Walmart & AI shopping agents: 👍🏽 Amazon & AI shopping agents: 👎🏽 Top Story: 🛒 Walmart is opening its ecommerce platform to AI agents that shop on behalf of customers, introducing dedicated agent profiles, spending controls, and direct shopping access while Amazon takes the opposite approach. +1 more… New Products & Services: 🤖 Evertune now lets any marketer launch ChatGPT ad campaigns without going through a sales team. Its AI identifies where competitors are getting recommended instead of your brand, then builds campaigns to close those gaps. +2 more… Use Case of the Week: 🏦 Chime is scaling its marketing without adding headcount or relying on outside agencies. Its in-house team uses AI for customer research, creative production, personalized messaging, and customer support. Learn which AI tools Chime uses, the results it’s seeing, and how it plans to connect them so AI agents can work together. Other Notable Headlines: 🚀 Meta’s Muse hits 10M U.S. downloads in 40 days, nearly three times ChatGPT’s downloads during its first 40 days. 💰 OpenAI expands ChatGPT Ads to 89 countries, with more than 100,000 advertisers and an ad revenue run rate that jumped from $100M to $1B in five months. 🎭 AI actress Tilly Norwood pitches marketers on the future of AI brand ambassadors, arguing that tomorrow’s virtual influencers will have personalities of their own. +2 more… Full AI Edge Newsletter Here: uof.digital/⁠

HE’S BACK!!!! @airgups23’s has retaken his throne! 👑

⚖️ Publicis Gets the Green Light to Buy LiveRamp, With a Few Strings Attached. The FTC has approved Publicis’ $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp, but the agency holding company must treat competitors fairly for the next five years. That means no preferential access to data, no discrimination against rival agencies, and independent oversight to make sure Publicis plays by the rules. But with competitors already looking to leave LiveRamp, Publicis might be perfectly happy to pick up their clients instead. ——— 📰 OTHER HEADLINES: 🍎 Apple Privacy is coming for ad tech. Again. Safari is blocking email-based identity tracking, and some vendors are already finding workarounds. 💰 Salesforce buys Braze for $5.66B. Rather than rebuild its aging marketing platform, Salesforce is buying the competitor that’s been eating its lunch. 🔄 Prebid proposes turning Google’s ad auction upside down, giving AdX the same footing as rival exchanges. And lots more… Get the full U of Digital Newsletter here: uof.digital/newsletters/

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👥 Learn How To Build And Use Synthetic Audiences! These audiences let you test campaigns, product ideas, and messaging on AI-generated consumers before spending a dollar on traditional research. Join us Oct. 29th as Shiv and Chad Reynolds, Founder & CEO of Vurvey Labs, show you how to build and use synthetic audiences, including an exclusive live demo of Vurvey’s People Models, in a FREE AI Edge Live webinar. 📅 Thursday, October 29 ⏰ 10am PT / 1pm ET 📍 Live on Zoom GET YOUR SPOT NOW: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…

💡@UofDigital's Hosting A FREE Live Webinar On Synthetic Audiences! Synthetic audiences are AI-generated representations of real consumers that marketers can use to test campaigns, product ideas, and messaging before investing in traditional research. But how do you build one? And how much can you trust what it tells you? Join us on October 29th, where Shiv Gupta is teaming up with @ChadAReynolds, Founder & CEO of @VurveyLabs, to show you how these audiences work and how marketers can put them to use. The session includes an exclusive live demo of Vurvey's People Models, so you can see the technology in action and learn how to start building your own. AI Edge Live webinars are typically exclusive to Edge Pro subscribers, but this one is FREE and open to everyone! 📅 Thursday, October 29 ⏰ 10am PT / 1pm ET 📍 Live on Zoom Get your spot here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi…

