The news: Google is gearing up for a wide release of ads in AI Mode search as advertisers grapple with concerns over brand safety and performance erosion in AI-curated environments. Our take: Even as concerns over Google’s ad dominance linger and advertisers consider competitors, cutting spend on Google entirely remains highly unlikely—but the dominoes are stacking up against Google. Ads in AI mode shows the search giant is taking steps to protect itself in an increasingly competitive ecosystem.
In an EMARKETER interview, Reddit COO Jen Wong shared optimism following the platform’s strong Q2, highlighting its focus on delivering ad outcomes over increasing ad load. Despite capturing just over 1% of US social ad spend, Reddit is growing ARPU through investments in machine learning, creative tools like Memorable AI, and advertiser infrastructure. Wong emphasized Reddit’s auction model supports full-funnel goals, while global expansion is underway through localized insights and self-serve adoption. She spotlighted Reddit Community Intelligence as a milestone, enabling brands to tap into decades of authentic discussion data. The company’s long-term bet: authenticity will outperform algorithms.
The news: OpenAI abruptly discontinued a ChatGPT “share” feature after widespread criticism of its opt-in functionality surfaced thousands of unintended private chats in Google Search results. If a user checked a box to “make this chat discoverable” (sometimes accidentally or not fully understanding the warning), Google and other search engines could “see” these chat links and add them to public search results. Our take: The AI industry’s “move fast and break things” ethos is clashing with the non-negotiable demands of data protection. For marketers reliant on AI for strategic planning and analysis, security and data privacy are paramount. Companies demonstrating a strong security focus could stand out from competitors.
The news: YouTube is giving connected TV (CTV) users the ability to skip to the most-viewed part of a video, helping them avoid slow moments or sponsored content. The feature was previously available on mobile and web for Premium subscribers and is now rolling out to Premium users who watch YouTube on its CTV app, per Android Authority. Our take: Influencer sponsored content spots are becoming more invisible and avoidable. Brands should pivot toward native product integrations within core content or have creators place sponsorships in pre- and post-roll messaging, which may be less likely to be bypassed by AI. The era of passive viewing is over. Viewers have more control, and brands need to adapt to stay visible.
The news: Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed plans to “significantly” increase AI investments, including acquisitions. The iPhone-maker acquired seven firms this year, some focused on AI, and remains open to deals of any size to boost capabilities, per Business Insider. Our take: Apple’s focus on efficiency and partnerships suggests incremental but impactful AI-driven tools will emerge, especially around privacy-first and device-dependent personalization. Prepare for evolving Apple AI features that emphasize user privacy. Balance campaigns between Apple’s controlled environment and more open, AI-reliant ecosystems like Google’s and Meta’s to optimize reach and precision.
The news: Amazon plans to put ads in its AI-powered Alexa+ voice assistant to boost product discovery and profits. Our take: If Amazon rolls out sponsored answers to Alexa+ user queries or in-conversation ads, the voice assistant’s vast trove of personal user data will help marketers target consumers on a micro level. However, if hallucinations arise and lead to irrelevant or inaccurate product recommendations, Amazon risks eroding both user trust and brand confidence.
The news: Reddit is positioning itself as a full-fledged search engine, with over 70 million weekly active users (WAUs) using its search functionality. As part of its strategy to house a full-fledged search engine within its website, the company is expanding its AI-powered conversational interface, Reddit Answers, and making it a central feature on the platform around the world. Reddit Answers has grown to 6 million WAUs from 1 million in December. Our take: If Reddit succeeds in becoming a self-sustaining search platform, it will become an even more valuable asset for marketers looking to target niche audiences and get in on the consumer purchase journey early. Advertisers should start identifying specific subreddits where their audience are already active, experiment with Reddit’s ad formats, and optimize content to surface in the platform’s search results.
Reddit posted a standout Q2 2025, with revenues jumping 78% year-over-year to $500 million—including $465 million in ad revenue, up 84%. Net income reached $89 million with strong EBITDA and free cash flow. Global DAUs grew 21% to 110.4 million, and US ARPU climbed 59% to $7.87, signaling improved monetization. Reddit is now a billion-dollar US ad business a year ahead of forecasts, driven by growth in AI ad tools. Yet challenges remain: Reddit still holds only 1.1% of US social ad spend and relies heavily on Google Search traffic. Sustaining growth means reshaping advertiser perception and boosting direct engagement.
The news: Merck is teaming with McKinsey for a generative AI (genAI) program that streamlines clinical study reports (CSRs). The takeaway: GenAI is ideal for time-intensive precise medical writing and frees content creators for oversight and strategic tasks. While Merck and some others are already using it for regulatory filings, those who stall or keep their pilots in the experimentation phase risk losing valuable time-to-market advantages.
LinkedIn posted 9% YoY revenue growth in its June-ending quarter, fueled by rising engagement, B2B ad demand, and AI-powered tools. Despite soft hiring trends, sessions rose 11% YoY as more creators and professionals use LinkedIn for content, networking, and branding. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the platform’s evolution from a resume archive to a dynamic business hub. AI continues to drive efficiency and creativity across features, benefiting both users and advertisers. With strong identity data and a trusted audience, LinkedIn is carving out a stable, differentiated space in social media—positioning itself for long-term relevance beyond recruitment cycles.
