Q3 was a record-breaking quarter for the three largest ad platforms, but heavy spending on AI is compressing margins and raising questions about how the technology will impact the future of digital advertising.

Google is expanding its use of agentic AI across its advertising suite, announcing that Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor—two new, Gemini-powered assistants—will roll out to all English-language Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts in early December. Per Google, the tools aim to make campaign management and data interpretation faster, simpler, and more conversational. AI copilots are becoming table stakes. With Google and Amazon both embedding agentic AI into their ecosystems, conversational interfaces will soon be the default way advertisers plan and manage campaigns.

Generative AI is transforming how consumers discover products and brands earn visibility. As usage of—and trust in—AI grows, brands must rethink how they optimize for discovery and measure success.

Google parent Alphabet reported strong Q3 earnings on Wednesday, with revenues growing 16% YoY to $102.35 billion, while Google Search & other, YouTube Ads, and Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices all saw double-digit growth. But Google simultaneously experienced a notable loss in an ongoing antitrust case that could carry implications for the future of search advertising. Google will remain a cornerstone of successful ad strategies, at least in the short-term.

OpenAI detailed new ChatGPT mental health safety measure results on Monday, alongside an internal analysis that shows potentially millions of users’ conversations indicate emotional reliance on the chatbot. Marketers should educate parents of teens and young adults about safe AI use, and emphasize best practices like clinician collaboration, backup safety measures, and transparent data policies to build credibility and trust.

Holding company WPP launched WPP Open Pro on Thursday, a self-serve AI tool piloted by Google and other clients that creates ad campaigns from start to finish in a push to attract small businesses. WPP’s newest move means marketers can continue to expect greater automation, cost savings, and a shift in agency relationships.

AI will soon redefine how people find information. As search engines and generative AI engines converge, the next wave of discovery is emerging—and marketers who invest in AI optimization now will secure an early advantage.

Holding company Publicis Groupe reported a strong Q3 2025, growing organic net revenues 5.7% YoY, above analyst growth expectations of 5.19%. The company now expects 2025 revenues to grow between 5% to 5.5%, up from its previous forecast of 4% to 5%. Publicis’ heavy AI push and performance-driven strategy means it is well-positioned to continue growing while rival agencies struggle to remain competitive amid economic turbulence.

A Yext analysis of 6.8 million citations across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity found that 86% of AI-generated answers rely on brand-managed content—from official websites and listings to reviews. First-party sites led with 44% of citations, followed by listings (42%) and reviews (8%). The findings suggest AI models increasingly trust structured, authoritative data over publisher or community sources. But fewer users click through—only 8% from AI summaries versus 15% from standard search—indicating that generative platforms are capturing more engagement directly. To stay discoverable, marketers must pair clean, structured first-party data with strong social visibility as AI search reshapes traffic flows.

AI chatbots most often use health media sources like Mayo Clinic and Healthline in answering consumer health-related questions, according to an Outcomes Rocket study. There’s an opportunity for marketers to grow chatbot attention with quality content. Create credible and user-friendly content and avoid overly complex or jargony material to appeal to the way chatbots are constructing answers. Cater to the preference for recent data and summarized content by updating content frequently and offering condensed takes at the top of posts.

Meta is in discussions with Google to use Gemini as a benchmark for its own content understanding systems. The social media giant wants to test its systems against Gemini, not integrate the AI model, to help support its ad targeting and recommendation systems. Findings could show Gemini is stronger, or that Meta’s own systems already match or surpass it. Stronger content understanding could yield more nuanced insights and richer ad tooIs, enabling better campaign planning, targeting, and measurement. It highlights that AI in ads is less about flashy features and more about the invisible infrastructure that shapes outcomes.

Anthropic’s Claude AI is taking on competitors in a multimillion dollar ad campaign. The “Keep Thinking” campaign positions Claude as “the AI for problem solvers” and marks Anthropic’s first foray into brand marketing. The campaign is a necessary start to help Claude gain market share and boost its comparatively small user base, but it’s only the first step in a long journey ahead for Anthropic.

Google’s Gemini surpassed longtime leaders like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Meta’s Threads to become the No. 1 free iPhone app in the US App Store. Downloads surged due to the viral success of its Nano Banana AI image-editing feature, which sparked intense social media engagement, per ZDNet. Gemini’s breakthrough demonstrates the power of social media to amplify AI tools overnight, yet its long-term position will hinge on whether it can evolve from a trend into a staple. For now, Nano Banana’s popularity is a huge win for Google, but the next test is whether Gemini can convert that buzz into habit.

Tariffs and inflation are reshaping retail, pushing shoppers toward value and convenience. Off-price chains gained ground, while housing-linked retailers sought new growth paths in a slowing market.

The news: Apple will reportedly launch an AI-enabled web search tool powered by Google’s Gemini, potentially accelerating long-awaited software improvements and helping Apple enter the AI search race, per Bloomberg. The “answer engine” would be integrated with Siri and could help Apple compete with OpenAI and Perplexity. The feature, internally called World Knowledge Answers, will aggregate information from across the web into AI Overviews-esque summaries. It may eventually be added to Safari and Spotlight. Our take: Apple’s pivot toward external AI partnerships highlights how unready it is to compete head-to-head in foundational AI or search. While a Gemini integration could improve Siri and add powerful search capabilities, it could threaten Apple’s core advantage: total control over the user experience.

Voice assistants will add nearly 30 million US users between 2022 and 2029, fueled by genAI, demographic shifts, and new hardware. Key adoption trends, platform battles, and marketing opportunities are shaping the next era of voice technology.

If social media is a digital shopping mall, genAI assistants are personal shoppers. As AI gains ground, it could disrupt established social shopping behaviors.

The news: Crypto exchange Gemini launched an XRP edition of the Gemini credit card in collaboration with Ripple, per a press release. Cardholders will receive XRP as a reward for everyday spend. Our take: We forecast the amount of US crypto payment users remains low, at 1.3% of the population. However, the share of people who use crypto at all is more than seven times as large—suggesting Gemini’s new card could attract a larger base than cards designed around using crypto at checkout.

Google will soon unveil an AI-powered personal health coach for the Fitbit app. Powered by Gemini, the health coach will be available to Fitbit Premium subscribers. Google will roll out a preview in October with the latest Fitbit trackers, Fitbit smartwatches, and Pixel Watches. Our take: The AI arms race has hit the health app and wearables space, and Google/Fitbit beat rivals to the punch with an AI personalized health coach. Highly customized health recommendations will be a must-have in the next iteration of digital health tools. Players in this space must ensure their AI-delivered guidance is reliable, while not turning off consumers with pricey subscription requirements.

AI-fueled gains kept Google, Meta, and Amazon atop Q2’s ad market, but slowing engagement, murky ROI, and macro risks leave the triopoly’s future growth story more complex than the headlines suggest.