Read This Week’s Digital Marketing News Updates

Digital Marketing News 9/27/2025 to 10/3/2025

This week: ChatGPT launches Instant Checkout for Etsy sellers, Gen Alpha wields $5.46T economic power, and YouTube dominates AI search visibility with a 200x citation advantage.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. Consumers Can Now Buy Products Directly Through ChatGPT

ChatGPT has launched a new partnership that puts marketers one step closer to advertising their products to ChatGPT’s more than 700 million weekly users.

OpenAI announced this week that users of ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free can now purchase directly from U.S. Etsy sellers using the AI platform. This option will soon also extend to over a million Shopify merchants, including Glossier, Skims, and Spanx.

Currently, Instant Checkout only allows single-item purchases, but OpenAI plans to introduce a multi-item cart option soon.

According to Emarketer senior analyst Zak Stambor, “OpenAI is taking its first big step into commerce with Instant Checkout. The feature still has some wrinkles to iron out, but embedding checkout for hundreds of millions of users could turn ChatGPT into a true commerce destination. If OpenAI can streamline the experience, it could challenge Amazon and Google and carve out a lucrative new revenue stream.”

As more consumers turn to ChatGPT as a search engine option, being able to sell directly to them from the platform could be life-changing for many businesses.

2. Gen Alpha Has a $5.46 Trillion Economic Impact

Spending might be down with Gen Z, but Gen Alpha is picking up the pace right behind them. If you want to grow your business, kids born between 2010 and 2024 might be the key.

A new study from the Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC) and the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg reveals that children born between 2010 and 2024 will have an economic impact in the trillions – specifically, $5.46 trillion.

Gen Alpha kids are influencing the ways families spend money, the items they purchase, and the vacations they take. The study also showed that:

• 59% help choose meals
• 36% weigh in on tech purchases
• 54% decide on activities
• 11% voice their opinions on big-ticket items like cars
• 96% get their families to try new things they saw online or heard about from friends

If you want to stay in demand with this lucrative generation, you need to provide a reason for them to stay connected. The study showed that:

• 64% value discounts or prizes
• 49% enjoy unlocking special items
• 43% like earning badges or level progressions
• 41% value early access to new products
• 31% like to see their name on a leaderboard
• 46% like to be surprised by new things as they shop or play online

In an economy where other generations are tightening their purse strings, it might pay for businesses to turn their attention towards Gen Alpha.

3. Google AI Overviews Matches Organic Search 54% of the Time

Worried about Google AI Overviews taking away from your organic results? New research from BrightEdge shows that might not be true!

A recently released study found that 54% of AIO websites overlap with traditional search results, indicating that most AIO results are identical to those ranking in traditional SERPs. The data also showed that:

• Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) overlaps at a higher rate
• Healthcare has the strongest overlap at 75.3%
• Education’s overlap has increased significantly to 72.6%
• Insurance increased from 47.7% to 68.6%
• E-commerce has the lowest overlap at 22.9%

You can read the entire study here.

4. Meta Announces that It Will Use Your Conversations with AI to Improve Ad Targeting

Don’t be surprised if your Meta Ads start seeming super targeted all of a sudden. Meta announced this week that your conversations with Meta AI will be used to personalize your experiences, specifically Meta Ads.

In the announcement, Meta explained: “More than 1 billion people use Meta AI every month. We’re continuing to improve the way our AI products feel relevant to you, understand your goals, and help you accomplish tasks more efficiently. We’re also using Meta AI, and our other AI features, to improve your experience on all of our platforms. We will soon use your interactions with AI at Meta to personalize the content and ads you see, including things like posts and reels. We’ll start notifying people about this update next week via notifications and emails, several weeks before it goes into effect on December 16, 2025.”

One thing to note: any conversations about things like religion, sexual orientation, politics, health, racial or ethnic origin, or philosophical beliefs will not be used in your data profile.

While this is great news for marketers using Meta Ads, some users might have privacy concerns about Meta using their information this way.

