AI is rewriting the rules of digital media, advertising, and commerce at breakneck speed. Here’s what players in the digital realm can do to stay relevant.

Brands are testing the waters with AI-generated influencers as AI becomes a staple of advertising and everyday life. Telecommunications brand Vodafone is the latest to jump on the trend. Despite consumer hesitancy, AI is increasingly shaping the ad ecosystem, necessitating that advertisers take a balanced approach to leverage AI for its creative and operational potential without alienating consumers.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how Americans view GenAI-made media, if the “AI concern gap” between AI experts and the general public will widen, and why some of GenAI’s negativity might not apply to ads. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson and Senior Analyst, Max Willens. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Our exclusive data explores how social commerce and AI are reshaping the beauty path to purchase for US consumers.

Meta will allow advertisers to exclude specific words or phrases from AI-generated ad copy to protect and align with brand image as it accelerates its AI advertising push. While barriers to adoption remain, Meta’s continued push toward AI ad automation signals where the future of advertising is heading: One where AI will increasingly balance scale with control to give marketers confidence in experimenting with automated campaigns.

Consumers are apprehensive about AI's overall impact on society, and are especially pessimistic about its effect on media. But increasing familiarity with the technology is also breeding trust.

AI search engine Perplexity is facing potential ad business struggles with the departure of its head of advertising Taz Patel. The departure comes as Perplexity eyes new avenues for growth and is faced with legal pressures, per Adweek. Patel’s departure signals a deeper issue with AI search ad monetization, reflecting advertiser hesitation to spend without proven formats, measurement, and ROI, even as AI adoption grows.

The news: Citi Wealth has launched AI-driven tools for employees aimed at improving client communication, per a press release. Our take: AI platforms will deliver the greatest impact when banks shift them from passive information repositories to active drivers of business growth. This will require integrating the tools with other systems. For example, an AI assistant could automatically draft personalized client emails in response to a market event identified by Advisor Insights. A human advisor could then review and send the emails. This level of integration would increase the speed of personalized outreach, giving banks a competitive edge in maintaining and growing client relationships.

Japan-based agency holding company Dentsu is considering selling its international business, ending its goal to compete against rivals Publicis and WPP. Selling its international business could allow Dentsu to reposition itself as a specialized player in its core market rather than stretching itself thin internationally where it can’t match competitors. The change could make the company more sustainable in the long run, but even if it focuses solely on Japan, rapid adoption of emerging technologies in the ad sector will still necessitate innovation.

The news: 53% of US consumers cited a lack of human empathy and understanding as a concern with using Gen AI-powered customer service tools, per a survey conducted by American Express. Our take: GenAI will be an engine for automizing easy wins, like personalized customer service experiences or customized rewards. However, the tool needs to be selectively deployed for best results. Consumers also still desire access to live representatives for human touches that genAI cannot generate. Issuers who can provide a blend of both in their customer service experiences stand to win the approval of all age brackets across their cardholding base.

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: A majority of US adults are ready for AI to take their bosses’ jobs. 73% said they’re behind AI having a role in hiring, firing, and budgets, per a new ResumeNow survey. 69% are fine with AI monitoring for productivity purposes. Our take: 41% of C-suite professionals are concerned about the ethical use of AI, per Bearing Point. AI can quickly become a yes man, confirming decisions that might not be in a company’s best interest. Balance and oversight are key when adopting AI solutions. Using AI for hiring and budgeting will help streamline those processes, but AI decisions need to be monitored to keep bias and hallucinations in check.

B2B marketing data spending is rising as marketers prioritize strategies that improve ROI, enable AI, and fuel pipeline growth. Trusted data sources and integrated tools are helping teams optimize segmentation, compliance, and campaign performance.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss our ‘very specific, but highly unlikely’ predictions for the future of digital in 2026 and beyond. Why browsers will become the new AI battleground, what does it mean if agentic AI doesn’t take over shopping, and can GenAI actually lead to more of the jobs it can easily destroy? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings, Jeremy Goldman, Principal Analyst, Sara Marzano, and Vice President of Content, Paul Verna. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Efficiency, ROI, and AI integration are now driving B2B martech buying decisions. Marketers are consolidating stacks, prioritizing automation, and investing in tools that deliver measurable performance gains.

The news: Meta is moving forward with its ad automation ambitions by introducing new options to consolidate ad targeting, per a company announcement. Meta’s Ads Manager page noted that “some detailed targeting options have been combined,” and that ads using now-unavailable options no longer deliver starting in January. Our take: Automated AI campaigns are the path forward as long as giants like Meta continue pushing for automation and away from manual—necessitating advertisers take key steps to adapt. Campaign goals must be reframed for an AI-first environment.

The news: ByteDance’s TikTok paid people to lend their likenesses to digital avatars, often paying less than $1,000 per actor, per The New York Times. The avatars, which are free for TikTok advertisers to use, were meant for TikTok alone but have appeared on ByteDance’s video-editing tool CapCut and on platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Our take: AI-based productions are democratizing advertising, allowing even the smallest firms to produce high-quality ads with minimal effort and budgets. Forty-five percent of smaller advertisers will use generative AI (genAI) in their videos by 2026, per IAB’s 2025 Digital Video Ad Spend Report. However, brands must weigh the benefits against the risks, considering 31% of US adults say AI use in ads would make them less likely to buy, per CivicScience.

The news: New data from Digital Content Next revealed that Google AI Overviews lead to as much as a 25% decrease in publisher referral traffic, reinforcing brands’ and publishers’ ongoing concerns over the tech’s adverse impact on content effectiveness. Our take: AI Overviews will continue usurping referral traffic from publishers, meaning that the brands who last will be those who adapt to the change rather than fight it. Brands must optimize for AI visibility, not just search rankings.

The news: Microdramas may be the next big thing on mobile, at least that’s what a new Hollywood startup is hoping. MicroCo plans to use AI to help create 1- to 3-minute vertical-video shows meant for the mobile screens. Microdrama seasons would be 30- to 100-episode arcs—think telenovelas in short bursts. Our take: Microdramas are a growing venture and are ideal for the quick-hits crowd occupying social media. MicroCo could come out ahead if it can create and monetize buzzworthy content. While brands have the opportunity to advertise within short videos, they might fare better creating their own microdramas to appease consumers who are tired of ads.

The news: Advertisers are broadening how they use AI tools for marketing campaigns beyond data analysis, per a report from DoubleVerify. Nearly half (46%) of advertisers plan to use AI for creating media strategies in 2025, up slightly from 2024. An equal percentage of marketers are using AI for bidding optimization and mid-flight plan optimization. Our take: Widespread AI adoption in marketing is inevitable as AI tools proliferate across industries. Success hinges on how, not if, marketers implement the technology. Consumers are more likely to trust brands that are transparent about how they use AI in their ad materials.