Author: Geek Planet

[ad_1] There’s rarely a dull moment in platform land but even by those standards, this year has been unusually turbulent. A new administration in Washington, rising competition, regulatory pressure and economic uncertainty have all collided to reshape the platform landscape. The result is a new, more fragile equilibrium for the companies that once seemed untouchable. Here’s what’s been going on in the land of platforms over the last year. In: Meta’s focus on SuperintelligenceOut:Meta’s focus on the metaverse In:YouTube as TV’s heir apparentOut:YouTube as Gen Z’s distraction machine In:Snap’s mixed reality makeoverOut:Snap’s AR tunnel vision In:X as a video-first platformOut:X…

[ad_1] The streaming wars may be far from over but Netflix and Amazon are already finding common ground in advertising.Starting in Q4, Netflix will make its ad inventory available to buy through Amazon’s programmatic buying platform the Amazon DSP in 12 markets including the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Japan. With that, Netflix checks the final box on its programmatic integration tour, now live across all the major buying platforms — Google DV360, The Trade Desk, Yahoo and Microsoft. Related Insights But not all DSPs are built the same. Unlike the others, Amazon brings a layer the rest can’t match:…

[ad_1] When Google started talking to marketers about AI Max — its suite of AI-powered tools to improve results for advertisers’ search campaigns — ahead of its initial roll out over summer, the platform’s 11-page pitch deck left them with more concerns than clarity.Which is why Google has recently been circulating an updated (and detailed) 26-page pitch deck which aims to address those issues. The deck, unsurprisingly starts off similarly to its earlier iteration, with facts and stats about search and reach across Google, before diving into how AI Max actually works. WTF is AI Max? Now available globally in…

[ad_1] No doubt, generative AI tools have optimized the creative process, edging marketers closer to personalized content at scale. But not all marketers are sold on AI for final campaign assets, especially ones with human likeness.While generative AI has been used by the industry at large to produce everything from pitch decks to campaign assets, creative and legal challenges are preventing full adoption, agency execs say — and not to mention the risk to brand reputation if shoppers feel the creative is false advertising. “That missing layer of authenticity can create dissonance, which is a risk we don’t believe is…

[ad_1] By now, the contours of the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google’s ad tech business are well covered – and deeply complex. Rather than rehash what’s already been parsed to death, here’s a definite (if not exhaustive) rundown of what’s actually in play as the case moves into its next chapter.  InPublishers suing platforms Out Platforms strong-arming publishers In Proposing to buy Google’s ad exchangeOutProposing to buy Google’s browser In Publisher CEOs publicly rebuking Google Out Publisher CEOs privately rebuking Google  In Cloudflare OutAppNexus In Big tech breakup remediesOut Big tech behavioral remedies  In Saying the open web is dyingOut Saying the open web is evolving InPublishers hiring AI…

[ad_1] Personalities generated by AI, like Tilly Norwood, don’t need rest or have unique, personal opinions. That’s part of their appeal to talent agencies and advertisers. As brands and platforms quietly embrace AI-generated content, some creators are starting to worry that cost and control will beat out their authenticity. Last week, Meta launched its AI-generated content feed called Vibes. Around the same time, OpenAI launched a social app called Sora that allows users to generate videos of themselves. Both resemble TikTok-style feeds. That seems to indicate that these are less side projects for the tech behemoths and likely an indicator…

[ad_1] For better or worse, AI is changing the industry, which means even influencer marketing and creators are going to have to adapt.Which is why Digiday has charted what influencer marketing is expected to look like next year, how creators expect it to transform their landscape and whether or not consumers are really on board with any of it. Marketers are open to influencer marketing operations becoming automated with AI We saw the industry in uproar over the numerous headlines back in summer about Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg stating that by the end of 2026, the full ad process will…

[ad_1] OpenAI’s launch of Sora 2, its video generation tool and would-be social network for the slop age, was the latest attempt by the generative AI developer to expand the copyright Overton Window.Sora 2 initially shipped with an “opt-out” policy for IP rightsholders. If an artist or advertiser didn’t want their work to be used in the tool’s model, they would need to get in touch. It wasn’t a popular move. “Early returns from rightsholders have suggested that they are not opting in,” said Glenn Pudelka, a copyright and privacy attorney at Troutman Pepper Locke, told Digiday. Related Insights Within…

[ad_1] Takeup of AI search tools is on the rise, disrupting user behaviors and the performance of brands’ organic search efforts. The implications for paid search, as well as for search’s impact on brand awareness and conversion metrics, are less clear. What is certain is that increasing a brand’s presence in AI search summaries will become a crucial goal for many marketers. It’s also one they can get started on right now. The data below illustrates the state of AI search for marketers, and how brands are and aren’t responding. AI search has become many consumers’ preferred source of information…

[ad_1] Between the AI arms race, political and economic headwinds, the ad industry finds itself at an inflection point, reshaping how organizations invest in and talk about talent. Most notably, advertisers are grappling with the pullback from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — largely given President Trump’s scrutiny of DEI. The 4As, hasn’t been immune from that recalibration. Earlier this year, the U.S. trade association for advertising agencies overhauled Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) and Vanguard — two of the marketing industry’s cornerstone diversity programs — to be more be more inclusive beyond race and ethnicity. The changes were meant…