Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Ad tech vendors pivot to cloud‑hardware ownership to cut latency and costs
Vendors are splitting between owning their own cloud infrastructure and renting from public clouds such as AWS, Google Cloud and Azure. SSPs PubMatic and Index Exchange introduced containerized solutions—Decision Fabric and Index Cloud—that let DSPs run models on‑premise, lowering latency and data‑transfer expenses. The shift balances cost savings against control of the stack.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Accenture Song acquires influencer marketing agency Whalar
Webflow Rolls Out Enterprise AEO Platform to Boost AI Search Optimization
Webflow has launched its Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) suite for enterprise customers, pairing AI‑powered analytics with execution agents to automate SEO at scale. The move follows a company‑wide AI transformation and a study showing 93% of marketing leaders view AEO as critical for brand success.
Kagi Search’s Ad‑Free Model Boosts Low‑Vision Accessibility, Prompting SEO Rethink
A user report shows Kagi’s subscription‑based, ad‑free search engine dramatically eases visual fatigue for low‑vision users, sparking a debate over cluttered free search results and their impact on SEO and inclusive marketing strategies.
Daily Search Forum Recap: May 22, 2026
Google began rolling out its May 2026 core update, a two‑week algorithm refresh aimed at surfacing more relevant content. Simultaneously, the Search Console links report malfunctioned, showing zero or dramatically reduced backlink counts for many sites. OpenAI expanded its ChatGPT Ads...
Improve Your Digital Content Quality with GPT Image 2
GPT Image 2, now embedded in the Love Art platform, lets marketers launch full‑scale multi‑asset campaigns from a single brief. The system automatically locks logos, fonts and color palettes, guaranteeing brand consistency across digital ads, social posts and merchandise. Editable layers let...
OUTFRONT Launches First IRL Advertising Program at LA Union Station Ahead of 2026 World Cup
OUTFRONT Media has launched its first in‑real‑life advertising and experiential program at Los Angeles Union Station, a hub that sees 14.8 million passengers a year. The rollout coincides with the station’s role as an official World Cup 2026 fan zone, giving...
Google I/O Highlights: Gemini 3.5, AI Ads, May Core Update
SEO Video recap covering the Google I/O and GML news with a new big search box, Gemini 3.5 Flash in Search, new Google Ads in AI Mode, and of course, the Google May 2026 core update https://t.co/r54t06G7es Sponsored by @DudaPlatform with...
OpenAI Releases ChatGPT Ads Manager Updates & Ads Tests
OpenAI announced three upgrades to its ChatGPT Ads Manager: daily budget options, granular geo‑targeting by state, DMA or ZIP code, and aggregate list‑view totals for impressions, clicks and spend. The changes apply to new campaigns, with daily budgets limited to...
Google Tests Was & Usually Pricing Labels In Product Results
Google is piloting new pricing labels—“was” and “usually”—on its product and shopping search results. The tags appear next to the listed price, signaling whether the figure reflects the current price or a typical/previous price. The experiment was first spotted by...
Programmatic Advertising Expands to Car LED Screens
Adtelligent, Uklon Ads, and Advision have launched a programmatic advertising solution that places LED screens on the roofs of Uklon partner cars in Ukraine. The system integrates Adtelligent’s real‑time bidding technology with Advision’s CMS, allowing brands to buy moving DOOH...
Later Launches Creator AEO to Optimize Brands for AI Answer Boxes
Later unveiled Creator AEO, a tool that lets brands optimize their presence in AI answer boxes through creator‑driven content. Powered by EdgeAI and a 136 billion‑impression dataset, the service addresses the fact that only 10% of AI‑search references come from a...
Dstillery Elevates Evan Hills to COO as AI Ad Platform Scales
Dstillery announced the promotion of Evan Hills, its chief commercial officer since 2014, to chief operating officer. The move comes as the New York‑based adtech firm expands its DS‑1 AI platform, which it says cuts audience‑activation cycles from days to...