😰 Even CEOs Are Feeling The AI Pressure 💰 TOP STORY: Publicis Is Selling AI to CEOs Who Are Afraid of Losing Their Jobs- 4 in 5 CEOs think a failed AI bet could cost them their job. Publicis sees an opportunity, going straight to CEOs and winning business without traditional agency pitches. But is hiring a holding company the safest way to transform your business, or just the safest way to protect your job? +1 more… ——— 🤖 NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES: 📺 LG Lets AI Agents Buy TV Home Screen Ads - LG is opening its smart TV home screen inventory to AI-powered buying through Magnite. The first advertiser? Northern California Toyota dealers. This could change who gets access to premium TV placements. +1 more… ——— 🏕️ USE CASE OF THE WEEK: 💍 David’s Bridal Says “I Do” to AI- David’s Bridal turned its customer data into an AI wedding planner that helps couples organize their entire wedding. The results? 3X more engagement, 26X more users, and four years of work completed in 18 months. Your takeaway: Learn how to use AI to build a service around the bigger problem your customers are trying to solve, and potentially discover an entirely new business. ——— 📰 OTHER NOTABLE HEADLINES: 🏰 Disney Eyes Character.AI’s Tech for $20M- The chatbot startup is bankrupt, burning millions monthly, and facing a lawsuit. Disney could walk away with its technology. 🥤 Coca-Cola Wants AI to Know When You’re Thirsty- Coke is rewriting product descriptions around occasions and use cases to influence what AI shopping agents recommend. 🧻 OpenAI Engineer Arrested Over Toilet Paper-Wrapped Recording Device- Prosecutors say an engineer concealed a recording device in an OpenAI conference room TV. The hiding material of choice? Toilet paper. +3 more… Get the full AI Edge here: uof.digital/newsletters/ai-e…

🤖 AI Has Moved From Reading to Taking Action Mike Finnerty explains to Shiv & Myles on the AI Edge Podcast that there's been a shift from AI reading information to taking action. He shares a Facebook Marketplace story in which a Muse agent negotiated an exchange and someone arrived to complete it before the other person knew an agent had arranged the deal! Full Episode Here: 📺 YouTube: lnkd.in/gmTh_eCA 🍎 Apple Podcasts: lnkd.in/gvyWTCht 🌐 Spotify: lnkd.in/g2bcxB3u

🏀 Apple’s Privacy Defense Keeps Blocking The Ad Industry TOP STORY: 🍎 Safari’s Tracking Block Starts Cutting Publisher Revenue Aditude reports a 10.5% drop in eCPMs among Safari users who installed iOS 27. Only about 8% of iPhone users have updated, so these are early numbers. Apple has quietly lifted The Trade Desk’s ad server block in an unreleased beta. But for marketers who can make ads work without user-level data, cheaper Safari impressions could be an opportunity. ——— OTHER HEADLINES: 📺 Walmart Wants TV Ad Budgets From Brands That Don’t Sell At Walmart Walmart is using shopper data to pitch streaming TV ads to insurers and other non-retail advertisers. TV gives it access to customers its search and display business couldn’t attract. 🚫 Meta And TikTok Make Their Rivalry Everyone Else’s Problem Meta is banning TikTok ads after TikTok blocked Instagram and Facebook profile links. The platforms protect their turf while creators and advertisers lose ways to grow across them. 🚗 Uber Takes Its Audience Data Beyond Its Apps TripleLift will let advertisers reach audiences based on Uber rides, deliveries, and purchases through their existing DSPs. Another commerce media network is opening up because buyers want fewer walled gardens. And lots more… Full U of Digital Newsletter here: lnkd.in/eqBbCbre

🛒 Brand Is No Longer a Three-Year Bet Mike Finnerty, U.S. president of Mutinex, joins Shiv & Myles on the AI Edge to explain why agentic commerce changes the timeline for brand investment. If someone tells an AI agent “I want a Stanley water bottle,” brand preference gives it a clear signal. If they ask for a water bottle, the agent can choose from the options based on price and features. Full Episode Here: 📺 YouTube: lnkd.in/gmTh_eCA 🍎 Apple Podcasts: lnkd.in/gvyWTCht 🌐 Spotify: lnkd.in/g2bcxB3u

