The news: Generative AI (genAI) agents aren’t above sabotage—and most would resort to blackmail or corporate espionage if threatened, per Anthropic’s Agent Misalignment research. When faced with replacement or misaligned goals, Anthropic’s Claude 4 Opus and Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash responded with blackmail threats to those employees 96% of the time despite ethical restraints in their training. OpenAI’s GPT-4.1, Grok 3 Beta, and DeepSeek-R1 followed suit about 80% of the time. Our take: Anthropic’s research shows that safeguards can’t prevent agents from running off the rails, but continued monitoring will keep those instances to a minimum. Limit agent access to critical systems, review its output during customer contact, and implement failsafes in case deviant patterns emerge.
The news: The Trade Desk has partnered with Rembrand to bring AI-generated in-content product placements to its Kokai platform. Advertisers can now programmatically insert branded elements like packaging or signage into videos across the open internet and connected TV. Rembrand claims these placements increase unaided awareness by 1.5x and boost brand recall by up to 31%. TTD also added three AI creative partners: Nova, Spaceback, and Bunny Studio. Our take: This marks a shift toward immersive, scalable ad formats that don’t disrupt the viewer experience. The move strengthens TTD’s AI credentials while giving brands new ways to be seen—without being skipped.
The insight: Amazon is trying to figure out how it can benefit from the AI agentic boom without giving shopping agents unfettered access to its site, according to a report by The Information. Our take: While agentic commerce is far from the norm for the time being, retailers need to be prepared. That’s especially true for companies with retail media businesses, given the potential for AI agents to upend their ability to monetize their sites.
The news: Two recent surveys from Duke University and MarTech reveal a common theme regarding technology and AI adoption: Martech underperforms not because of weak tools, but because of weak infrastructure. Our take: The real competitive edge isn’t adoption speed, it’s integration depth. Marketers who lead data strategy and coordinate teams will win the future. Failure to integrate will result in marketers ending up with tools they can’t use.
The news: OpenAI is discounting enterprise ChatGPT subscriptions—but only if customers agree to buy more AI products. Microsoft is unhappy, as it rarely offers discounts for its competing services aimed at enterprise users, per The Information. Key takeaway: Business leaders should anticipate potential shifts in AI pricing resulting from fraying alliances and increased competition between OpenAI and Microsoft. Lock in longer-term pricing and negotiate for essential services while pushing back on expensive add-ons. Diversifying AI vendors and solutions reduces reliance on single entities and provides opportunities for testing of models from different sources, some of which may be more easily customized for specific use cases.
The news: YouTube unveiled Open Call at Cannes Lions 2025, a new platform-native feature allowing advertisers to post campaign briefs that monetized creators can directly respond to with self-produced content. The initiative removes the need for traditional influencer matchmaking, giving brands centralized control over content submissions, approvals, and performance via Google Ads. Our take: As costs rise and brand safety concerns mount, Open Call could tilt the branded content ecosystem in favor of marketers. It simplifies creator discovery, improves ROI measurement, and could lead to longer-term omnichannel partnerships. YouTube’s move positions it as a central hub for scalable, data-informed influencer marketing.
The news: At Cannes Lions 2025, Meta introduced 11 new generative AI ad features—ranging from dynamic image-to-video tools to brand-safe creative automation—and confirmed a $14–$15 billion investment in Scale AI, securing a 49% stake. These new Advantage+ tools aim to help advertisers, particularly SMBs, generate personalized, performance-optimized content at scale. Our take: Meta’s Cannes push underscores its dual strategy: democratizing high-impact creative through automation while investing in foundational AI infrastructure. The tools offer clear short-term ROAS gains, but Meta must still walk a fine line—scaling ad personalization without overwhelming users or alienating agency partners that still prioritize creative control.
The news: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said AI-driven efficiencies will reduce the company’s headcount. “As we roll out more generative AI and agents …we will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy said in a letter to employees. “In the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce.” Our take: Companies that pursue an AI-first mission by laying off employees risk lower team morale, a resistance to AI adoption among workers, and damaged consumer trust. Still, Amazon’s scale, deep pockets, and cloud infrastructure dominance may insulate it from backlash or major fallout.
In the first half of 2025, tariffs rattled retailers, consumer trust wavered in the face of muted DEI efforts, and fast-fashion platforms like Shein and Temu braced for policy whiplash. Meanwhile, private label products surged in popularity, and the retail world took a closer look at generative AI—not just for buzz, but for tangible impact across the shopper journey. Here are the top stories from H1 2025 and why they matter for the rest of the year.