The news: More than half (51%) of customer service journeys start on search engines and third-party platforms like Google, YouTube, Reddit, and ChatGPT—rather than company websites—prompting businesses to meet customers where they are, per a recent Gartner survey. Our take: Brands need to research and identify the platforms their customers rely on and establish fast, responsive service on those channels. The goal isn’t to pull users back to official websites—it’s to meet them where they already are, with the answers they need, when they need them. Using generative engine optimization (GEO) best practices to boost customer service answers in genAI outputs could help younger consumers get digestible, fast answers in their preferred channel.
Microsoft reported $76.4 billion in Q2 revenue, up 18% YoY, as cloud infrastructure, productivity software, and embedded AI drove strong performance. Microsoft Cloud grew 27% to $46.7 billion, and Azure's annual run rate surpassed $75 billion, overtaking Google Cloud. Enterprise adoption of tools like Dynamics 365 continues to rise, reinforcing Microsoft’s role in AI-powered operations. Following the report, Microsoft’s market cap crossed $4 trillion. The company plans to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to expand its AI infrastructure, while showing capital discipline. Microsoft is positioning itself as the foundational enterprise platform for the AI era.
Meta’s Q2 2025 earnings showed the company thriving despite softening engagement in mature markets. Revenue surged 22% YoY to $47.52 billion, largely driven by better ad pricing, AI-optimized performance tools, and growing monetization via WhatsApp. Although user growth was modest, Meta demonstrated strong pricing power—especially in North America and Europe—and continues to see big potential in Asia-Pacific. Operating margins remained healthy at 43%, even with record AI investments. As Meta extracts more value per user and expands monetization across platforms, its performance proves that engagement isn’t the only growth lever—it’s how well each session gets monetized.
The news: Microsoft’s latest earnings reflect more than just a Wall Street beat—they signal a deeper shift in how enterprises are adopting productivity software, cloud infrastructure, and embedded AI to run their businesses. It reported $76.4 billion in revenues, up 18% YoY. Microsoft Cloud made up $46.7 billion of those revenues, up 27% YoY, as cloud demand remains strong across all workloads. Our take: With strong recurring revenue, expanding AI use cases, and leadership across productivity and cloud, Microsoft is increasingly well-insulated from macroeconomic headwinds and well positioned to shape the future of work and software.
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 news: Cyata launched a platform that detects, authenticates, and governs “agentic identities” as adoption of autonomous AI agents is exploding—96% of IT leaders will increase agent use in 2025, Cloudera reports. Digital agents integrating into the workforce pose new risks—ones traditional identity and access management (IAM) tools are not equipped to handle, per VentureBeat. Our take: Managing mixed human and agentic workers won’t be optional for long—it will become a baseline requirement as AI agents move from edge cases to everyday tools. Companies that delay could risk operational blind spots, compliance gaps, and uncontrolled AI autonomy.
The news: Amazon will pay The New York Times between $20 million and $25 million annually in a multiyear content licensing agreement that was announced in May. This amount, close to 1% of the Times’ total annual revenue, is one of the largest disclosed payments for news content licensing for generative AI (genAI) training. Our take: The Amazon–Times deal underscores the growing value of premium journalism in the AI era, setting a precedent for how tech companies can ethically license high-quality content. For advertisers, this signals a shift toward AI-powered platforms integrating trusted media brands, which could enhance user engagement and credibility.
50% of US smartphone owners said they’re not willing to pay extra for AI features on their phones, up from 45% in September 2024, according to a May CNET survey.
The situation: Amazon and Google, once bound by a symbiotic relationship in which Amazon funneled ad dollars into Google Search and Google indexed Amazon’s pages, are now veering toward open conflict as generative AI (genAI) blurs the lines between ecommerce, advertising, and search. Both companies are determined to own the entire journey from discovery to checkout, and that ambition is unraveling what remains of their former détente. Our take: Amazon and Google are racing to define where and how consumers discover and buy products in the genAI era. If Amazon succeeds in walling off its marketplace data and steering shoppers to its own AI interfaces, the retail landscape could splinter into walled gardens where tech giants cooperate far less. That winner‑takes‑all dynamic might suit the victors, but it risks degrading the overall consumer experience with fewer choices and less transparent pricing. At the same time, it could lead brands and retailers into a margin‑sapping race to the bottom inside whichever closed ecosystem proves most dominant.
The news: Demand for AI-skilled workers is exploding as workplace adoption of generative AI (genAI) accelerates, creating a make-or-break moment for B2B companies trying to compete in a tech-driven landscape. The number of job postings for employees with agentic AI skills spiked 985% between 2023 and 2024, per McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook report. Postings for workers with general AI skills also rose, but at a much smaller 35% rate. Our take: CMOs should work closely with HR to identify high-potential marketing team members for upskilling programs to tackle tasks like generating and reviewing AI copy and pulling insights out of AI-powered campaign analytics.