Marketers are scrutinising their Google search budgets, with 10% to 30% of spend under review, Digiday reports. Agencies say clients are open to shifting funds to Meta, Local Services Ads and other platforms if Google search returns weaken. Google’s search ad revenue rose 12% in the third quarter, its slowest pace this year, with executives partly blaming the slowdown on the rise of AI-driven search tabs.

Media mix modelling and geo-testing are showing that upper-funnel media and non-search channels are driving more impact, prompting some buyers to reallocate spend. Branded keyword CPCs rose 5% in the third quarter, and some marketers are finding better returns by investing earlier in the discovery journey, such as paid social or YouTube. AI-led platforms are also reallocating spend automatically when Google performance dips.

Despite these shifts, most budget changes remain within the Google ecosystem, with increased investment in AI-powered products like Performance Max and Demand Gen. The trend points to a more diversified approach, as marketers look to balance paid and organic presence amid evolving search habits and AI’s growing role in media planning.

Amazon Ads reported $19.64 billion in Q3 revenue, a slight 0.9% drop from the previous quarter, attributed partly to Prime Day's shift to Q2. The company is focusing on agentic AI, with new offerings like Full-Funnel Campaigns and Digital Video Audio (DVA+), aiming to simplify media buying while retaining controls for buyers. Amazon describes its approach as "human-led, AI-supported," but has not committed to full transparency on how individual Sponsored Ads auction prices are set.

Industry observers, including former McKinsey consultant Alex Brownstein, note that Amazon offers more transparency in some areas—such as publisher-level reporting for DVA+—but less detail on channel pricing in full-funnel campaigns. The company provides format-level reporting and uses shopping signals to predict and track sales over 12 months. Amazon maintains it disagrees with the FTC’s recent filing related to its advertising business.

The rise of agentic AI in advertising tools is prompting scrutiny from regulators and clients over data, decision-making, and pricing clarity. Brand leaders in regulated sectors will need to assess whether new AI-driven tools provide sufficient transparency and control for compliance and risk management. Ongoing industry debate and regulatory attention could shape future reporting requirements.

Marketing agencies have widely adopted AI agents, but team structures and job roles remain largely unchanged, according to Digiday’s coverage of its Media Buying Summit. While AI tools automate planning and media activation, only 9% of agencies are not pursuing agentic AI, and most have not distributed AI-driven gains across teams. The result is increased efficiency for individuals, but little impact on overall margins or revenue per worker outside the tech sector, according to Apollo Partners.

Agency leaders at the summit said the over-use of AI can make work more tedious and stressful, with both junior and senior staff using AI to speed up tasks but sometimes skipping critical thinking. Some agencies, such as Monks and M&C Saatchi North America, are responding by investing in staff training and adjusting hiring strategies, focusing on strategic and creative skills rather than repetitive tasks. Access to advanced AI tools is often restricted to developers to control costs and exposure.

The sector is starting to rethink traditional staffing, with early signs of new roles in AI oversight and quality assurance emerging. Senior talent remains key for originality and risk-taking, while early-career staff may shift towards maintaining AI systems. Agencies are only beginning to adjust their structures to fully realise AI’s potential.

Lush, the U.K.-based beauty brand, stopped paid advertising on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat in 2021, citing concerns over data privacy and teen mental health. By 2023, it also left X after Elon Musk’s takeover. Instead, Lush invested in its app, email marketing and in-person events, and built partnerships with creators. The company’s app now has 2.8 million users and its email marketing reaches more than 6 million globally.

Lush reported £736.2 million in revenue for 2025, up from £672.7 million in 2024, according to its June earnings report. The company credits new product launches, cross-brand collaborations and online customer forums for its growth. Collaborations with brands such as Hello Kitty and Minecraft generated around £34 million in sales. Lush maintains organic activity on YouTube and Pinterest, and launched its own Substack and Bluesky accounts.

Paid social was not a major part of Lush’s ad budget before the change. The company’s approach contrasts with industry trends, as social media spend continues to rise and marketers seek to diversify their media mix. Recent regulatory actions, such as Meta’s $25 billion penalty and moves to restrict social media for children, have increased scrutiny of the platforms.

Apple’s recent Safari restrictions on domains tied to identity providers have prompted ad tech companies such as ID5 to advance server-side integrations, while others support IAB Tech Lab’s Trusted Server Framework. The move follows Apple’s clarification that identifiers based on email addresses or similar data cannot be used to track individuals across sites without explicit consent. The restrictions, already in effect, have left publishers and technology partners adjusting quickly, with some companies reporting only limited immediate impact due to low consumer adoption so far.

Industry sources told Digiday that Apple’s communication has been selective, relying mainly on its public WebKit portal, though some back-channel discussions have occurred. Privacy experts suggest Apple’s approach may be driven by concerns over potential litigation related to third-party tracking. Critics argue that the changes may concentrate ad spend with large platforms such as Apple, Google, and Meta, rather than ending tracking altogether.

Publishers affected by the changes have moved to interim solutions while transitioning to first-party infrastructure. ID5 is testing server-side integrations with selected publishers, but widespread adoption is still in early stages. The IAB Tech Lab’s Trusted Server Framework is being considered, though it faces criticism over complexity, cost, and privacy safeguards.

The debate continues over whether server-side solutions truly address Apple’s privacy concerns or simply shift tracking beyond browser controls. The cost and complexity of new infrastructure are key issues for publishers, particularly those with limited resources.

