AI Amazon pushes Alexa+ beyond Echo devices into Samsung TVs and BMW cars Amazon extends AI assistant to third-party hardware with Samsung television integration and automotive deployments across BMW, HERE Technologies, and TomTom navigation systems.
Video Sophie Turner leads star-studded Tomb Raider cast for Amazon Amazon MGM Studios announces complete cast for Prime Video's Tomb Raider series led by Sophie Turner as Lara Croft with Sigourney Weaver and Jason Isaacs.
Video Magnite secures Roblox's 151 million daily users for programmatic video Magnite gains exclusive global rights to monetize Roblox's rewarded video inventory across 151 million daily users as programmatic gaming advertising expands
Data Microsoft Advertising and Epsilon bring precision targeting to search campaigns Microsoft Advertising Platform now integrates Epsilon data through Third-Party Search collaboration with PMX, achieving 2x higher ROAS in travel pilot campaign tests.
Retail JPMorgan Chase takes over Apple Card in $2.2 billion banking shift Apple's credit card moves from Goldman Sachs to Chase after consumer lending losses topped $1 billion, with 12 million cardholders facing 24-month transition.
Audio Spotify finally lets you spy on what your friends are listening to right now Spotify launches listening activity and Request to Jam in Messages on January 7, 2026, enabling real-time music sharing for 40 million messaging users.
AI Ten hard truths separating AI advertising hype from working systems Advertisers face genuine operational changes through agentic AI while navigating empty promises, brand safety crises, and platform power plays reshaping 2026.
Retail Microsoft launches checkout inside Copilot as AI commerce battle intensifies Microsoft introduces Copilot Checkout on January 8, enabling direct purchases through AI conversations with PayPal, Shopify, and Stripe while launching Brand Agents for merchant websites.
Retail Criteo sets Luxembourg vote as ad platform seeks capital flexibility Criteo schedules February 27, 2026 shareholder meeting for Luxembourg redomiciliation vote, streamlining corporate structure with direct Nasdaq listing.
AI Why expert developers refuse to "vibe" with AI coding tools Experienced programmers maintain strict control over AI agents rather than delegating design decisions, new research reveals amid industry debate.
AI Agentic AI infrastructure dominates advertising week Agentic AI infrastructure commanded the advertising industry this week as platforms deployed autonomous campaign management while CES showcased deployment roadmaps.
Video Teads hires former Innovid CMO to steer omnichannel platform growth Teads appoints Dani Cushion as CMO effective January 6, 2026, bringing IPO experience from Innovid, Cardlytics to guide marketing during growth phase.
Data Adsquare launches Q1 seasonal audiences targeting $18.6 billion spending window Location intelligence platform releases four high-intent audience segments for Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Super Bowl, and Winter Olympics campaigns.
Video RTL+ surpasses 7 million subscribers as Germany's streaming race intensifies RTL Deutschland's streaming platform reached 7 million paying subscribers around the turn of the year, strengthening position as Germany's largest national service.
AI IAB Polska's 300-page AI guide expands Polish marketing playbook by threefold IAB Polska released AI Guide 2.0 on January 8, 2026, expanding from 2024 edition to over 300 pages covering large language models, agents, and performance marketing.
AI UK advertisers brace for AI content chaos as brand safety concerns surge Digital video dominates investment priorities while 56% flag AI-generated content adjacency as top 2026 challenge, according to Integral Ad Science survey of 220 UK media professionals.
Data Iran goes dark: 98% of internet infrastructure collapses in nationwide shutdown Iran's government executed a near-total internet blackout on January 8, 2026, eliminating 98.5% of announced IPv6 address space and cutting traffic by 90% within 30 minutes as protests spread across the country.
AI Google warns against breaking content into chunks for AI Danny Sullivan tells creators not to split content into bite-sized pieces for LLMs on January 8, 2026, saying optimization tactics won't survive ranking system improvements.
Data Cloudflare updates x402 template as micropayments gain traction Cloudflare updated its open source x402 payment-gated proxy template on January 9, 2026, enabling website owners to charge per download, per API call, or per crawl as traditional content monetization models face pressure.
Retail Retail import volumes to stay down through spring amid tariff uncertainty U.S. container port imports expected to decline year-over-year until May 2026 as retailers navigate tariff policy uncertainty and post-holiday shipping lulls.
Retail PayPal teams with Microsoft to enable purchases inside Copilot PayPal and Microsoft launch Copilot Checkout on January 8, enabling direct transactions through AI conversations without leaving the platform.
Data Cloudflare faces €14.2 million fine from Italian regulator over piracy enforcement Italian communications authority AGCOM fines Cloudflare €14.2 million for refusing to comply with orders to block pirated sports streaming content through its DNS services.
AI Tech giants rush to sponsor Tailwind CSS after devastating layoffs Vercel, Gumroad, Google, Lovable, and Macroscope pledged financial support to Tailwind CSS within 48 hours of the January 6, 2026, layoffs that eliminated 75% of the engineering staff.
Data California data broker fined $45,000 for selling health condition lists Texas company marketed consumer data on Alzheimer's, addiction, and ethnic backgrounds without Delete Act registration compliance, faces December deadline.
Search Google phases out call-only ads by February 2027 in push toward automation Google deprecates call-only ads starting February 2026, forcing advertisers to transition to responsive search ads with call assets by February 2027 deadline.
