The news: OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT-5, a model that will combine traditional GPT capabilities with o3-series reasoning—marking a major leap in performance and model simplification. Our take: GPT-5 could streamline content creation, search, and CX workflows, leading to renewed industry adoption and customization. Enterprise customers should test GPT-5’s API early. Align adoption with marketing workflows and consider consolidating tools into a single platform to reduce costs. Early movers will shape the future of customer engagement.

The trend: GenAI tools like ChatGPT are providing fewer disclaimers that chatbots are not a substitute for professional medical advice, according to a recent study cited in MIT Technology Review. Our take: Tech players must prioritize user safety—not winning the AI race. Health warnings should be standard, and marketers will need to scale back claims that AI accuracy surpasses physicians’.

The news: ChatGPT isn’t just leading the chatbot race—it’s dominating it. With rapid growth and billions of daily prompts, it remains the go-to generative AI (genAI) tool for both businesses and consumers despite rising competition. The stats: Figures on the AI leader’s user growth are debated, but the most consistent recent number for weekly active users (WAUs) is 500 million—an increase from 100 million WAUs in November 2023, a year after its debut. That number tripled to 300 million by December 2024. Our take: As genAI evolves from a novelty product to a routine tool in workflows and daily life, ChatGPT is maintaining its role as an industry leader. To stay ahead, OpenAI should focus on improving ChatGPT as a core product and prove it can scale profits sustainably before racing to outbuild its rivals.

GenAI will reach about 51% of US internet users by 2029 as growth stabilizes, with search dominating use cases and Gen Z leading adoption. Amid rising competition from Google and others, ChatGPT will maintain dominance. Brands must adapt to AI-mediated customer relationships.

The news: Google is looking to sign licensing deals with more publishers, per Bloomberg, to improve its products and address the threat of dwindling AI training resources. It’s launching a pilot project to partner with about 20 national news outlets, which could help ease tensions between Big Tech players and the publishers that are demanding compensation for their content. Our take: Google’s increased effort to license more media content shows its gearing up for a future in which AI-generated summaries dominate search. As this shift occurs, brands will need to focus on generative engine optimization (GEO) to get their content into AI summaries, such as by including concise takeaways that LLMs can surface. Preparing for a world where more premium content is behind paywalls could also include deeper publisher partnerships.

Last November, our analysts made some predictions about how the retail category would fare in 2025. Now that we’re halfway through the year, it’s time to check back in on what has (or hasn’t) happened. "We're seeing many of our predicted trends playing out, though not always in the ways we anticipated," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of the "Behind the Numbers" podcast. "The retail landscape is evolving rapidly, with some developments accelerating faster than expected while others face unexpected headwinds."

AI is upending every aspect of marketing, from neuro-contextual ads that read emotions to autonomous shopping agents that make purchasing decisions. As tech giants consolidate control of the sector, six pivotal trends are reshaping advertising, search, and commerce.

The news: The vast majority of referral traffic from AI sources comes from desktop users while mobile traffic lingers in single-digit percentages. 94% of ChatGPT referral traffic is from desktop users, per BrightEdge’s The Open Frontier of Mobile AI Search report. Google Gemini’s traffic is 94% desktop versus 5% mobile, while Perplexity’s is 96% desktop and just 3% mobile. Our take: As search engines increasingly reduce organic visibility and prioritize zero-click searches, brands and publishers need to develop unique content strategies for different devices. Providing a mix of long-form, in-depth posts for desktop users along with snappy headlines and skimmable content for those on mobile could help achieve the best of both worlds

The news: OpenAI is preparing to launch a suite of office productivity tools that could let users bypass tools from Microsoft. Users will be able to build and modify presentations and spreadsheets that are compatible with PowerPoint and Excel, per The Information—without using Microsoft’s own apps. Our take: This suite could position OpenAI as a serious contender in the office software space, bypassing years of Microsoft and Google development. Companies using ChatGPT could improve workflows by managing documents, generating content, and executing repetitive tasks from a single interface.