FTC Fines $930K Over Fake ‘Active Listening’ Ad Tool, Calls Out Deceptive Opt‑Out Practices
The Federal Trade Commission levied $880,000 against CMG and $25,000 each against MindSift and 1010 Digital Works for marketing a non‑existent “Active Listening” ad service. At the same time, EPIC’s new report exposes manipulative opt‑out designs at firms like Meta,...
Strategic Perspective on Digital Monetization in Europe
Europe’s digital advertising ecosystem remains highly fragmented across language, culture, regulation, and technology, making uniform strategies ineffective. GDPR and varying consent rates, coupled with the phase‑out of third‑party cookies, force publishers and marketers to prioritize localised compliance and first‑party data....
When Marketing Leaders Can’t Explain Search Performance via @Sejournal, @Coreydmorris
Marketing leaders often drown in search‑engine data—impressions, clicks, rankings—yet struggle to tie those numbers to real business outcomes. Corey Morris highlights that traditional SEO and paid‑search reports focus on visibility metrics, leaving CMOs unable to explain revenue impact or lead...
Mind Meld PR Reveals Its Winning Strategy for Brands in the AI-Era
Google announced its biggest search overhaul in 25 years, replacing traditional link lists with AI‑driven interactive experiences. The shift means 84% of AI search citations now come from earned media, making PR coverage critical for brand visibility. Mind Meld PR,...
TikTok Go Lets U.S. Users Book Hotels Directly in the App
TikTok has rolled out TikTok Go in the United States, a feature that lets users book hotels, attractions and tours without leaving the app. Powered by partnerships with Booking.com, Expedia, Viator and others, the move creates a new distribution channel...
Triple Whale Rolls Out Moby 2 AI Operating System for 60,000+ Ecommerce Brands
Triple Whale announced the general availability of Moby 2, its next‑generation AI operating system, now serving more than 60,000 ecommerce and retail brands. The platform adds autonomous execution tools to the company's measurement stack, aiming to shrink the gap between insight...
Report Finds 1,614 Primates Sold on U.S. Social Media, Raising Brand Safety Concerns
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, International Fund for Animal Welfare and World Wildlife Fund released a study showing 1,614 live primates advertised across 1,131 posts on U.S. social‑media platforms. The findings highlight a growing illegal wildlife market that threatens...
Samba TV Launches Project Gravity, an Independent Data Activation Platform for the Agentic Era
Samba TV unveiled Project Gravity, an independent data‑onboarding and activation platform that matches advertisers' first‑party data to its proprietary Identity Graph. The service assigns a universal identifier that can be deployed across more than 40 major DSPs, SSPs and walled‑garden...
Amazon PPC for Margin Protection: 7 Fixes UK Sellers Should Make Before Scaling Spend
UK Amazon sellers often blame high PPC spend on bidding errors, but the real culprits are unclear margins, weak listing conversion, and sloppy campaign structure. The article outlines a seven‑step diagnostic that forces sellers to calculate true landed‑cost margins, tighten...
Clouted Raises $7M Seed to Automate Short‑Video Virality for Brands
Clouted announced a $7 million seed round led by Slow Ventures to launch a SaaS platform that automates the clipping, testing and distribution of short‑form videos for brands and agencies. The service taps a network of over 100,000 gig creators and...
Debenhams Group Launches AI‑Driven Checkout on Meta for US Shoppers
Debenhams Group has rolled out an AI‑driven checkout experience inside Meta’s Facebook and Instagram apps for US shoppers of its youth‑fashion brands. Powered by PayPal’s Agentic Commerce Services, the pilot lets customers complete purchases without leaving the social platform, aiming...
Google Rolls Out AI Ad Agents, Sparking Marketer Trust Concerns
At Google Marketing Live, the company introduced a suite of Gemini‑driven AI ad agents, including the “Ask Advisor” tool that can set up campaigns and surface insights automatically. Marketers responded with caution, citing opaque decision‑making and a need for manual...
StoreClaw Launches AI Growth Engine to Automate E‑commerce Acquisition, Conversion and Retention
StoreClaw introduced its AI Growth Engine, a cross‑platform SaaS solution that moves beyond suggestion‑only tools to execute acquisition, conversion and retention actions for e‑commerce sellers. The platform combines AI reasoning with pre‑built “Skills” that act as playbooks, giving merchants a...