5. British Users Can Now Opt Out of Meta Ads

Speaking of Meta Ads, the UK's data control laws have enabled British users to opt out of ads on Facebook and Instagram.

In the announcement, Meta explained “Over the coming weeks, in response to recent U.K. regulatory guidance and following extensive engagement with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), we will introduce Subscription for no ads in the U.K. This will give people based in the U.K. the choice between continuing to use Facebook and Instagram for free with personalized ads, or subscribing to stop seeing ads.”

The conversation about ad-free options began after a court case in which a user objected to her personal data being used for ad targeting.

Subscription for no ads will cost £2.99/month on the web or £3.99/month on iOS and Android, for the first Meta account.

If you are targeting consumers in the UK, this change could impact the performance of your Meta Ads.

6. Reddit Releases Guidance to Improve Your Holiday Ads

With over 110 million daily active users, it comes as no surprise that the popularity of Reddit Ads has been growing. The platform even released new holiday guidance to help improve your ad reach this holiday season.

The guide includes multiple ways to improve your promotions, including:

• Using a catalog rich in product metadata
• Driving signal with a robust product set
• Using multi-placement to maximize reach and performance
• Start with a wider audience and optimize accordingly

If you’re thinking about using Reddit Ads this holiday season, this guide and the information on Reddit’s Pro Trends tool will help you decide if this is the right platform for you.

Even if you decide that Reddit isn’t going to be your gold mine, the information in this guide can also be helpful for other platforms and advertising opportunities.

7. Meet Google’s New Small Business Resource Hub

Google’s recently launched Small Business Resource Hub is designed to help small businesses succeed.

The tech giant says that the page will pull together important tools for small businesses, including Business Profile, Merchant Center, Google Ads, YouTube Ads, and Google Analytics. The goal is to make using these tools more straightforward for new business owners and those without large teams.

Google says that it will update the hub with new partner offers, up-to-date news, and all of the latest product updates.

This addition makes it easier for marketers and small businesses to stay up-to-date with all the free tools and products that Google offers, making online marketing for their businesses easier than ever before.

8. Bookings Get Easier with Google AI Mode

Google is testing a new feature in its Search Labs that gives AI Mode “agent” powers. If you opt in (U.S. users, 18+, in English), you can ask Google to make real-world bookings.

Try “book a dinner for three this Friday after 6 pm near me, maybe ramen or bibimbap.”

The AI will scan multiple reservation services, filter by your preferences (cuisine, location, size), and show you available options. Then, it gives you direct links so you can finalize the booking.

This is just the beginning: Google wants to expand this so you can also schedule things like services (e.g. haircuts, repairs) or buy event tickets, all without leaving Search. It’s part of Google’s push to help users finish tasks within its own interface rather than navigating to external sites.

9. AI Mode Goes (Even More) Visual

Speaking of AI Mode, Google is making its AI Mode more visual, especially for shopping searches. Instead of just text, you’ll now see image-based responses and graphics that help spark ideas.

Behind the scenes, Google breaks your query into smaller parts, analyzes both your words and images, and then shows a visual grid of relevant results.

If something catches your eye, you can ask follow-ups (for example, “I want darker colors”) or click an image to dig deeper.

For shopping queries, Google uses its massive Shopping Graph (with billions of products, refreshed hourly) to surface items that match your style, color, size, etc.

Currently, these visual shopping results are non-paid (not ads). Google is testing whether it will include ads in AI Mode in the future. The new visual features are being introduced in the U.S. in English first.

10. Yoast: New AI Visibility Tool

Yoast is rolling out a new tool, Yoast AI Brand Insights, currently in beta. This tool is designed to help businesses understand how visible they are within AI-driven systems (like ChatGPT) and to track their brand reputation across the web.

Unlike their typical WordPress plugins that need to integrate into your site, this tool works independently (no CMS access needed). It offers a few important capabilities:
Brand mention & citation tracking: It looks for where and how often your brand is mentioned online.