The news: Google snatched AI coding startup Windsurf’s IP out from under OpenAI in an acqui-hire that includes Windsurf’s CEO, co-founder, and some R&D employees. Our take: Google’s nonexclusive licensing approach could help it avoid regulatory pushback, though employees not involved in the deal may be left out to dry. Deals like this show that control over developer tools is becoming a major strategic advantage for tech companies and could indicate that the Big Tech fight for AI talent and executives is only just beginning.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the growing AI literacy gap, how to tell if your organization is ready for AI, and what not to do when it comes to AI adoption. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Analyst Gadjo Sevilla, and Professor and AI Advisor to the Deans at Rice Business School and Founder and CEO of AI company DemistifAI Kathleen Perley. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The news: Google Chrome could soon face intensified competition from OpenAI and Perplexity. On Wednesday, Perplexity launched its long-awaited agentic AI browser, Comet. It’s currently exclusive to subscribers on its $200-per-month Max plan, but other users can sign up on a waitlist. OpenAI is expected to launch its own browser in the coming weeks, per Reuters, bringing more AI tools to its over 400 million weekly ChatGPT users. As AI search tools continue to expand, companies should plan their generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies now by ensuring content can be summarized by chatbots and that copy in graphics is clear and accessible to AI tools.

The news: Meta purchased a $3.51 billion stake in eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica, signaling its long-term commitment to AI-powered smart glasses. It now holds about a 3% share but is considering a larger investment that would increase its share to 5%, per Bloomberg. EssilorLuxottica’s stock rose about 6% Wednesday after the announcement. Our take: Marketers should view smart glasses as more than a casual consumer device. Start developing internal tools such as training and simulation applications and user-facing offerings like personalized experiences and voice-activated product walkthroughs.

The news: A Microsoft AI pilot study showed a fourfold improvement in diagnostics compared with a panel of real doctors, but researchers acknowledged the continued need for human expertise. The takeaway: It’s evident AI is not a replacement for doctors, but it is a tool they should start adopting. There’s a window of opportunity for doctors and healthcare systems to grab a first-mover advantage by presenting AI as a co-pilot and a value-add that leads to more accurate diagnoses and more time spent with patients.

Our analysts took a look at the first half of this eventful year and provided their own very specific—albeit unlikely—predictions at what could happen in the second half of the year and beyond.

Our take: OpenAI’s first-mover advantage is under threat from all sides—vertically from specialized AI agents, horizontally from rival chatbots, and internally from talent wars and Microsoft. The news: OpenAI’s ChatGPT has rapidly become a mainstream AI tool, with new data showing that 34% of US adults have now used it—almost double the 2023 figures, per Pew Research Center. For CMOs and CTOs, this means betting on ChatGPT’s current dominance while preparing for a fragmented future where no single platform reigns supreme. Finding the right AI solutions for specific use cases is a smarter play than betting the farm on an all-in-one solutions provider.

The news: OpenAI is working on an enterprise product that would rival both Microsoft 365 and Google Workplace, per The Information. The features would allow user collaboration within documents and chat capabilities among co-workers, according to two sources. Our take: OpenAI has the potential to be an all-in-one solution if it could use its interface as a document creator and data storage solution, but Microsoft’s and Google’s brand recognition in that space is likely to keep ChatGPT enterprise solutions on the sidelines—for now.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss our ‘very specific, but highly unlikely’ predictions for 2025. What would happen to the social media world if OpenAI bought Snap, what if Starbucks launched a Stablecoin, and why some companies might still want to buy linear networks. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice Presidents of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna, and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The news: Streaming and social media sites are the top beneficiaries of AI chatbot referral traffic. Out of 1.3 billion generative AI (genAI) search referrals in May, YouTube ranked first in traffic with nearly 40 million visits, per Similarweb. Our take: Focusing on what makes sites top the AI search results could help increase site visits. Expand knowledge-based articles, FAQs, and blog posts with educational and UGC content. Boost SEO with long-tail keywords that are likely to appear in prompts. Encourage inbound links since site authority is a factor in AI search results.

The news: Meta’s $14 billion investment in Scale AI drove Google to cut ties with the startup. With Meta now owning a 49% stake, Google could be concerned that contracting with Scale would give Meta access to its proprietary data. Our take: Big Tech is racing to consolidate control over AI and cloud security infrastructure. Independence and agility could help companies avoid vendor lock-ins and data entanglement as regulators close in.