Research from Taboola and several universities suggests AI-generated ads perform comparably to human-made ads when humans in ads look real. Here's what the data reveals.

Consumers are more valuable long term when they search and discover a brand through an AI engine. Results are more personalized and have been shown to boost average order value by guiding shoppers toward higher-value items that better match their requirements.

Marketers are rethinking how to approach customer data ahead of high-traffic online and in-person moments like the Super Bowl, with a focus on building a complete, real-time understanding of fans before, during and after the event so they recognize fans across channels, from search to social media and CTV - not just emails and loyalty IDs.

Google DeepMind began giving users access to "Project Genie" Thursday for Google AI Ultra U.S. subscribers ages 18 and up. The experimental research prototype allows users to create, explore and remix their own interactive worlds.

Amazon reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that it detected child sexual abuse material in its AI training data. The NCMEC recently began tracking the number of reports tied to AI products and their development.

AI recommendations vary even when prompts are identical. New data from analytics research firm SparkToro shows intent as consistent, but the order of the recommendations tracking is mostly random and filled with errors.

Return on investment alone cannot provide adequate support to guide media investment decisions. As data analysis occurs in real time, marketers need more.

While the brand-building ad is designed for the emotional impact, it becomes the performance anchor in a broader ad campaign. The spot will drive measurable, short-term actions through integrated digital channels like YouTube. When consumers later see a targeted Budweiser digital ad on social media or in search they are more likely to convert because of the positive sentiment in the spot.

Google expanded "Personal Intelligence" this week to support and interact with agentic systems. The technology analyzes consumer data to predict consumer needs, with the same type of information used by Google Performance Max.

The AI models can generate high-fidelity images, video, audio, 3D and vector outputs for all storytelling from ads to movies, with complete understanding of a brand or franchise's creative universe to protect their intellectual property.