Gmail is getting its own agentic AI, signaling that email marketing could undergo a major shift if users bite on the feature.

Google is launching a new Gmail feature called Manage Subscriptions, giving users a streamlined way to bulk unsubscribe from newsletters and promotional emails. The tool—rolling out across web, Android, and iOS—centralizes subscription management and ranks senders by frequency, making high-volume emailers easier to flag. With fewer barriers to opt-out, brands risk higher unsubscribe rates if they rely on one-size-fits-all content. Gmail's update reflects a broader trend toward more curated inboxes and less tolerance for irrelevant messaging. Marketers now face heightened pressure to improve targeting, pacing, and value—or risk being silently purged by users looking to clean house fast.

Google fights AI-driven fraud with QR codes: As security threats grow, it’s ditching SMS codes in favor of QR authentication—another step toward passkeys and a future with fewer phishing vulnerabilities.

Email is the top area where marketers are increasing their budgets. Some 62% of US B2B and B2C marketers had increased their email marketing campaign in the past 12 months, according to April 2023 data from SeQuel Response and ISG. But recent email updates from Apple and Gmail add new challenges to email marketing, especially for B2B marketer.

Google put ads in its Search Generative Experience. YouTube has a new unskippable 30-second ad spot. HBO Max relaunched as Max. And The Kroger Co. is paving the way with in-store retail media. Here are what updates from these companies and more mean for advertisers.

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.

Is ChatGPT coming for Alphabet’s bottom line? OpenAI’s publicly available AI chatbot is fascinating internet users, prompting warnings about Google’s future revenue. But there are barriers to the disruption taking effect.

In March, just over half of email opens worldwide came from Apple devices using Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), a feature released in September 2021 that prevents email senders from receiving data on Mail app users’ device usage, among other information. About one-third of opens came from webmail, while the remaining slice was split fairly evenly between desktop and mobile.

Ecommerce is experiencing massive growth this year, and digitally-native, direct-to-consumer brands can capitalize on this trend by activating machine learning, leveraging visual storytelling and other winning strategies.

As mobile devices become dominant tools for media consumption and advertiser strategy, brands in Canada are assessing which mobile apps deliver the best paid opportunities.