Social platforms want a bigger role in search ad budgets, but user habits lag behind. As search expands beyond traditional engines, these platforms must turn occasional behavior into intent-driven activity to grab ad dollars.

OpenAI's new ads manager and a $50K buy-in aim to turn ChatGPT into a self-serve media buy.

GenAI health users will jump 37% YoY in 2026, but most queries will still begin on search—forcing marketers to balance SEO with AI discovery.

OpenAI tells investors ads will hit $2.5 billion this year and $100 billion by 2030, betting scale offsets steep costs.

AI is reshaping how consumers discover and choose products, creating a fast-growing new commerce channel with its own set of unique challenges.

Content marketing is at an inflection point. AI tools have made it faster and cheaper to produce content at scale, but the resulting flood of material creates challenges on marketers' highest-earning channels.

The path to purchase describes how consumers move from initial awareness to buying a product or service. In 2026, that journey looks nothing like the linear funnel marketers once relied on. Generative AI (genAI) tools, social commerce platforms, and compressed decision cycles are creating new routes to conversion that bypass traditional search-and-browse patterns. This FAQ examines what is driving these shifts and how marketers can adapt.

Consumers are increasingly making decisions inside AI conversations, before traditional signals ever appear. That shift is creating a new visibility gap between brands that can access early intent and those that can’t.

AI has already overhauled how retailers think about the beginning of consumers' purchasing journey. How AI can help in the middle of that funnel, as consumers deciding what and where to purchase, is starting to take shape.

The ecommerce playbook is changing as AI disruptors reshape the path to purchase. In this video, Principal Analyst Sky Canaves explores how discovery, decision-making, and loyalty are evolving—and what retailers and brands must do to stay competitive.

63% of US adults say having ads in AI search results would make them trust those results less, according to a January survey from Ipsos.

Around half of Americans are turning to the AI tool for clarity on test results and a second opinion, but still default to doctors for prescription questions and image analysis.

This FAQ covers what AI creative optimization is, which tools are available, how consumers react, and how marketing teams should reorganize for the shift.

Agentic shopping could account for more than a quarter of ecommerce spending within the next few years, according to a September 2025 Boston Consulting Group report. But that potential hinges on retailers integrating AI into the shopping journey in ways that feel beneficial to consumers.

ChatGPT ads could open up in a second window via a partnership with Smartly

AI is collapsing discovery and checkout into one flow, shifting control of payments upstream. New protocols, agent logic, and data control will decide which payment providers capture value.

A leaked Amazon deck positions its Rufus AI shopping assistant as a high-intent retail media channel with CPC pricing on the horizon.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT ads top $100 million in annualized revenues, but fast growth masks weak proof of results.

Consumers turn to search engines first for answers to health-related questions, even as social, video, and AI tools gain ground. Meanwhile, streaming TV is reshaping healthcare ad reach. Digital drives health-related action—but trust gaps shadow every channel.