• Sentiment analysis: It evaluates whether mentions are positive or negative and shows this over time.
• Competitor benchmarking: You can see how your brand performs compared to others in terms of AI visibility and reputation.
• AI Visibility Index: Yoast merges factors like sentiment, AI answer ranking, mention counts, and citations into one unified metric.

They also plan to add actionable insights soon to help brands improve visibility in AI systems. The pricing is relatively affordable, signaling that Yoast wants to support smaller businesses that want to step up their presence in AI-powered search environments.

11. Gemini 2.5 Flash Gets An Upgrade

Google revealed new updates to Gemini 2.5 Flash this week.

The update includes:

• Clearer explanations
• More scannable outputs
• Improvements to image understanding

The new model also achieves better results while using fewer tokens, making it much more cost-efficient. The announcement also included future plans, such as the incremental model tuning and app-level updates.

12. Pinterest Launches Ad Improvements

If you’ve been advertising on Pinterest, you might be interested in this recent upgrade.

The newest upgrade allows for Top of Search ads to be placed within the first ten results, as well as in Related Pins. This change aims to help advertisers increase clicks, as company data indicates that 45% of clicks occur on the first ten results. The same report claims that 96% of top searches are unbranded. That means Top of Search placements will help improve discovery through paid ads.

The update also helps marketing teams better understand their ROI by adding a SERP-like space to track their improvements visually. Media Network Connect also integrates retailer first-party audiences and conversion data into Pinterest Ads Manager to further improve measurement and testing.

Pinterest also expanded Local Inventory Ads with the ability to provide real-time prices for in-stock items.

13. Google Ads Unveils Asset & Channel Reporting for Performance Max

Google Ads is giving marketers a clearer look into Performance Max with new asset and channel reporting tools. The update introduces bulk downloads, ROI columns, and diagnostics, finally offering visibility into which creative assets and channels actually drive conversions across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and Discover.

For marketers, this is a major step toward demystifying Performance Max’s “black box” reputation. You’ll now be able to segment performance by device, time, conversion action, and even ad event type, helping you pinpoint where your campaigns deliver the strongest ROI.

This added transparency means smarter optimization, focusing budget on high-performing assets and channels while addressing any diagnostics that limit reach.

Action Item: Start exploring the new segmentation and ROI metrics within your account. More enhancements are on the way, so keep an eye out for Google’s next round of reporting upgrades.

14. YouTube Dominates AI Search with 200x Citation Advantage

New BrightEdge data reveals that YouTube dominates AI search visibility, earning 200 times more citations than competitors like TikTok, Vimeo, and Twitch across platforms including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews.

For marketers, this confirms what many suspected: YouTube isn’t just a video hub, it’s an AI search authority. With a 29.5% citation rate in Google’s AI Overviews and a presence across every major AI platform, YouTube has become a go-to source for tutorials, product demos, and how-to content. Meanwhile, rivals barely register, with Vimeo and TikTok each holding just 0.1% share.

This shift signals a new frontier for content visibility in generative search. Brands that aren’t producing educational, product-focused video content on YouTube risk being completely left out of AI-driven discovery.

Action Item: Double down on YouTube strategy. Prioritize high-quality tutorial and review videos to increase the odds of your brand being surfaced in AI-powered search results.

Weekly Homework

1. Download BrightEdge’s recent AIO study to see if your industry’s AIO results overlap with organic SERP results.
2. Explore the Google Small Business Hub to discover how it can help you achieve your marketing objectives.
3. Download Reddit’s Best Practices for Dynamic Product Ads guide to improve your ads this holiday season.
4. If you use Pinterest Ads, sign into your dashboard to see if the new improvements can help boost your visibility this holiday season.
5. Explore opportunities for consumers to purchase your goods directly from ChatGPT.

