As AI increasingly powers everything from holiday ads to product recommendations, retailers face a critical balancing act between efficiency and authenticity. "The question isn't if retailers will use AI, it's how they'll keep using it and maintain the human touch along the way," said host Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.”

Duolingo launched Duolingo Ads at Advertising Week New York 2025. The language-learning app is part of a flurry of new entrants in the digital advertising market in recent months, requiring brands to broaden their approach even amid macroeconomic uncertainty to make the most of new opportunities.

Airline group Lufthansa plans to cut 4,000 roles by 2030 to boost profitability as it leans into AI adoption. The Germany-based company said most layoffs will be limited to administrative roles as it evaluates what work won’t be necessary in the future. Identifying areas where AI is making work redundant and redeploying or retraining employees to higher-value tasks—rather than hacking away at worker numbers—can preserve institutional knowledge and build trust in the technology’s use across an organization.

The news: Facebook is promoting its Pokes feature in an effort to increase user engagement. Pokes—a mainstay feature of the early Facebook experience—are regaining popularity, prompting Facebook to make it a more central part of the user experience, per TechCrunch. Users can now track their “Pokes count” with friends, essentially a streak, on top of a dedicated Poke button added to Facebook profiles. Our take: Meta relies on Facebook for the lion’s share of its ad revenues. While Pokes may seem to be a low-stakes experiment, re-engaging younger users is a high-stakes battle, and even small features can tip the balance if they create sticky user habits.

The news: Google Translate is taking on Duolingo with a slate of new features, including a focus on gamification. An app update includes customizable language lessons based on skill level and is currently available for English, Spanish, and French learners. The lessons track users’ daily progress, similar to Duolingo’s popular “streaks” feature, and can create practice scenarios based on user prompts. Our take: Gamification and interactive features can boost engagement, but AI tools aren’t free to operate. Google may swallow Gemini’s translation costs to keep the service free, a perk that Big Tech’s deep pockets can easily handle and that Duolingo might have a difficult time matching.

The news: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said AI-driven efficiencies will reduce the company’s headcount. “As we roll out more generative AI and agents …we will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy said in a letter to employees. “In the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce.” Our take: Companies that pursue an AI-first mission by laying off employees risk lower team morale, a resistance to AI adoption among workers, and damaged consumer trust. Still, Amazon’s scale, deep pockets, and cloud infrastructure dominance may insulate it from backlash or major fallout.

Eurovision shows the importance of branding and timing: The music competition had notable brand activations with lessons to impart.

Both firms are slashing hundreds of jobs, citing AI efficiencies and market shifts—signaling a future where only the AI-proficient survive.

Pushing out contractors to prioritize automation could save costs but risks alienating users, hurting team morale, and compromising content quality in the short term.

Automation has turbocharged content creation, but AI costs are rising fast. Rather than cut expenses, Duolingo is banking on long-term user engagement to pay off.

With new funding, Speak prioritizes effective language learning through AI, skipping gamification—a bold move that could either differentiate it or cost user engagement.

While genAI features haven’t attracted new users, they’ve enhanced subscription offerings, helping the language app increase its profits and justify premium pricing.

Duo is going to the Super Bowl. McNugget Buddies are back. Grimace never left. The most exciting brand mascots respond to and play off of existing energy, transforming display and out-of-home ads into social media conversations. Here’s how some of the biggest brand mascots are building buzz.

The majority of US Gen Zers are now adults, according to the US Census Bureau. The cohort is more diverse than any other generation and has a distinct identity shaped by its digital dependency during the pandemic. Gen Z has emerged with a distinct “me mentality,” prioritizing mental health and individuality after a childhood behind screens.

Google quickens its pace in the generative AI race: Playing catch-up to generative AI rivals, it unveils enterprise and developer offerings this week. Performance and consumer privacy trump release timelines.