Grocery delivery intermediaries like DoorDash and Uber are gaining ground, offering new ways to reach high-intent shoppers. Meanwhile, retailers like Walmart and Amazon continue to lead with strong delivery infrastructure and valuable customer data.

The trend: Retailers and brands are rapidly weaving generative AI (genAI) into their operations to boost efficiency and scale without adding significant headcount. The breadth of the initiatives signals an abrupt shift in many companies’ thinking about genAI from a useful tool to a potential core business driver. Our take: GenAI enables companies to do more with less—a crucial advantage at a time when macro uncertainty is making many firms wary of increasing their headcount. As early adopters scale their efforts and share results, momentum will grow—prompting others to follow out of necessity, not choice.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how Americans’ feelings towards AI have changed this year, the gaps in concern between AI experts and the general public, and the best ways to get started with AI. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Analyst Grace Harmon, and Senior Vice President of Media Content and Strategy Henry Powderly. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The news: The Trade Desk unveiled Deal Desk, a new tool to fix the inefficiencies in private marketplace buying, where up to 90% of structured deal IDs fail to scale. By automating deal creation via API and surfacing metadata like fit and availability, Deal Desk aims to save time and unlock premium inventory. Our take: As PMP spending overtakes open exchange buys, The Trade Desk is shoring up the backend infrastructure that supports this shift. Deal Desk positions the company to capture more high-value spend and offers a cleaner path to scale in a fragmented programmatic landscape.

In this report, CMOs share how they’re transforming influencer strategies to deliver business impact—and what solution providers can do to help.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss where GenAI is being used along the current shopper journey, how agents can help, the most overhyped piece of this, and one thing retailers and brands are paying enough attention to as a result. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Carina Perkins and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the many definitions of an “AI agent”, why they’re so hard to build right, and what comes next. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Analyst Jacob Bourne, and Vice President of GenAI Dan Van Dyke. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

AI agents are revolutionizing marketing with autonomous capabilities that go far beyond traditional automation. Organizations are implementing AI agents to boost workflow efficiency and prepare for a consumer marketplace increasingly mediated by AI.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how companies can figure out where AI should go, how to deal with model inaccuracies, and tons of tips on how best to use AI at work. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Vice President Henry Powderly, and Senior Analyst Gadjo Sevilla for the conversation. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss why people might become more worried about using AI at work, why they might become less worried, and how significant an impact artificial intelligence has had on jobs already. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Vice President Henry Powderly, and Senior Analyst Gadjo Sevilla, for the conversation. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

B2B influencer marketing has become a key strategy for driving trust and engagement. Buyers turn to industry experts, micro-influencers, and thought leaders for credible insights. Marketers should use video and events to maximize reach as well as AI for efficiency and measurable ROI.

AI is transforming B2B content marketing, but trust and differentiation remain critical. Buyers seek authenticity from peers, influencers, and industry experts. Marketers must balance AI, human expertise, and bold strategies to drive engagement and growth in 2025.

Worldwide programmatic display ad spending will grow 14.6% in 2025. This report explains our programmatic forecasts for six countries to map global spending trends.

Programmatic plays a small but growing role in digital audio services ad spending. Major digital audio platforms are leaning in.

B2B ecommerce growth is outpacing B2B product and electronic sales growth. And ecommerce site sales are taking an increasing share of the market. Macroeconomic conditions, buyers’ preferences, and AI use are fueling increased digital transactions, particularly through third-party marketplaces.

Disruption is imminent for programmatic. The market teeters on the brink of several seismic shifts around identity and audience data. And a landmark antitrust ruling could energize an already hot ad tech consolidation streak.

Meta Advantage+ is increasingly relying on AI: Some campaigns will lose the ability to manually target consumers in an effort to lean on automation.

Traditional prompt-driven AI is giving way to agentic AI, which consists of autonomous agents capable of independently performing tasks, making real-time decisions, and learning from experience. Though it’s still in its early phases, agentic AI enables marketers to enhance operational efficiency, personalize customer interactions, and drive innovation.

When we asked US banking customers how they felt about their banks using AI to improve their banking experience, attitudes were mixed—and often sharply divided along demographic lines.