Digital Marketing News 9/20/2025 to 9/26/2025

This week: DOJ pushes Google Ads breakup, Instagram reaches 3B active users, and Gen Z holiday spending drops.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. Google Confirms: August Spam Update is Complete

Google’s August Spam Update started its rollout on August 26th. As of September 22nd, the rollout is now complete.

Google said that this update improved automated spam-prevention systems, including SpamBrain. The tech giant hopes that the system will now do a better job of detecting and reducing spam, rather than simply re-ranking the entire index.

If you’ve noticed a big drop in your website’s performance, you should review the backend of your site to ensure that your policies align with Google’s newest update. If it isn’t, you risk not only being ranked lower, but potentially not being ranked at all.

2. Search Live, is Officially Live!

What started in Search Labs as an opt-in feature is now live in the Google app. Search Live, lets users speak directly with Google Search in real time. There’s even an option to share phone camera feed so Search can see what the user is looking at and give better results.

Tap the Live icon in the Google app:

• Ask questions.
• Optionally turn on the camera so Search can interpret what’s in front of you.
• Search responds with answers, context, and cites its sources at the bottom.

3. Reviews Are Gaining Influence in Top Google Local Rankings

A recent study from Search Atlas reveals that reviews and proximity are gaining influence in local rankings.

The data revealed that:

• For positions 1-21, proximity influenced 55% of decisions
• For those same positions, reviews count for 19% of decisions
• In the top 10, proximity influences 36% and review count increases to 26%

Reviews are especially important in categories such as beauty, food, and health.

Why We Care: If you are trying to build up your local SEO, don’t sleep on your review content. Encourage your customers to leave positive reviews and always remember to respond to them.

4. Google Ad Manager Has to Break Up, Says DOJ

This week, the DOJ released a statement in response to Google’s ongoing ad-tech antitrust case. Long story short: It wants the divestiture of Google Ad Manager.

According to a statement from Google, the DOJ has requested “a divestiture of Google Ad Manager, a tool that helps publishers and advertisers buy and sell web, app, connected TV, and video ads.”

The same statement said that Google has “said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants. Getting the remedies right in this new environment will be key to addressing concerns without breaking what’s working.”

Why This Matters: A breakup of Google Ads could be a huge shift in PPC. It’ll be interesting to see how this part of the case goes.

5. American Consumers Want AI Content Labeled

A new study from Pew Research Center shows that people want to know when they’re looking at AI-generated content.

Of those surveyed:

• 76% say it's extremely or very important for AI content to be labeled
• 12% say they feel confident in their ability to tell the difference themselves
• 50% say they’re worried about AI in daily life
• 10% are more excited about AI than worried
• 60% want more control over AI
• 53% say it reduces creative thinking
• 50% say it will negatively impact the ability to connect with other people

AI is an extremely helpful tool, but be sure to tell your consumers when you’re using it. If you don’t, you risk damaging your brand reputation and causing mistrust amongst your audience.

6. Google Updates Demand Gen Campaigns

Google’s Demand Gen Campaigns are getting an update, specifically for YouTube promotions.

This new update includes changes to:

• Conversion lift: Used with lower spend levels and conversion volume. Can also now test an entire account or specific campaigns.
• Platform comparable conversion columns: Measure campaigns in a way that matches the default attribution used on other platforms.
• Omni-channel bidding: Optimize for total online and offline sales.
• Local offers: Showcase in-store offers to nearby shoppers.
• Promotion assets: Highlight special occasions and promotional text.

7. TikTok Releases Tips for Luxury Brands

Are you a luxury brand? TikTok has some help for you!

According to a recent survey conducted by AYTM, TikTok reports that the reasons for making luxury purchases have evolved. The data suggests:

• 58% of users save luxury content after searching for it on TikTok
• 43% visit a brand’s website after watching luxury content
• 53% of TikTok users have purchased a luxury item in the past 4 months
• 1 in 3 TikTok users discover luxury products through a creator’s content
• 26% of TikTok users wait for creator reviews before making a purchase

Using this information, TikTok has suggested the 4 Ls of Luxury:

• Listen: listen to your consumers and understand how they interact with your content
• Lure: analyze how to spark questions and create better content
• Loop: understand how the platform fuels movement and how users can reimagine your posts
• Lift: how you can use TikTok clips to create conversations that make your audience feel understood and supported

You can read the entire report here.

