Big Tech is responsible for some of the most popular online destinations among consumers. Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet-owned Google will attract almost two-thirds of US digital ad dollars in 2024, according to our forecast.

Amazon announces Big Spring Sale as consumers show signs of spending fatigue: The retailer is counting on the event to jolt sales and give its ad business an edge over Meta and Google.

Google’s new core update focuses on decluttering spam from search, targeting sites that employ generative AI to mass produce low-quality content with minimal oversight. Marketers can still use ChatGPT to draft content, but using the raw output of these tools is a bad idea, according to Lily Ray, vice president of SEO strategy and research at Amsive.

Big Tech has a big problem: The regulatory tide has turned against it. Digital advertising giants face several major lawsuits, and competition authorities are working to launch more before a possible change in leadership following US elections.

Google spends over $1 billion to settle smaller lawsuits, freeing up bandwidth for coming government and regulatory action. Bigger trials are around the corner for Big Tech.

Google stares down another antitrust front: A class-action lawsuit alleging that the giant monopolized ad buying tools for small advertisers is on the docket.

Amazon looks to step into the post-cookie market: Job listings show the company is testing ad solutions for an “identity-restricted world” as Google preps its solution.

Last week, Arc, a web browser from startup The Browser Company, released a new AI-powered feature called pinch-to-summarize, which provides an instant summary of full web pages. That follows Arc’s release of “Arc Search,” a mobile app that will search the internet based on a user’s query and deliver an AI-generated page summarizing the breadth of information it searched. It’s not the only AI tool targeting search. Perplexity is seeing increased attention for its ability to summarize data sets, including searching in Reddit posts or YouTube videos. This month also saw the rebranding of Google’s Bard chatbot to Gemini as the company doubles down on AI search.

A Google versus OpenAI search engine showdown is taking shape: A race to develop AI search engines raises questions about whether the tech can shake up the market.

Google brings a transparency overhaul to search advertising: Move responds to uproar after report that ads were placed on problematic sites.

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.

US political ad spending will hit new highs amid the 2024 presidential election, with connected TV (CTV) driving the biggest gains. Despite the digital shift, traditional TV—long a mainstay of political advertising—will hold its own.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what will influence digital ad spending this year, who's the "dark horse" ad player of 2024, and how the CMO role and marketing departments will change. "In Other News," we talk about what to make of Google's latest AI creation called Gemini and some research explaining how often AI chatbots make things up. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Yory Wurmser.

Gen Z is redefining search. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube are encroaching on Google’s territory as Gen Zers use social networks to look up tutorials, trends, and more.