Kantar’s latest BrandZ report says the world’s 100 most valuable brands are now worth more than $13 trillion combined, up 22% year over year, which is apparently what happens when every earnings call contains the words “AI,” “platform” and “agentic” repeated like a Gregorian chant for Wall Street analysts.
Google reclaimed the No. 1 spot from Apple after posting a 57% increase in brand value to nearly $1.5 trillion, fueled by what Kantar calls “AI-led ecosystem monetization at scale.” In less corporate English, Google found a way to turn the AI panic into another revenue stream before most marketers finished arguing about whether ChatGPT should write banner copy.