8. Retail and Auto Digital Ad Spending Outlook Dims

According to eMarketer, the digital ad spending outlook isn’t looking great for the holiday season. The most affected categories include retail and auto.

The report claims that digital ad spending is down due to tariff impacts and suggests it could remain that way throughout the typically busy holiday season. eMarketer claims that:

• Full-year digital ad spend is down two percentage points to a 9.5% growth year over year
• The automotive sector is expected to grow just 2.2%, instead of the more than 11% initially forecasted
• Retail is expected to grow 7.4%, down from the initial forecast as well

One category experiencing higher growth is CPG spending. This category was predicted to grow 6.1%, but will likely reach 7.9%. Most of that growth comes from mobile ad spending.

9. Gen Z Expected to Spend 22.5% Less This Holiday Season

Speaking of the holiday rush, you might be in trouble if Gen Z is your target market. According to eMarketer, they are expected to spend an average of $1,357 this holiday season, down from last year’s $1,752.

Gen Z isn’t the only one tightening their purse strings. Millennial spending is also expected to be down 1.4% from last year. Gen X and Baby Boomers, however, are expected to spend more.

The study also found that:

• 24% of US holiday shoppers aged 18 to 29 will buy gifts earlier in the year
• 27% of younger consumers will spend less on gifts
• 27% say they will buy fewer gifts overall

Those who responded said that higher prices and tariff-related concerns are to blame for their lower spending this season.

10. Instagram Hits 3 Billion Monthly Active Users

3 billion monthly active users on Instagram!

Instagram is excited about hitting this milestone. In an announcement on Instagram, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said: “If you look at the last few years, almost all of our growth has been driven by DMs, Reels, and recommendations. Because of that, we’re going to continue to focus on those products and reorient the app more around DMs, Reels, and recommendations over the next couple of months.”

So, if you aren’t using Instagram for your brand right now, or you’ve fallen off of the app, you might want to consider revamping your Instagram strategy in the coming weeks.

11. YouTube to Reinstate Banned Channels

YouTube announced this week that it will reinstate channels previously banned under old COVID-19 and election integrity rules.

The video platform told the U.S. Congress that they will prioritize “free expression” and replace fact-checking mechanisms with context notes to allow users add clarifications to videos, similar to the tool X already uses.

For advertisers, this results in more options to serve ads on, but also presents potential brand-safety concerns. To avoid showing up on videos and channels you’d prefer to stay away from, be sure to closely monitor the placements of your ads.

Weekly Homework

1. Review how your site managed during the Google August Spam Update rollout. If your ranking has tanked, review the new policies and implement changes to ensure your site aligns with Google’s updates.
2. If local SEO is important to you, focus on building up review content to increase your visibility.
3. Review Google Ads’ newest Demand Gen Drops.
4. Read the TikTok luxury brands report to see how you can use the short-form video platform to better market your luxury brand.
5. If you need to reach Gen Z consumers this holiday season, be aware that they are expected to spend less this year. Tailor your messaging to emphasize affordability, sustainability, or resale options. You can also offer value bundles or highlight discounts, specifically on places like TikTok and Instagram, where Gen Z shoppers typically browse.
6. Consider ways to improve your Instagram strategy as the app continues to grow and invest in more features.
7. Double check the placement of your YouTube ads to ensure they are only appearing in places you feel comfortable with.

Digital Marketing News 9/13/2025 to 9/19/2025

This week: ChatGPT usage surges with 700M weekly users, holiday shoppers brace for fewer discounts and earlier buying, and YouTube dominates streaming with 13.4% of total watch time.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. 1 in 4 ChatGPT Searches is Information-Seeking

A new study from OpenAI and Harvard is shedding light on how consumers are using ChatGPT.