Meta’s revised terms of use, which expand its web scraping permissions, have prompted a rare show of unity among publisher trade groups worldwide. The News/Media Alliance, representing over 2,000 publishers, and WAN-IFRA, with more than 20,000 members, have sent letters to Meta’s CEO demanding the withdrawal of the new terms before they take effect on 30 October. These groups argue that the changes would force publishers to let Meta use their content without permission or compensation, or risk losing access to Facebook’s audience.

The publishers claim Meta’s move could undermine the market for AI content licensing and allow the company to use journalism to develop competing products. The Center for Media and Digital Governance at the Open Markets Institute has called for regulators in the US, UK and EU to intervene before the deadline. Several European trade groups have also filed complaints with the European Commission.

Industry leaders say the timing of Meta’s recent AI licensing deals, alongside the new terms, raises questions about the future of paid content agreements. Unlike Google, which offers publishers some opt-out options, Meta has not committed to respecting publishers’ content controls. The outcome may shape future negotiations between platforms and content owners.

Salesforce has agreed to acquire Braze for $5.66 billion, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. The move is seen as a strategic expansion of Salesforce’s marketing technology, with Braze’s real-time customer engagement and AI tools expected to complement Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud and related products. Some financial institutions have questioned the deal’s valuation.

Salesforce says the integration will create a more connected system, where customer data and engagement results flow across marketing and business functions. However, marketers at Braze’s recent Forge conference voiced concerns about platform lock-in, data migration, and operational reliability. The risk is that campaign assets and decision logic could become tightly coupled to Salesforce’s proprietary tools, making it harder to switch vendors or connect to outside systems.

Braze’s leadership emphasised the need for human oversight and creative differentiation, especially as AI automates campaign execution. The deal raises questions for marketing leaders about balancing efficiency and control, particularly in regulated sectors where data access and portability are critical. Buyers are advised to scrutinise how easily data and assets can be exported, and how platform changes might affect compliance and operational flexibility.

The acquisition’s outcome will depend on regulatory review and how Salesforce implements its promised open approach. Marketers should monitor integration plans and prepare for possible shifts in vendor dynamics.

Omnicom has taken over Coca-Cola’s media account for the US and Canada, a business valued at about $785 million, according to Digiday sources. The move follows PepsiCo’s decision to move its own North American media business, worth a similar amount, to Publicis after nearly 30 years with Omnicom. WPP will continue to manage Coca-Cola’s global media outside Japan and South Korea, where Dentsu remains in place.

Omnicom’s win comes after a direct pitch to Coca-Cola’s senior marketing team, promising dedicated talent and technology, not recycled from its previous PepsiCo work. The agency’s recent integration of IPG has made it the world’s largest media house by billings, which is expected to give it more influence in negotiations with TV, publishers and social platforms. Coca-Cola now spends 70% of its media budget on social and creator content, a sharp shift from its previous focus on TV.

For marketing leaders, this reshuffle shows how major brands are consolidating media buying to secure better terms and digital reach. WPP’s retention of Coca-Cola’s international business also signals the importance of integrated media, data and creative offerings. The split between agencies could affect how global campaigns are managed and how media budgets are allocated across regions.

The next phase will show whether Omnicom’s scale delivers the promised savings and innovation for Coca-Cola, and how WPP adapts its global approach to keep the account secure.

Walmart Connect has started pitching on-site brand lift studies directly to brands as it seeks to secure a larger share of holiday ad budgets. Agency executives told Digiday that several clients have been approached, though Walmart declined to comment. The initiative comes as brands are finalising their Q4 and 2027 media budgets, with measurement and proof of incrementality becoming central to spending decisions.

The lack of standardised measurement and walled-garden data has made it difficult for marketers to assess retail media performance. Walmart’s approach aims to address these concerns by providing brands with specific insights into their campaign results. Agency sources say this could help Walmart compete more directly with Amazon by offering clearer evidence of return on investment.

Brand lift studies can be costly and slow, sometimes taking up to nine weeks for results, and require significant spend commitments. However, agency leaders expect more retailers to follow Walmart’s lead as demand for transparent measurement grows. For CMOs and marketing leaders in regulated sectors, the trend signals a shift towards more accountable media investment, though challenges with data access and speed remain.

US and UK publishers are pressing for legislation to require AI bots to identify themselves, aiming to address the surge in stealth scraping of online content. DataDome reported that scraping made up 70.9% of malicious bot traffic, with a 185.2% increase over 12 months. Publishers like People Inc. and the Financial Times described large-scale, persistent bot activity, with millions of requests blocked, and highlighted the challenge of distinguishing legitimate bots from unauthorised ones.

The News/Media Alliance has organised over 300 publishing executives to lobby for the US Stealth Bot Prohibition Act, while a coalition of British and American publishers is calling for similar measures in the UK. The push reflects frustration with technical defences that struggle to keep up with increasingly sophisticated bot tactics, including impersonation of legitimate crawlers like Googlebot and GPTBot. Analysis by Centinel found that 84% of requests claiming to be GPTBot and 99% claiming to be Perplexity-User were fake.

Publishers argue that regulation is needed to ensure transparency and control over how AI companies and third-party scrapers access and monetise their content. The move could influence future data use, licensing agreements, and regulatory expectations for other sectors facing similar risks from unauthorised data scraping.