Kantar identifies AI agents, retail media hitting 1.8x better results, creator ROI demands among ten marketing trends reshaping brand strategy in 2026.
by Luis Rijo
Companies spend thousands on generative engine optimization to influence ChatGPT recommendations. A Wall Street Journal investigation reveals the tactics behind AI search manipulation.
OpenAI sets $60 CPM for ChatGPT advertising while Meta completes Threads monetization. Microsoft's Prebid caching shutdown threatens publisher video delivery.
Cloudflare data shows Googlebot accesses 3.2x more unique URLs than OpenAI and 4.8x more than Microsoft, as UK regulator considers crawler separation mandate.
Microsoft search advertising revenue increased 10% to $3.8 billion in Q2 fiscal 2026 as cloud business surpassed $50 billion quarterly milestone for first time.
Publishers would control AI training opt-outs while Google must prove fair ranking under first UK digital markets conduct requirements targeting search dominance.
US immigration agency requests proposals for location data and advertising technology tools while data brokers expose military personnel movements through commercial phone tracking systems.
Microsoft exposed AI crawler traffic while Netflix doubled advertising revenue and Meta completed Threads monetization during the fourth week of January 2026.
X open sources Grok-powered recommendation algorithm revealing engagement scoring mechanics, verification advantages, and 30-minute velocity windows for brands.