🛒 Agents May Make Brand Names More Valuable Than Product Specs Mike Finnerty, president of Mutinex North America, joins Shiv & @Myles_Younger on the AI Edge Podcast. Finnerty explains how AI can make marketing mix modeling faster and more detailed, helping marketers see what drives growth. They Get Into: 🛒 Why distinctive brands may matter more as AI agents start making purchases. 📊 How AI can speed up MMM and help marketers measure incremental growth. 🤖 What Amazon Ads Agent signals about the shift toward automated campaign decisions. And lots more... Full Episode Here: 📺 YouTube: youtu.be/jJf8qJcxPII?si=lUGJ… 🍎 Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas… 🌐 Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/790…

@UofDigital's Fall Tour Continues! We’re heading to Orlando for Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Masters of Marketing, then back to NYC for BRXND.ai 📍 OCT 20–23: ANA Masters of Marketing in Orlando If you'll be there, hit us up at [email protected]. It’d be great to see you. 📍 NOV 5: BRXND NYC: The Intersection of AI and Marketing We’ve got 30% off tickets at uof.digital/brxnd. Join us!

🏹 Marketers Are Still Figuring Out AI Search. Meta Just Changed the Game. 💰 TOP STORY- Meta’s Muse Could Generate $27B/Yr by 2030: Citigroup predicts Meta’s Muse could bring in more than $27 billion annually by 2030, with $23 billion coming from merchant fees on AI-driven purchases. Since launching in September, Muse has reached 6.6 million downloads and 1.8 million daily users. Marketers have spent the last 18 months trying to show up in AI search results. Now Meta’s building an AI that finds, compares, and buys products for consumers. +2 more… 🤖 NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES Google Introduces Gemini Agent for Work: An autonomous AI agent that works across Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides to complete research, reports, presentations, and other tasks. OpenAI Tests Image Ads in ChatGPT: New visual ads will appear during image generation, alongside expanded third-party measurement and brand safety partnerships. +3 more… 🏕️ USE CASE OF THE WEEK- Pandora Lifts ROAS With Pinterest’s AI Campaign Tools: Pandora used Pinterest Performance+ to increase incremental ROAS by 7.5% and overall ROAS by 47%. What you’ll learn: How to measure the impact of your ads on in-store sales and get a more accurate picture of your campaign performance. 📰 OTHER NOTABLE HEADLINES- 🍎 Apple Tightens Mac Security as AI Agents Get Nosier: New consent requirements aim to prevent agents from accessing private information without permission. 🤖 Monks Lets AI Agents Work Unsupervised for Days: Coding agents can operate for up to 48 hours, with plans to expand the approach into social and performance marketing. 🚨 AI Brand Protection Is Backfiring on Creators: Alo Yoga’s automated IP enforcement got creators banned from TikTok for posting about its products, even when they weren’t being paid. +2 more… Get the full AI Edge here: uof.digital/newsletters/ai-e…

🎬 Paramount, Warner Bros., CNN, and CBS's New Owner Would Like Your Trust. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery now sit under the Skydance name, giving their new owner control of Paramount, Warner Bros., CNN, and CBS as layoffs and editorial-independence concerns follow close behind. TOP STORY: 🍎 Apple Just Put Hundreds Of Ad Tech Companies On Notice- Apple’s iOS 27 update could block hundreds of CDPs, identity providers, data sellers, and ad tech companies from reaching people on iPhones and Macs. LiveRamp, ID5, UID2, and others are already in the crosshairs, while The Trade Desk’s ad-serving domain was blocked entirely on Safari. OTHER HEADLINES: 📉 OpenWeb Goes From A $1.5B Valuation To Insolvency- A court declared OpenWeb insolvent after the company reported $57.6M in liabilities and just $13.8M in cash. It’s a brutal reality check for the massive valuations handed out during the pandemic. 📱 TikTok Takes Its Ad Business Beyond TikTok- TikTok is opening its off-platform ad network to US advertisers, extending its reach across nearly 400K apps, including 44% of the largest US gaming apps. Its targeting data and advertiser demand are officially leaving the walled garden. 🖼️ OpenAI Makes ChatGPT Ads More Visual And Measurable- OpenAI will begin testing image ads while users generate images in ChatGPT. It also added more than a dozen measurement partners, including LiveRamp, Kochava, and AppsFlyer, as it searches for an ad format that works inside an LLM. And lots more… Full U of Digital Newsletter here: lnkd.in/eqBbCbre

