This year has the makings for a major year in advertising, with big events like the Olympics and the presidential election on the calendar. But don’t expect 2024 to follow the same patterns as 2020 or 2016. Following duel strikes and in the midst of streamer consolidation, this year media planners need to be agile aware of changes in consumer sentiment and content. Here are five trends media experts think you should watch.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what comes after the end of search as we know it, what generative AI (genAI) is best at today, who the right partner for Paramount+ is, what Ikea's plans to save the mall entail, the most popular alcoholic drinks in the US, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of reports editing Rahul Chadha and analysts Ross Benes and Max Willens.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the main problems folks are facing today when it comes to building creatives, how to overcome them, and what the creative problems of the future might be. "In Other News," we talk about the generative AI (genAI) priorities for marketers this year and what will actually replace cookies. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Bill Fisher and Aarjav Thakore, senior product manager at StackAdapt.

2024 is shaping up to be the year of the AI-powered shopping assistant. Just two months in, retailers from Walmart and Amazon to Ikea and Chevron have released a flurry of AI-based updates, hoping to make the shopping experience easier and more relevant.

Acquirers, networks, and issuers each play distinct roles in the payments purchasing chain. But those roles are shifting as providers adapt to the rise of software and value-added services, increased payment method choice, and cloud-based innovation.

The ecommerce search experience is ripe for reinvention: Pinterest, Walmart, Etsy, and others are relying on AI to deliver more relevant results and drive sales.

OpenAI to take on Google directly with a search product: Generative AI can enhance search and introduce new problems. Google’s vast search market advantage will be tough to surpass.

Ulta Beauty is using in-store vending machines to bring more joy to the shopping experience, and AI enables it to analyze more customer data for personalization. The retailer is also training its store associates to engage younger beauty consumers.

Shoppers made a record number of Amazon purchases this holiday season: Strong consumer spending coupled with momentum in its ad business helped propel Amazon’s earnings well past expectations.

Google's Q4 in a nutshell: The search giant had strong overall earnings with a slight ad revenue miss, bolstered by cloud success and generative AI innovation.

The future of B2B content marketing is with genAI, but marketers must still learn how to overcome its challenges, adopt innovative strategies, and embrace the technology as a helpful and increasingly essential tool.

Taylor Swift is the latest victim of AI deepfakes: Faked explicit images of the star went viral online, prompting regulators to condemn AI.

GenAI will generate more financial value for banks than any other technology introduced in the last decade. Per a September 2023 McKinsey & Company research, it could hit $200 billion to $340 billion annually through greater productivity.

In 2025, Google will begin gradually phasing out third-party cookies, with the goal to eradicate them by year’s end. To help our readers prepare, we answered the most common questions we receive on cookie deprecation and identity resolution.

Consumers’ adoption of AI banking chatbots varies by country. Though the US and UK promote their tech-friendly banking environments, the geographically concentrated, Big-Six-focused Canadian market has taken the lead in embracing this much-hyped tech.

GenAI is on the agenda for most retailers in 2024: Walmart, Target, Canadian Tire, and others are turning to the tech to boost customer and employee satisfaction.

On today's podcast episode, our contestants compete in The Great Behind the Numbers Take Off, 2024 advertising trends edition, where they will try and cook up the most interesting predictions for the coming year. They'll discuss how the media will go to war with generative AI (genAI), why the programmatic ad pendulum will swing toward quality, and a perfect digital media storm thats brewing for brands. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Paul Verna and analysts Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf and Max Willens.

GenAI could generate between $200 billion and $340 billion (9% to 15% of banks’ operating profits) in value annually through greater productivity, per a 2023 McKinsey & Company report. But its potentially disruptive force won’t take hold in 2024.

Leading financial institutions have discovered new ways to harness the power of AI to supercharge their operations and customer service.

The Latin American economy is on the upswing, with digital innovation in the driver’s seat. Our trends report explores how retail media, commerce, and generative AI will be redefined in 2024 and what businesses need to know to get ahead.