In analyzing 1.1 million conversations between May 2024 and June 2025, the data revealed that:

• 24% of ChatGPT conversations are information seeking, up from 14% last year
• ChatGPT reached more than 700 million weekly users
• The AI app sends approximately 2.5 billion messages a day, or 18 billion a week

The way ChatGPT is being used is changing, too:

• 77% of users' searches fall into one of three categories: Practical Guidance, Seeking Information, or Writing
• 29% of searches are for Practical Guidance
• 24% of searches are for Writing
• 24% of searches are Seeking Information
• Non-work usage now accounts for 73% of searches

It’s also interesting to note that the growth of ChatGPT usage in low-income countries is more than 4x that of the growth in high-income ones.

2. Holiday Marketing: 40% of Shoppers Expect Fewer Discounts

A new study by Gartner reveals that consumers are anticipating a distinct holiday season this year.

Citing a shaky economy, the data is predicting the slowest holiday sales increase since the pandemic. According to Brad Jashinsky, a director analyst at Gartner, “Consumers are expecting to pay more. They’re expecting to see fewer discounts. And so as a marketer… It's really about how consumers are feeling. How can you showcase value at every touch point and in every message?”

Interesting findings include:

• 40% of consumers prefer brand-specific websites
• 43% plan on using a mass retail app for purchases
• 12% say they’ll use the brand-specific app
• 7% say they’ll shop on social media
• 25% say they’ve purchased gifts during summer sales

Jashinsky says that, if you want to get ahead this holiday season, you’ll have “to do a lot more personalized promotions, whether it’s through loyalty programs, through targeted advertising or audiences. “So you’re not having to overly discount, but you’re strategically discounting.”

3. YouTube Dominates Streaming

Speaking of YouTube, the video platform is still coming up as number one when it comes to streaming watch time. According to July 2025 data from Nielsen, 13.4% of all streaming is done on YouTube – that’s almost as much as Disney+, Amazon Prime Channel, Roku Channel, and Tubi combined.

Additional data found that:

• Streaming makes up 45.3% of all ad-supported TV viewing
• 62% of US adults have moved to streaming-only services
• Netflix is the second most popular service, with 8.8% of all watch time

Why We Care: Streaming ads are becoming a really popular way to reach your audience. But if you want to reach them, you have to know which platform they’re watching. If these numbers show anything, it’s that YouTube is probably a good bet.

4. Google Adds AI Mode to Chrome

Google is bringing AI Mode directly into the Chrome browser, allowing users to ask questions from the address bar and even about the page they’re viewing. AI Mode provides conversational responses, follow-ups, and AI Overviews, similar to what’s already in Google Search.

The feature is rolling out in the U.S. (English) first, with more regions to follow. For SEOs, note that AI Mode queries won’t be separated in Search Console, making tracking more difficult.

Why We Care: Google is steadily weaving AI Mode into its core products. With Chrome adoption, expect this experience to reach a massive user base, and continue shaping the future of search.

5. Google Refines AI Max to Win Over Advertisers

Google is re-pitching AI Max, its AI-powered ad suite, with a revamped 26-page deck aimed at easing advertiser concerns. The tool promises smarter search ads by matching queries, customizing copy, and auto-directing users to landing pages.

Advertiser Concerns:

• Brand safety risks (AI pulling misleading or inaccurate claims)
• Misinterpretation of sector nuances (wrong text, links, imagery)
• Budget leakage from search into display

Google’s Response:

• Added safeguards like negative keyword lists, URL exclusions, and asset removals
• Copy now pulled from brand-approved sources
• Recommendation: avoid testing AI Max on campaigns under $50/day

Looking ahead, Google will test shopping and text ads under AI answers in the U.S., with ad placements inside AI responses rolling out in Q4 2025.