Shiv & @Myles_Younger are in NYC for Advertising Week! And tomorrow, we’re co-hosting The House Party at AWNY with Unplugged Collective🏠 If you’re in NYC, come hang with us. 😎 ——— 📍 OCT 7: The House Party at AWNY 🎤 OCT 8: Catch Shiv Gupta at Optable Connect with AdExchanger ➕We’ll also be at @ANAmarketers Masters of Marketing in Orlando later this month, followed by BRXND NYC in November. ——— See where we’re headed next! 👇

🤖 Daddy Needs Alexa To Make Some Friends! TOP STORY: 🛒 Amazon Wants AI Making More Of Your Ad Buying Decisions- Amazon is giving AI more control over ad buying and introducing branded conversations inside Alexa. But if shoppers prefer ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants, Amazon may eventually have to open its product catalog to competitors. And that could threaten its retail media business… NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES: 🤖 OpenAI Launches Dots, Its Answer To Meta’s Muse- Always-on AI agents that learn your preferences, connect to thousands of apps and complete tasks while you’re away. OpenAI wants its AI working even when you’re not. 🏪 Meta Launches Muse For Small Business- Meta’s AI agent can help businesses find customers and manage tasks across connected apps. Meta could soon make money from both its AI tools and the advertising they generate. +3 More… USE CASE OF THE WEEK: 🎬 Runway Nearly Doubles ROAS With Its Own AI Advertising Agent- Runway built an AI agent to create and optimize ads across multiple platforms. It nearly doubled ROAS and cut its cost per subscriber by 41%. The results were so promising that Runway turned it into a product… OTHER NOTABLE HEADLINES: 🥪 Marketers Are Rebranding As Engineers To Survive The AI Era- Job listings for marketing engineers rose 29% last year. Apparently, a new job title might be the latest AI survival strategy. 👶 Agencies Are Cutting Entry-Level Hiring Because Of AI- AI is taking over junior-level work, but agencies may be eliminating their next generation of senior talent. +6 More… Get the full AI Edge here: uof.digital/

Amazon's Giving Yelp The Keys 🔑 TOP STORY: 🛠️ Amazon Ads Connects Shoppers With Local Pros Via Yelp-Amazon is bringing Yelp advertisers directly into the shopping journey with Sponsored Services, serving local protessionals when someone buys something that might require a little extra help. It's a big new distribution channel for Yelp. The surprising part is Amazon partnering instead of building its own competitor. Is Amazon testing the revenue opportunity before deciding whether to build or buy? OTHER HEADLINES: 🤖Amazon Ads And The Amazon DSP Get An Agentic Rebrand-Amazon just overhauled its ad platform and opened up sponsored answers inside Alexa for Shopping. There's a lot riding on whether advertisers and shoppers actually show up... 🍟 McDonald's And Delta Launch Their Own Media Networks- McDonald's wants to turn its drive-thru screens into ad inventory, while Delta is building around its 200M+ annual travelers. Two very different businesses are making the same bet... 👀 Meta's Muse Is Ad-Free... For Now- Muse hit 730K US downloads in five days while Meta plans to spend up to $145B on Al this year. Investors like the growth, but eventually someone has to pay for it... And lots more... Full Newsletter Here: uof.digital/newsletters/