On Tuesday, Microsoft announced it would use the same plug-in standards as OpenAI, meaning plug-ins can work across ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Microsoft is focusing on plug-ins as the future of its OpenAI partnership, and for good reason.

Step one: Make sure you have the right data, said Chris Penn, co-founder and chief data scientist at Trust Insights. Also important is bringing in an attribution model to ensure a complete view of which marketing efforts are moving the needle. Lastly, be careful who you partner with—they may not be giving you the full story.

AI is already changing ad creation. While the tech can create email and social campaigns, there are a number of risks associated with misinformation and brand safety. With generative AI, we can expect to see strong brands grow even stronger—if they can navigate copycats, quality assurance, and apprehensive consumers. Here are six predictions from experts at the “BrXnd: Marketing X AI” conference in New York City.

Risk teams are creating plans to fend off misinformation and stop the spread of rumors at the source.

Every customer’s reaction, share, or comment influences the reach of a bank’s message—and could threaten the bank itself. Banks should use social media to actively engage online communities, not just to display ads.

ChatGPT and generative AI will transform marketing. Advertisers can use the tech now to help create campaigns, from research to output to iteration. “Nobody should be doing [marketing campaigns] fully manually,” said Mike Kaput, CCO of the Marketing AI Institute. Here are the steps to use AI to build campaigns.

“[AI] really does raise the bar in terms of what people are going to expect from you,” our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on our recent “ChatGPT and Generative AI” panel. As AI matures, it will become more specialized, automating mundane tasks, ushering in personalization, and changing the way consumers, retailers, and marketers use the internet. Here are eight predictions for that not-so-distant future.

On today’s episode, host Bill Fisher is joined by our analysts Paul Briggs, Matteo Ceurvels, and Carina Perkins to talk about the upcoming crowning of King Charles III in the UK, other major events around the world, and what sort of effects they will have on retail and marketing.

“Consumer acquisition costs have gone up. Data is harder and harder to access. It’s trickier to figure out how to target our consumer in the right way.” That’s Kendra Scott’s CMO Michelle Peterson, summarizing the state of marketing right now. The jeweler has found success both online and in-store by leveraging its D2C roots, pushing a viral TikTok presence, and working with the right influencers.

Influencers may be an attractive option for brands looking to broaden their reach, but if a creator isn’t able to promote the service or product, it can come off as inauthentic and turn consumers away. Brands looking for a way to promote their products should look to longer-term brand ambassadorships. Here are three reasons why.

VC funding for creator-focused startups has plummeted in the US, even as these startups multiply. Last year, funding dropped by 51% YoY, while the number of creator-related startups increased by 550%, per The Information. This is part of a greater trend of cooling VC investment.

Marketers across industries still need to produce impactful campaigns despite having fewer resources and increased scrutiny on ad spend. To meet business goals and stretch ad dollars, marketers should stay hyper-focused on customer acquisition and meeting audiences where they are.

TikTok has broken social media with its addictive short-form videos, according to The Economist. While “broken” may be a bit strong, our analyst Debra Aho Williamson agrees that TikTok has irrevocably changed the way we engage with social media, including how much time we spend on the platform.

Inflation is inevitable and its impact is extensive, affecting everything from the cost of goods to consumer behavior and business expenses. To navigate these challenges, ecommerce businesses must be proactive in finding solutions to combat inflation’s effects to emerge stronger and more resilient.

Most US adults will click through a digital ad that’s relevant to their interests, according to a CivicScience survey. That’s an improvement from March 2021, when 57% of US adults said they were not likely to click through these ads. As of January 2023, that figure dropped to 44%.

Brands are scrambling to incorporate generative AI into their strategy to stay ahead of the curve. But according to our analysts, AI’s current uses are just the tip of the iceberg. We dig into some recent AI innovations (including Snapchat’s AI chatbot and GPT-4) and predictions for the tech’s evolution.

The South by Southwest festival returned to Austin, Texas, in full force this year, with discussions on the future of technology, brands, and marketing. Here, we lay out the top trends and takeaways.

Scroll through TikTok and you’ll see young users explaining why acting millennial online is “cringe,” or embarrassing. But millennials are still the biggest buyers on social media. As Gen Z grows up, they’re gaining on millennials a bit. But millennials will continue to outnumber Gen Z—and other generations—on social media through at least 2026.

As QR codes come to play a larger role in how consumers shop, buy, and interact with brands, marketers can use them to drive conversion across physical and digital spaces. Here are three ways marketers can use QR codes to increase consumer engagement and encourage purchase behavior.

This year, time spent with digital video will officially surpass time spent with TV among US adults. Video advertising is also moving toward digital as advertisers set their sights on connected TV and social video, and even take advantage of retail media networks’ video opportunity. Whether you’re pitching a video ad campaign or reevaluating a tight ad budget, here are five charts that will help with the how, what, where, when, and why of video advertising. Whether you’re pitching a video ad campaign or reevaluating a tight ad budget, here are five charts that will help with the how, what, where, when, and why of video advertising.