AI-driven drug research investments are surging, but results will take years. Pharma should measure progress at each R&D stage rather than promise near-term breakthroughs.

As AI moves deeper into consumers’ financial decisions, it’s changing how they discover payment products, decide which to use, and interact with providers.

Easier access could attract more brands, but better measurement should come before bigger budgets.

AI is rewriting the shopping journey, and marketers have to follow it. That means watching how brands show up in large language models (LLMs), and how they engage customers arriving through AI-driven searches. This is the “intelligence revolution.” “The intelligence age is gaining steam,” said Stephanie Paterik, vice president of insights at EMARKETER, in her keynote presentation at this week's Future of Digital Summit. “One billion weekly ChatGPT users worldwide is a number that OpenAI hit just this month. Sixty-nine percent of CEOs around the world tell us that AI is changing their business, not just how they send an email or craft, you know, a report, but how they are fundamentally operating.”

AI is gaining influence over what consumers discover and consider long before it commands a meaningful share of the digital economy. But existing advantages in reaching consumers, earning trust, and driving transactions still matter.

Brands can test one-on-one engagement, but access to valuable intent data remains unclear.

EU oversight validates AI’s role in discovery, but marketers shouldn’t divert traditional search budgets yet.

New ad tools and markets are paying off, but unproven returns could limit ad spending.

The global AI race looks different depending on how it’s measured. Emerging markets dominate among internet users, while developed markets lead across the broader population.

ChatGPT and Gemini have emerged as the clear leaders in the genAI platform race. Their advantage in awareness, usage, and paid adoption is widening the gap with rivals and shaping where marketers should focus their attention.

OpenAI expands ChatGPT ads without proving ROAS: Revenues rose 25%, but targeting issues persist as the pilot enters 31 new European markets.

Three of the least likely scenarios in social media would also be the most disruptive: a regulatory ban on addictive feed design, a Facebook revival, and an AI chatbot building a $100 billion ad business. None of them is likely. Each one exposes a tension already at work, from how regulators treat engagement mechanics to how much advertising a chatbot can actually carry. "If the EU were to ban infinite scrolling, it seems pretty clear that that would significantly curtail the amount of time people spend watching these kinds of videos," said our analyst Max Willens on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers." Willens and two other analysts walked through three "what if" predictions on the episode.

PayPal’s fusion with Stripe could reorder the landscape of crypto, BNPL, agentic commerce and digital wallets.

Last November, we identified 11 trends we expected to shape the business landscape in 2026. Our Trends 2026 update reveals where expectations are holding, where surprises have emerged, and what businesses should watch through year-end.

Exclusive data shows AI shopping trails habits: Just 16.6% use genAI weekly for shopping, making major marketing investments premature.

AI tools built by healthcare providers must capitalize on their trust edge over general-purpose chatbots to drive adoption.

AI is transforming Latin America's digital economy, changing how consumers discover products, make purchases, and engage with businesses. Companies that adapt their commerce and customer experience strategies will be better positioned to compete.

Novo Nordisk adds AWS to its AI roster. Deep-pocketed drugmakers can test multiple AI partners, an advantage smaller rivals may lack.

OpenAI seeks an SMB ads team: New hires to court SMBs could widen ChatGPT’s advertiser base, but unproven results warrant caution.

Human motivation, not technology, drives AI adoption. Our Building Blocks model helps marketers understand why people use AI, where adoption runs deepest, and where they can reach the right audiences.