Google upgrades AI search ads: What marketers need to know

A range of new tools announced at Marketing Live follow the platform enacting a significant overhaul of the search experience to prioritize AI chats.

By Peter Adams • May 20, 2026

Amid upfronts sports overload, pitches around data, AI come into focus

Legacy firms NBCU and Disney, tech titans Netflix and Amazon and publishers shaped by M&A showed off evolving offerings during last week’s shows.

By Chris Kelly • May 18, 2026

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What you need to know about data in marketing

The pressure on marketers is only intensifying to master data and analytics capabilities that can strengthen personalization and foster loyalty.

By Marketing Dive staff

9 national TV publishers join initiative to address industry fragmentation

Industry giants, including Paramount and NBCUniversal, have teamed with OpenAP to introduce a standardized way to activate and measure campaigns.

By Jessica Hammers • May 18, 2026

Publicis buys LiveRamp for $2.2B to improve AI agent sophistication

Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun says LiveRamp’s co-created data sets will provide a leg up over rivals that rely on stagnant, generic signals. 

By Peter Adams • May 18, 2026

Nearly 91% of marketers believe their platform results are overstated. Here’s what it’s costing them.

New research from Affinity Solutions reveals billions in waste from optimizing on the wrong data.

May 18, 2026

Social insights fail to reach decision-makers: Here’s what the numbers say

Just 14% of social media professionals feel their organization is able to use social data properly.

By Sara Karlovitch • May 15, 2026

AI remains a top priority for CMOs, but spending lags: Gartner

While 70% of CMOs say AI is a key focus for 2026, only 30% feel they have the infrastructure to achieve their goals.

By Sara Karlovitch • May 11, 2026

Where Trade Desk sees advertising opportunity following bruising Q1

The ad-tech firm pointed to the budding market for ads in AI chatbots and with CMOs it believes will start to treat walled gardens as “leftovers.” 

By Peter Adams • May 8, 2026

Kraft Heinz hikes marketing spend 37% as turnaround takes shape

The CPG giant highlighted innovations like its new protein-packed Kraft Mac & Cheese and a five-year sponsorship deal with the NFL. 

By Peter Adams • May 7, 2026

Dollar General bridges onsite, offsite retail media with new solution

Brands will be able to activate and optimize offsite and onsite inventory within The Trade Desk for the first time through an integration supported by Kevel.

By Peter Adams • May 4, 2026

Omnicom credits Q1 wins to core operations, reaffirms ongoing cost cuts

The company also touted the success of its AI-powered Omni marketing platform, which has now been scaled across the entire organization.

By Jessica Hammers • May 4, 2026

Go Figure: 3 big marketing numbers from April

From Modelo’s seven-figure pro soccer investment to Amazon’s projected ad revenue, here are some important numbers marketers may have missed.

By Sara Karlovitch • May 1, 2026

Meta and Google ad revenues soar thanks to AI, but big picture is blurry

Google and Meta both posted impressive advertising growth in Q1, but their paths are diverging on the critical technology front.

By Peter Adams • April 30, 2026

Snowflake helps unlock data collaborations with consent signals from OneTrust

AI exacerbates challenges around data privacy because the only remedy for having unconsented data in AI models is rolling them back. 

By Chris Kelly • April 28, 2026

CMOs built up CEO trust. Now they must prove they can drive growth.

While CEOs are increasingly confident in the CMO’s understanding of their company’s finances, overall CEO faith in the CMO role has declined to 43%.

By Chris Kelly • April 28, 2026

Albertsons injects fresh retail media data into YouTube advertising

Display & Video 360 struck a similar pact with Kroger, an Albertsons rival, in March as more brands chase high-intent CTV audiences over raw scale.

By Peter Adams • April 27, 2026

Home Depot helps advertisers reach DIY audiences on Reddit and Pinterest

Advertisers will be able to launch Reddit campaigns directly through Orange Apron Media’s self-service portal as part of an industry-first integration.  

By Peter Adams • April 23, 2026

How Nestlé’s US CMO keeps tabs on changing consumer tastes

Vicki Felker discusses launching the CPG giant’s first at-home condiment brand and how the brand has increased its digital and social investment.

By Peter Adams • April 22, 2026

Viant acquires TVision to realize CTV advertising trifecta

The $40 million deal builds on the platform’s previous acquisition of IRIS.TV to provide clients with identity, context and verified attention.

By Peter Adams • April 20, 2026

Adobe expands agency partnerships as part of agentic AI platform debut

Omnicom, Publicis and WPP are among the agencies that are standardizing on the new CX Enterprise platform to co-develop solutions for joint clients.

By Jessica Hammers • April 20, 2026

No Warner Bros., no Hastings, no problem: Netflix has ‘room for growth’

The streamer is still on track to double ad revenue to $3 billion this year, and its advertiser base grew over 70% year over year in 2025 to more than 4,000.

By Chris Kelly • April 17, 2026

Black representation drives brand opportunities: Here’s what the numbers say

Black audiences are significantly more likely to pay attention to an ad if they feel it reflects their culture, according to Nielsen research. 

By Sara Karlovitch • April 17, 2026

Google brings AI Max for Search out of beta, will deprecate legacy tools

Dynamic Search Ads, automatically created assets and the campaign-level broad match setting will automatically upgrade to AI Max in September. 

By Peter Adams • April 16, 2026

Publicis addresses Trade Desk spat, calls Sora shutdown ‘symbolic’

The group delivered its 20th consecutive quarter of growth in Q1 despite the Middle East conflict, which executives said hasn’t rattled client spending. 

By Peter Adams • April 14, 2026

Meta to shoot past Google in digital ad revenue for first time: Emarketer

Growth is accelerating for the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, with increased automation improving ad performance. 

By Sara Karlovitch • April 14, 2026