In September 2026, we analyzed 11,250 ChatGPT and 11,250 Google Gemini recommendations across 23 retail store categories to compile the AI Visibility Index.

The platform is courting marketers as it shifts its value to monetizing engagement.

Marketers gain a new way to reach high-intent shoppers, provided ad clutter doesn't erode trust.

Which US retail store had the highest AI mention rate in September 2026?

Instagram’s ad revenues are surging, fueled by Reels and creator marketing. But slowing engagement growth, uncertain adoption among younger users, and resistance to AI features raise questions about how long that momentum will last.

AI answers are cutting referrals, making engaged, logged-in communities more valuable to marketers.

Commerce media is entering a new phase, one defined less by rapid expansion and more by operational maturity, EMARKETER analysts and industry leaders say. Commerce media ad spending will reach $83.71 billion in the US this year, accounting for 20.5% of all digital ad spending, according to EMARKETER's June 2026 forecast. As the channel becomes a core part of marketers' media strategies, the conversation is shifting from whether to invest to how to make those investments deliver measurable business results. In a new EMARKETER guide titled "Commerce media outlook: What industry leaders see ahead," our analysts and industry leaders give their thoughts about the capabilities brands should prioritize today, the consumer behaviors that will shape tomorrow, and what it will take to succeed as commerce media becomes a permanent pillar of the media mix. Max Willens, a principal analyst at EMARKETER covering social media and the creator economy, told us about how creators are taking a bigger role in retail media and where off-site spending can be used in the marketing funnel.

AI search is quickly changing how consumers discover and evaluate brands, but marketers are still figuring out how to measure, and improve, their visibility. Most marketers are still experimenting, often building on existing SEO strategies. But AI search requires marketers to think beyond where their websites rank. AI-generated answers can draw on brand websites, publishers, social platforms, reviews, affiliates, and community conversations, making visibility a much broader challenge.

AI is fueling a banner year for global advertising, pushing digital spending to new heights despite economic and geopolitical stresses. Retail media is surging worldwide, while Meta and Amazon gain ground in the battle for ad dollars.

Smart glasses are drawing big bets from certain social platforms, but privacy concerns and limited consumer demand threaten wider adoption. For marketers, the near-term opportunity lies in adapting existing strategies rather than chasing new ad formats.

AI is cutting into publisher referral traffic even as publisher content fuels AI answers. Publishers are fighting back with crawler controls and new licensing models, forcing a choice between restricting access and monetizing it.

YouTube is converging social media, streaming TV, digital audio, and product discovery in one platform. But how audiences use it depends on who is watching.​

Zefr and Reddit give advertisers finer suitability controls as Reddit vies for a larger share of social budgets.

Agentic commerce has moved from buzzword to balance sheet, and the numbers prove it. AI-driven commerce is projected to grow from under $50 billion this year to nearly $300 billion by 2030, rising from roughly 3% to 15% of total US e-commerce sales.

In today’s podcast episode, we discuss how brands can participate on Reddit without feeling like an ad crashed the party, what makes the platform so unique compared with its social media counterparts, and whether there’s more reason to be optimistic or pessimistic about Reddit’s future ad revenue growth. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Analyst Minda Smiley and Principal Analyst Max Willens. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.

Millennials are entering their peak earning years with deep digital fluency, but adulthood is changing their habits. AI is becoming a practical tool, digital fatigue is reshaping social media use, and family life is influencing media and shopping.

Brands can test the new feature with story-led creative, then compare results with 6-second views.

This benchmark covers how ad buyers can calibrate their social media ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how publishers and solution providers can assess whether their ad revenues align with industry trends.​

Where Americans spend their time and where advertisers spend their money have come apart, and social media is the widest gap. Social platforms, particularly Meta, capture a disproportionate share of the nearly $500 billion US advertising market. "Over the last 12 months, we've seen a flurry of [media advertising] activity from outside the retail sector," said our analyst Ethan Cramer-Flood on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers."

B2B buyers rely on experts, customers, and peers to evaluate vendors. This report examines how trusted voices shape buyer research and AI-driven discovery and whether paid social investment and influencer programs are keeping pace with buyer behavior.