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.
The news: Adobe aims to help brands and publishers improve content placement in AI browsers, search tools, and chatbots with its new suite of AI tools—LLM Optimizer. What it does: LLM Optimizer tracks which content and offerings—such as website details, products, or articles—are being shown in AI interfaces and where they’re appearing. Our take: Adobe’s new tools, especially outcome metrics and actionable recommendations, can help marketers and brands craft tailored SEO for each platform—browsers, AI Overviews, and chatbots—and surface data-driven solutions to help improve their AI search presence.
The news: Marketing teams are rapidly integrating AI tools into search engine optimization (SEO) workflows. A vast majority (86%) of US SEO professionals and digital marketers use ChatGPT alongside traditional platforms like Ahrefs (64%) and Semrush (56%), per a Databox survey to understand how generative AI (genAI) is changing their work in 2025. Our take: As shifts from traditional search to AI chatbots continue to alter the marketing landscape, CMOs need to maintain a balanced approach to AI integration while preserving traditional SEO foundations. Combining AI’s efficiency with human oversight is key to ensure brand control while exploring emerging search and SEO opportunities.
The news: Reddit rolled out two AI-driven ad tools—Reddit Insights and Conversation Summary Add-ons—to tap into its massive archive of user conversations to help brands reach more audiences effectively, per Reuters. Reddit is using generative AI (genAI) to distill user sentiment and track subreddit trends for sharper ad targeting. Our take: Where Meta and Google rely on targeting individual users, Reddit is spotlighting group dynamics and a shift toward community-led marketing. If these tools succeed, they could offer a new avenue for how brands approach discovery, feedback, and brand perception.
The news: Generative AI (genAI) is taking on a multifaceted role in users’ lives, as an influencer, a personal companion, and a consumer proxy. 87% of genAI users would consider asking the technology for social or relationship advice, per Accenture’s Me, My Brand and AI: The New World of Consumer Engagement survey. Our take: Embedding AI tools like chatbots, agents, and recommendation engines into brand websites can help users shop faster and discover new content. Offering transparency around data use and building opt-out features could help users trust the tools more and give them the peace of mind to hand over personal information in exchange for assistance and recommendations.
The news: PayPal is launching storefront-style ads that allow users to buy products directly within display ads on publisher sites, using PayPal or Venmo without leaving the page. Debuting in the US with partners like Business Insider and Vox Media, the units will later expand to include carousels and listings. This move strengthens PayPal’s financial media network footprint after its 2023 Ads launch. Our take: As FMN spend is set to reach $1.78B by 2027, PayPal is embedding commerce where consumers already are. These shoppable ads address friction, drive impulse purchases, and position PayPal as a safeguard against rising AI-driven agentic commerce.
The news: Disney and Universal are suing AI startup Midjourney, alleging copyright infringement. The lawsuit states that Midjourney pirated their content libraries and continues to produce “innumerable” copies of their characters, including Shrek, Homer Simpson, and Darth Vader. Our take: A victory for the studios could cut off AI companies’ access to media libraries, accelerate a shift toward paid content licensing deals, and set legal precedents to help web publishers and IP owners protect their content from data scraping.
The news: Meta’s AI app is drawing backlash as users unknowingly publish private chats—some serious—under real names due to a confusing share feature, per TechCrunch. Many people thought they were using the chatbot or saving notes in private, only to find that their prompts—which included topics like gender identity, medical concerns, tax evasion, and job interviews—were visible to strangers. Our take: This episode poses significant issues for Meta regarding the metaverse, AI, and advertising.
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands like Eyebuydirect are overcoming traditional barriers in high-consideration purchase categories like eyewear.
Lloyds, NatWest, and Truist are redefining banking with generative AI. Lloyds moves beyond individual use cases to rethink processes entirely, aiming for a customer-facing AI agent by late summer 2025. NatWest shifted to reimagining entire customer experiences, empowering all 70,000 employees with AI tools to rapidly explore new possibilities. Truist focuses on "knowledge extraction," a low-risk, high-reward use case demonstrating immediate value. Continuous experimentation and adaptable strategies are crucial for AI implementation, requiring agile learning, boundary-pushing, and prioritizing employee buy-in for customer-focused solutions.