Retail Google's shopping AI sparks surveillance pricing debate Google faces accusations about personalized upselling in Universal Commerce Protocol after January 11 announcement, while company denies claims about price manipulation.
Retail Amazon forces all sellers to use prepaid returns, ending high-value exemption Amazon eliminates high-value exemption for return labels on February 8, 2026, requiring all US seller-fulfilled orders to use prepaid shipping program.
Video Google opens NBCUniversal's Winter Olympics inventory to programmatic ads Google Display & Video 360 adds NBCUniversal Olympic Winter Games programmatic inventory with AI conversion tracking and household frequency controls.
Data Apple services shattered records in 2025 Apple's services division reached unprecedented heights in 2025 with 850 million weekly App Store users and Apple Pay blocking over $1 billion in fraud.
Video How contextual targeting doubled Super Bowl ad ROI last year Integral Ad Science reports 102% ROI increase for contextual campaigns during Super Bowl LVIII, with traffic hitting 131 million impressions on game day.
AI Anthropic opens Claude Code's automation power to everyone with Cowork Anthropic launched Cowork on January 12, bringing Claude Code's file automation to non-developers through natural language on macOS.
AI Google and Apple's Gemini deal raises questions about AI market control Google's Gemini models will power Apple Intelligence starting 2026. The multi-year partnership centralizes AI control amid industry criticism of platform dominance.
Display Advertising shifts from impressions to business outcomes in 2026 Industry experts predict 2026 will prioritize measurable business results over vanity metrics as AI reshapes campaign evaluation and budgets.
Data Honey loses access to 2,000 clients after Rakuten network termination Honey browser extension terminated from Rakuten Advertising affiliate network on January 12, 2026, losing access to major retail partners including Walmart.
Video The audience advertisers can't buy on YouTube YouTube Premium hits 125 million subscribers who pay to avoid ads—precisely the affluent demographic advertisers want to reach but can no longer target.
AI Visa builds payment infrastructure for AI agents to shop on your behalf Visa's Rubail Birwadker reveals how the company is building tokenized payment systems for agentic commerce, addressing fraud concerns as AI agents begin making purchases.
Retail Target and Walmart bring checkout directly into Google's AI assistant Target and Walmart enable direct purchasing through Google Gemini and AI Mode in Search, powered by Universal Commerce Protocol announced January 11, 2026.
AI Ad industry veterans explain why AdCP isn't competing with real-time bidding Industry leaders argue Ad Context Protocol enables portfolio management for advertising investments rather than snapshot bidding decisions programmatic advertising uses today.
Retail Universal Commerce Protocol could make checkout buttons obsolete The Universal Commerce Protocol threatens e-commerce platforms' differentiation while creating opportunities for merchants to escape platform lock-in.
Retail Mastercard bets future payments run through AI agents instead of people Mastercard introduces Agent Pay today for autonomous commerce, partnering with Google on Universal Commerce Protocol as 800M OpenAI users signal demand.
Retail Google launches protocol for AI agents to shop across platforms Google launches Universal Commerce Protocol with major retailers on January 11, 2026, introducing checkout APIs and payment standards for autonomous AI agents.
AI Web3 is dead and AI killed it Web3 funding crashed 74% while AI investment hit $124.3B in 2024. Developers abandoned blockchain for AI tools as 90% of Web3 projects failed. Here's why it matters.
Retail Private label sales hit €352 billion as shoppers reshape European grocery European retailers' own brands now command 38.5% of grocery market value, outpacing manufacturer brands by 2.5x.
Video YouTube quietly removes upload date sorting, sparking creator backlash YouTube eliminates sort-by-upload-date function while maintaining date filters, disrupting news discovery workflows for creators and viewers.
Audio Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters holds YouTube's top spot as 2026 begins Golden from Netflix's animated film leads with 59.8 million views while regional charts show India, Brazil dominate global consumption patterns week of January 2-8, 2026.
Search Microsoft lets advertisers add 50 search themes to Performance Max campaigns Microsoft Advertising expands search theme capacity from previous limits, giving advertisers more control over automated campaign targeting signals.
Display Your favorite website might be rotting away Traffic to established websites dropped 11% over five years while AI platforms rise, leaving outdated content to clutter search results with broken links.
Search Google quietly expands asset A/B testing to all Performance Max campaigns Google extends Performance Max asset experimentation beyond retail campaigns, enabling advertisers to test creative combinations within single asset groups.
Search Google opens Belarus gambling ads with dual-authority licensing Google accepts online gambling ads in Belarus starting January 22, 2026, requiring operators to secure authorization from Ministry of Taxes and presidential offices.
Display Google blocks rummy and fantasy sports ads in India after legal crackdown Google Ads will disallow all rummy and daily fantasy sports promotions targeting India starting January 21, 2026, following regulatory compliance requirements.
