

“[Generative AI] is an aggregated view of all we know,” said Tess Kornfield, vice president of product and data science at ThredUP, at our Outlook and Strategies for 2024’s Second Half EMARKETER Summit. Issues with generative AI aren’t always a result of the tech itself. Often, AI exposes existing issues which are exacerbated by the tech’s scale and efficiency. Here are three areas marketers should watch when working with generative AI.

“The pace of change and innovation is accelerating, and that's bringing with it a lot of big new challenges for advertisers to navigate,” our analyst Jasmine Enberg said during our recent Outlook and Strategies for 2024’s Second Half summit. “It's also bringing pockets of new opportunities as ads become ubiquitous across platforms, creators reshape strategies, and AI powers it all.”

Intuit Mailchimp used AI to create a B2B marketing campaign focusing on the “clustomer,” the amorphous and diverse audience brands must reach with ads. The resulting ad performed in the top 5% of Ipsos ads, a success which Intuit Mailchimp CMO Michelle Taite attributed to the team’s willingness to experiment with AI.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what to make of Google delaying the deprecation of third-party cookies (again), what was behind its most recent ad revenue growth, if it can defend its search business from a wave of AI, and what stands out about YouTube's recent performance. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

Nearly half (49%) of US retailers report using store intelligence technologies (like AI/machine learning, IoT sensors, shelf-edge cameras) have improved price planning, according to a March 2024 report from Coresight Research sponsored by Simbe.

Snapchat has found its groove again: The company’s Q1 earnings beat expectations, with strong revenue and subscription growth.

The company is going all in on AI and diving further into crypto with a rollout of stablecoin payments

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what happens now that the TikTok ban bill has been signed into law, whether AI is ready to significantly change search, the likelihood that Threads ads will be a hit, what social commerce's ceiling will be, the WNBA and the sports gender pay gap, and more. Tune into the discussion with analysts Jasmine Enberg, Minda Smiley, and Max Willens.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how concerned we should be about AI-driven mass unemployment, how ad industry jobs will change, and the ways in which AI will affect a persons workday. "In Other News," we talk about what to make of Apple's AI strategy and the AI measurement problem. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jacob Bourne and Gadjo Sevilla.

Regional banks are holding out for lower interest rates to spur loan demand and alleviate deposit costs.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what happens when GenAI hits the turbo button on economic growth, the next major shift AI is going to create, and the biggest concerns regarding an AI-powered injection of this magnitude. "In Other News," we talk about why Amazon is pouring more money into AI company Anthropic and what happens when ChatGPT steps into the physical world. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jacob Bourne and Gadjo Sevilla.

It takes time to learn a new technology and sometimes, along the way, stumbles happen. As the role of AI in marketing grows, brands must be transparent about how, where, and when they are using the technology. Nearly half (49%) of CMOs in North America plan to focus more on using AI in strategy, creative, and content development for media use over the next 12 months, according to an August 2023 Dentsu survey conducted by B2B International. Here are three missteps brands have made with AI and content creation and what brands can learn from them.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss why social media platforms are less equipped to stop toxic content, the main ways AI will heighten brand safety concerns, and steps marketers can take to mitigate risk. "In Other News," we talk about whether brands repurposing vertical video ads for TVs can work and what Hulu adding its content to Disney+ means for the streaming universe. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Paul Verna.

P&C insurers haven’t seen a market as hard as this one for a generation. Those willing to rework their business model from a reactive to a more proactive approach stand a better chance of returning to profitability.

Generative AI is yet to have a profound impact on media plans and marketing workflow. “The promise of genAI is to ultimately achieve a digital dream state of advertising…where the right message reaches the right consumer on the right platform at the right time,” our analyst Max Willens said on an episode of the “Behind the Numbers” podcast. “But right now, the costs associated with those technological capabilities are not there, nor has the ROI been worked out … We’re a ways away.”

AI agents are coming—“It’s not years. It’s months,” said Adam Buhler, senior vice president of creative technology at Digitas.

Earlier this month, Apple unveiled a new AI model, called the ReaLM system, which can recognize and pull out phone numbers or recipes from on-page images, or respond to a request to call “the bottom one” when users are presented with a list of local pharmacies.