On today’s podcast episode, we discuss whether “ChatGPT with Ads” will scare users away, the effectiveness of chatbot ads versus traditional search ads, and whether there’s an ethical component to advertising during a search conversation compared with the blue-link format. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Principal Analyst Nate Elliot and Analyst Marisa Jones. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Retail returns have quietly become one of the most expensive, complex, and customer-sensitive parts of commerce.

AI companions present ad potential through high trust and engagement, but safety and regulation pose real risks to advertisers.

AI platforms must tread carefully to avoid crossing into diagnosis and treatment advice

The ad industry kept busy during the holiday season, so we rounded up the biggest stories from the last two weeks you need to know about.

As patients arrive at their appointments with AI-sourced self-diagnoses, healthcare marketers must reassert providers’ authority.

Retailers faced a challenging year as economic factors, new technologies, and changing consumer behaviors reshaped the landscape. Here are our top five stories from this past year and what they meant to a tumultuous industry.

YouTube is experimenting with AI avatars based on a small group of popular creators via Google’s “Portraits” feature, which allows fans to have conversations with AI versions of real-life creators. Advertisers should approach AI creators with cautious interest, closely monitoring how the format evolves as an ad opportunity while balancing emerging AI capabilities with consumers’ sensitivity to authenticity.

This FAQ breaks down what AI companions are, how they differ from traditional chatbots, why they’re reshaping consumer loyalty, and what marketers need to prepare for as engagement, monetization, and advertising opportunities begin to take shape within these conversational environments.

Healthcare AI startup OpenEvidence is aiming to raise $250 million in equity funding, amping its valuation to $12 billion, which doubled from just two months ago, per The Information. OpenEvidence’s surge in valuation underscores physicians’ growing demand for AI tools that surface credible, peer-reviewed information.

In 2026, personal lines insurers will face a market reshaped by changing demand, risk, and consumer expectations. Growth hinges on smarter digital engagement, genAI transformation, richer data, real-time risk insights, and emerging coverage areas.

For social platforms, AI hype is colliding with user fatigue and rising regulations. In the US, they face stalled engagement and tougher rules as people demand more control and more human experiences.

31% of US SMB marketers and business owners use AI-driven design or layout recommendations to optimize landing pages, according to a June 2025 survey from Ascend2 and Unbounce.

An OpenAI leak indicates that ads are coming to ChatGPT in the near future, according to computer engineer Tibor Blaho. Advertisers should anticipate a future where ads become a core part of the ChatGPT experience and act quickly to test and learn before competitors, but should remain agile in their strategies and remain informed about developments in consumer behavior.

OpenAI has refuted legal claims that ChatGPT is at fault for a teenager’s recent suicide. Scrutiny of AI tools being used for emotional and therapeutic support will only intensify. Both general-purpose platforms and specialized healthcare AI tools should proactively take action to impose age restrictions, automatically end sessions at the first sign of emotional distress, and clearly direct users to mental health resources when appropriate.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the three big questions surrounding Meta in Q3 and beyond: How will AI-generated social video affect social media? What’s the biggest takeaway regarding Meta using AI chatbot conversations to target ads? And do Meta's new smart glasses really have a future? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Analyst Emmy Liederman, and Principal Analyst Minda Smiley. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Tomorrow’s grocery shoppers will expect AI tools that anticipate their needs, faster checkouts, and consistent pricing across channels. In this new era, convenience and technology will shape behavior, but value and trust will remain the deciding factors.

AI adoption is accelerating faster than regulation, reshaping consumer behavior. Younger generations lead the charge for mainstream acceptance, forcing brands to navigate new risks and opportunities in AI-powered content.

The news: Publishers are tackling AI scraping with a new strategy—pay per crawl. Rather than one-time licensing deals, usage-based compensation models would have AI companies pay publishers and content providers based on how often their work is used in AI-generated responses. Our take: These usage-based models could be a more equitable deal for publishers whose content powers AI engines that are earning tens or hundreds of millions of dollars per year. To avoid getting locked out of monetization, brands should act now to review existing content agreements, explore licensing opportunities, and push for fairer models that recognize the value of original content.

Retailers face an atypical holiday season. Instead of the usual end-of-year boom, 2025 is expected to bring a rare deceleration in holiday sales growth.