Meta Under Fire as Report Finds $14 M in Medicare Scam Ads Reached 215 M Seniors
A new Center for Countering Digital Hate study reveals that scammers spent $14.3 million on Medicare‑related ads on Meta’s Facebook, generating 215 million impressions—mostly to users over 65. Meta disputes the findings but the report has sparked regulatory attention and calls for...
Google Testing New AI-Generated Ad Formats in AI Mode and Standard Search Results, but Not yet in Gemini
Google announced a test of AI‑generated ad formats across standard search and its new AI Mode at I/O 2026. The "conversational discovery" ads are created by Gemini using brand website content, appear below AI‑Mode responses, and are clearly labeled as...
OpenAI Testing Larger Ad Formats and Dedicated E-Commerce Ad Units with Dynamic CTAs and Carousel-Style Placement in ChatGPT
OpenAI is piloting larger‑image ad formats in ChatGPT that include optional, personalized call‑to‑action buttons such as “shop now” or “learn more.” The rollout also introduces a dedicated e‑commerce unit that can appear in portrait or landscape orientation, pulling live product...
How to Activate Around the 2026 FIFA World Cup Without an Official Sponsorship
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is projected to generate more than $10 billion in global advertising spend, yet most brands will lack official FIFA rights. To capture fan attention without infringing trademarks, marketers are urged to adopt a "corridor" strategy that...
Prog AI Live: AI’s Slippery Slop
At the Prog AI Live event in Las Vegas, AdExchanger editors debated how AI‑generated content is reshaping the notion of “premium” media. They noted that viral, low‑production “slop” often garners higher engagement than traditional high‑budget entertainment, forcing brands to reconsider where they allocate...
Critics Warn Kalshi and Polymarket Risk a Juul-Style Reckoning
Prediction‑market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are under fire for using viral social‑media ads that appeal to users as young as 18, prompting bipartisan legislative action. Lawmakers introduced the Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement Act after hearing that a third of...
Google's New AI Search Ads Are Designed to Look Like Helpful Answers
Google is rolling out AI‑driven search ads that appear as conversational answers within its new AI Mode. The ads will be labeled as sponsored but blend with AI‑generated responses, including short product descriptions for shopping queries. Users will still see...
Fanatics and American Express Launch Co-Branded Card to Monetize Sports Fandom
Fanatics and American Express announced a partnership that creates a co-branded Fanatics American Express Card, letting cardholders earn FanCash and access exclusive sports experiences. The deal taps into roughly 80% of Amex’s U.S. consumer base who identify as sports fans,...
AI Is Finally Doing Real Work In Ad Ops (But Only When It Works With Your Existing Tech)
Jordan Cauley, a former Mediavine product lead, showed that large language models can dramatically streamline publisher ad‑ops when they are wired directly into existing tools like Google Ad Manager, GitHub and revenue‑reconciliation feeds. By integrating Claude and ChatGPT with these...
AI Is Finally Doing Real Work In Ad Ops (But Only When It Works With Your Existing Tech)
Jordan Cauley, a former Mediavine product lead, demonstrated that large language models only deliver real value in publisher ad operations when they are directly integrated with existing tools like Google Ad Manager, GitHub, and revenue feeds. By wiring Claude and...
Simple Steps to Set up Amazon Attribution Links
How I set up Amazon attribution links. I just made this so hopefully it is helpful and not too big of a hot mess. 🤣
Cut the Committee: Give B2B Buyers Sharp Insight
Most B2B content does not fail because the idea is weak. It fails because it sounds like it was approved by 7 stakeholders before it reached the buyer. Executives do not stop scrolling for “innovative solutions.” They stop for: → sharp insight → real tradeoffs →...
Digital Turbine Expands AI Capabilities Across Its Mobile Platform Through Deepened Google Cloud Partnership
Digital Turbine announced a deeper partnership with Google Cloud to embed the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform across its mobile ecosystem. By leveraging its Ignite Graph and DT iQ intelligence layer, the company will process real‑time signals from more than one...
