The EU’s regulatory environment will hinder investment in AI-generated ads and agentic commerce in 2026. But TikTok Shop’s expansion will be a catalyst for live commerce.

AI isn’t replacing search—it’s moving earlier in the journey. OpenAI data shows only about 2% of ChatGPT prompts mention purchasable items, yet product suggestions appear in nearly one-third of prompts unrelated to shopping. For health and productivity queries, those rates jump above 40%. Meanwhile, AI minutes have quadrupled year over year while Google search usage remains slightly up, meaning AI is adding a new discovery layer, not cannibalizing intent-based search. For marketers, this creates a new upstream battleground where LLMs shape category awareness before comparison shopping begins. Brands must map the non-shopping conversations where their products naturally surface.

Canada’s digital economy is entering a faster, more competitive phase in 2026 as ad spending accelerates, short video surges, ecommerce climbs, and AI-driven search reshapes how audiences discover content.

The New York Times filed a lawsuit against AI startup Perplexity on Friday, adding to the more than 40 current court cases between AI companies and copyright holders. Lawsuits like The Times’ underscore how AI is impacting the overall health and future of the digital advertising ecosystem—requiring advertisers to rethink traditional strategies.

In 2026, dominant platforms like Google and Amazon will flex their muscle against ChatGPT; smaller players like Perplexity and Claude will need to make either product moves or M&A moves; and AI-focused marketers will spend more on YouTube than ads on AI platforms.

An OpenAI leak indicates that ads are coming to ChatGPT in the near future, according to computer engineer Tibor Blaho. Advertisers should anticipate a future where ads become a core part of the ChatGPT experience and act quickly to test and learn before competitors, but should remain agile in their strategies and remain informed about developments in consumer behavior.

OpenAI has refuted legal claims that ChatGPT is at fault for a teenager’s recent suicide. Scrutiny of AI tools being used for emotional and therapeutic support will only intensify. Both general-purpose platforms and specialized healthcare AI tools should proactively take action to impose age restrictions, automatically end sessions at the first sign of emotional distress, and clearly direct users to mental health resources when appropriate.

Brands and retailers are struggling to keep up with changes to the shopper experience as consumers adopt genAI-powered “click-less journeys.”

As AI increasingly powers everything from holiday ads to product recommendations, retailers face a critical balancing act between efficiency and authenticity. "The question isn't if retailers will use AI, it's how they'll keep using it and maintain the human touch along the way," said host Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.”

Google has officially begun showing ads in its AI Mode search engine after announcing a rollout earlier this year. Google’s early testing of ads in AI Mode suggests that AI-driven search placements are beginning to take shape and may ultimately unlock new revenue potential. But with performance still unproven, advertisers should track developments closely while resisting the urge to invest heavily before the format demonstrates clear value.

Perplexity is relaunching its agentic shopping product for all users next week, just in time for Black Friday, with PayPal as its key partner. The upgraded tool improves shopping intent detection and personalization using users’ past search data, while PayPal merchants will handle transactions and customer service directly. The move intensifies competition with OpenAI, Amazon, and Google, all racing to dominate AI-powered shopping ahead of the holidays. While sales from these tools are expected to remain modest, they offer brands a valuable testing ground for future ecommerce growth driven by generative AI.

Intuit signed a multiyear strategic partnership with OpenAI with over US $100 million per year to embed OpenAI’s models into Intuit’s software. The models will enable AI agents for Turbotax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp. Intuit’s OpenAI deal foreshadows a seismic transformation in how users experience applications— where generative interactions become the norm, AI agents handle tasks on users’ behalf, and copilots integrate seamlessly into daily workflows. In financial services, it introduces the capacity to quickly interact with complex data and take action.

Future-proofing against—and capitalizing on—advances in consumer-facing AI will be the overarching theme for retailers in 2026.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the three big questions surrounding Google in Q3 and beyond: How much of a competitor to Google Chrome is OpenAI’s new browser, Atlas? What’s the main takeaway from the remedies hearings about Google’s ad tech business? And what’s the significance of Google’s first $100 billion quarter? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Automation, new commerce models, and a fresh generation of consumers are transforming the rules of connection and creativity. Explore the 11 trends shaping the digital future.

A year after enterprise software firms began rolling out AI agents, most tools now look and act alike—creating confusion for companies trying to choose the right solution. And because many rely on the same OpenAI or Anthropic models, their offerings are almost indistinguishable, per The Information. Brands should prioritize AI agents that connect across ecosystems, protect data, and scale smarter instead of locking into one vendor’s walled garden. Doing so builds resilience, flexibility, and trust in an increasingly crowded AI market.

OpenAI’s push into commerce took a major step forward with the launch of in-app shopping on ChatGPT, though it will take time to gain traction as a meaningful retail sales channel.

OpenAI may build its own consumer health tools, such as a personal health assistant or a product that aggregates users’ health data, per a Business Insider report. A range of healthcare and tech companies—from Verily to wearable makers like Oura and Fitbit—are developing AI-powered health coach and assistant tools. A comparable OpenAI product could immediately threaten existing solutions due to its massive scale, provided it gains access to patient data. However, makers of health-tracking devices and some digital health companies could also be strong partners for OpenAI in creating a product that combines advanced AI with user health data.

Coca-Cola is putting out another AI-generated holiday advertisement, its second after an AI ad campaign last year that drew mixed reactions from audiences. While attitudes toward AI in ads are mixed, smaller brands are at a higher risk of receiving negative impacts from creating ads entirely using AI.