In a tightening market, the most-read CPG Insider stories show brands experimenting under real pressure.
AI tools are quickly becoming embedded in how Americans research and discover products.
Some marketers said they expect AI to contribute to workforce reductions, while a majority anticipate maintaining current headcount but redeploying talent.
Blind evaluations by expert moderators consistently rated AI-moderated interviews poorly on core qualitative skills, including rapport-building, improvisation and the ability to ask insightful
follow-up questions.
Anthropic, Block, OpenAI and other AI-tech companies recently launched the Agentic AI Foundation to ensure that agentic AI tools for advertisers and marketers develop as an open, collaborative
ecosystem.
A BrightEdge analysis of informational, consideration and transactional queries revealed patterns showing where the biggest competitive battles are - and it's not where most marketers might expect.
The proposed framework from the IAB Tech Lab is expected to change real-time bidding performance and agentic interoperability across programmatic media buys.
Google's Gemini AI models will now power two agentic agents to help advertisers gain insights and drive improved campaign performance.
Search experience optimization will become a new strategic frontier as AI-powered platforms transform how people discover information - and attention, not impressions, will define marketing success in
2026, the report says.
AI models from Anthropic are learning to reason, reflect and express how they think - but only about 20% of the time.
Advertisers need to ensure that their products are visible on AI-powered search and shopping platforms.
Three separate reports from PayPal, Deloitte and Measure Protocol show how AI has increasingly become the influencer when consumers are ready to make decisions on how much, where and when they will
spend their dollars.
Tasks include help with copy revisions, campaign ideation, email tone and even internal reporting.
Among those who do get news from chatbots, about a third say it is hard to determine what's true.
Brand Keys' latest Loyalty Leaders survey shows generative AI players like ChatGPT leapfrogging heritage names.
Kearney data shows store loyalty collapsing as shoppers chase better prices, forcing retailers to rethink holiday strategies.
Bain highlights 25 use cases across the sales cycle, from lead generation to account management, that could unlock significant value.
Meanwhile, nearly half of shoppers are skeptical of sponsored products, and more than a quarter describe them as outright annoying.
Potential applications include advanced predictive analytics, faster data processing and real-time simulation of customer journeys.
AI is reshaping browsing behavior and setting new expectations for digital advertising.
Brands face a new imperative: optimizing for discovery in AI-driven environments.
The more data SparkToro founder Rand Fishkin gathers, the more he believes the " 'AI vs. Search' narrative is largely made up by media and influencers seeking attention, rather than an accurate
reflection of reality."
DoubleVerify research shows that agencies spend 26% of their time manually optimizing client campaigns, averaging out to about 10 hours per week for every employee worldwide.
Metehan Yesilyurt, growth marketing manager at AppSamurai, analyzed browser-level interactions with Perplexity's infrastructure and believes he has discovered how content is evaluated and ranked.
As OpenAI released reasoning LLMs on Tuesday, some publishers have once again begun locking down content. WalletHub CEO believes Google went from organizing the world's information to stealing it,
taking a sledgehammer to the contract the open web relied on.
Many marketers report saving nearly five hours a week through AI, though they also haven't receiving any formal training.
Researchers have introduced a systematic framework for LLMs that emphasizes their indifference to truth. A high score signals the model is producing confident-sounding statements with a degree of
certainty or reliability.
Google's Q2 earnings show AI Overviews continue to increase search activity, with new data suggesting they drive over 10% more queries. AIO now has 2 billion monthly users and apparently, has not
reduced the need to search.
Demonetizing the open web could backfire, leaving search results filled with lower-quality content and fewer credible voices.
As AI continues to reshape how people discover brands, evaluate options, and make decisions, data from Yext reveals clear shifts in search behavior across markets and generations.