Veritonic Launches Instant Insights: AI-Powered Creative Intelligence
Veritonic unveiled Instant Insights, an AI‑powered self‑service platform that delivers immediate creative performance feedback across audio, video, podcast, CTV, social and digital media. Built on more than a decade of proprietary benchmark data, the tool evaluates emotional resonance, engagement potential...
DoubleVerify Delivers Global Media Quality Measurement for LinkedIn Audience Network, Elevating Transparency for B2B Advertisers
DoubleVerify has launched global post‑bid media quality measurement for the LinkedIn Audience Network, giving advertisers independent visibility into invalid traffic, viewability, brand suitability and geographic delivery. The new offering complements pre‑bid avoidance controls, allowing brands to block unsuitable inventory before...
LLM Guidance Doesn’t Transfer The Way SEO Guidance Did via @Sejournal, @DuaneForrester
For two decades SEO practitioners could follow guidance from one search engine and expect it to work across Google, Bing and others because the engines shared protocols like sitemaps and Schema.org. In the generative‑AI era that portability has vanished; major...
Google Launches Universal Cart Checkout and AI Ad Explainers to Take on Amazon
Google announced a native checkout system called Universal Cart and new AI‑generated ad formats at its Marketing Live summit. The rollout, backed by the Universal Commerce Protocol, partners with retailers such as Sephora, Target and Walmart to let shoppers complete...
Google I/O 2026 Unveils AI-Driven Search Overhaul, Shaking Up SEO and Ads
At Google I/O 2026 the company announced a sweeping redesign of Search that puts AI at the core, replacing the classic blue‑link results page with an Intelligent Search Box powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash. The move promises faster, cheaper AI...
AEO Is a Creator Marketing Opportunity Most Brands Are Missing
Brands now compete for visibility in AI‑generated answers rather than traditional search results, and only 5‑10 % of those citations come from owned sites. The bulk of AI brand references—up to 95 %—are sourced from creator‑driven content on YouTube, Reddit, Substack and...
TikTok Launches AI‑driven Creator Search for Intent‑based Matching
TikTok announced Creator AI Search.🔎 The feature within TikTok One Creator Marketplace allows brands and agencies to find creators by entering a campaign brief and receiving a curated list of best-fit creators. This shift from filters to intent-based discovery aligns with...
New Algorithm Updates Set to Transform Search
Updated the algo update list. LOTS of interesting changes that will impact Search in the last few weeks. https://t.co/0KdmuSXKw2 https://t.co/42VrvaOOYx
Samsung Ads Southeast Asia Overlays Eyeota Data for Greater Connected TV Ad Effectiveness
Samsung Ads Southeast Asia has teamed up with data‑technology firm Eyeota to overlay viewership data from millions of Samsung Smart TVs with Eyeota’s consumer insights. The alliance, the first data partnership for Samsung Ads in the region, covers Singapore, Thailand...
May 2026 Core Update Launches, Expect Bigger Impact
Here we go! The May 2026 broad core update is rolling out. I hope it's more impactful than the March core update. That was a dud IMO. :) I'll be posting updates based on what I'm seeing in the SERPs....
New Google Ads Updates and Account Penalties Announced
It's New 5/21: Big Google Ads News From Google Marketing Live and more with @gregfinn https://t.co/7TDxEvkCZ0 we are penalizing @mordyoberstein and @TheMarketingAnu
How To Stress-Test A Staging Environment To Surface Risks Pre-Launch – Ask An SEO via @Sejournal, @HelenPollitt1
The article outlines a systematic approach to stress‑test a staging environment before a major website launch, emphasizing that a staging site should mirror production as closely as possible. It recommends crawling at scale with diverse user‑agents, checking JavaScript rendering, and...
Google Trials New Shopping Ads, AI-Driven Lead Tools
Google is testing Shopping ads, Business Agent for Leads and expanding the Direct Offers pilot for AI Mode https://t.co/RNgBFnTXL1 https://t.co/dtpfKglXLc