Why We Care: AI Max offers automation and smarter targeting, but questions remain around control, brand safety, and spend efficiency, issues that could shape how brands approach AI-powered campaigns.

6. TikTok Gets a Fourth Extension

The time was coming for TikTok to divest or sell to an American company. If they hadn’t made the necessary moves, the app would have been banned in the United States as of September 16th.

However, the White House announced that it needs a little more time to work out all the sale details. Instead of a September 16th deadline, a fourth Executive Order gives them until December 16th to figure it all out.

While things have been moving along, including reports that Oracle will be a key partner in the sale, nothing is permanent, as of today.

7. Snapchat Releases Report on Parenting’s Impact on Social Media Usage

Have you ever considered how becoming a parent impacted your social media usage? Snapchat was wondering, so they partnered with Havas Media Network to find out.

The recently published study notes that:

• 59% of parents say they use social platforms more frequently since becoming a parent
• 80% of parents use more features on the apps
• 74% post more frequently on social media
• 58% make more purchases on social media

While the study showed that parents are using social media for a variety of parenting-related reasons, they are also using it for themselves. Many respondents reported using social platforms as a way to connect with friends, discover new content, or feel comfortable expressing themselves.

The study also revealed that social media has a significant influence on both parents and children when it comes to purchasing decisions. Just check out the number of people who said social media influenced these types of purchases:

• Toys and Games: 90%
• Packaged Food and Beverage: 75%
• Online Entertainment: 75%
• Apparel: 72%
• Smaller Tech: 68%
• Larger Tech: 66%
• Auto: 58%
• Accessories: 54%
• Personal Care: 47%

This is excellent insight for brands that are trying to break into markets targeted toward parents and kids. You can read the entire study here.

8. Video Emerges as Key Source for AI-Powered Search

An interesting article explained how video is quickly becoming source material for AI-powered search engines, signaling once again how critical video should be in your marketing strategy. With Google’s AI Overviews pulling from platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and even Reddit, the line between search and social is blurring fast.

Key Takeaways:

• Video is now core to SEO: Google is treating video as credible, authoritative source material, not just text.
• Short-form drives discovery: TikToks and Reels influence what shows up in AI Overviews, especially for Gen Z audiences.
• Optimization matters: Titles, transcripts, schema markup, and captions are essential for video discoverability.
• Visibility > Virality: Videos don’t need millions of views—what matters is surfacing when users search.

Why We Care: Brands can no longer treat video as optional. Building a video library that solves customer problems directly will be key to earning placement in AI-driven results and staying visible in the new search landscape.

9. Every Major Content Management Platform Improves on Google’s Core Web Vitals

Content management platforms are improving when it comes to Google’s Core Web Vitals, according to a new report by the open source HTTPArchive community.

The report uses two public databases to combine their data, including Chrome UX Report (CrUX) and HTTP Archive. When analyzing the data between June and July of 2025, the numbers showed:

• Joomla had the highest level of growth – up 3.23%
• WordPress improved the least, with an improvement of only 0.9%
• Duda has the highest percentage of websites with a good CWV score at 84.96%
• WordPress has the lowest percentage of websites with a good CWV score of 44.34%

Even with the troubling numbers, WordPress websites are still generally high-ranking.

10. YouTube Releases Monetization Updates

Want to improve your YouTube monetization? Check out these new updates!

In a recent announcement, YouTube revealed it paid out over $100 billion to creators, media companies, and artists in the past four years – and it’s about to get even better.

A new suite of monetization tools includes:

• Dynamic Sponsorship: add brand segments to your content instead of permanently embedding them
• Short Links: the ability to link directly to a sponsor’s website from Shorts
• Shopping: automatic timestamps showing products in videos to make it easier to tag and link them
• Live Streaming: the ability to add live ads next to streams, instead of interrupting them

If you’re interested in learning more about these monetization opportunities, be sure to read YouTube’s latest creator blog.

11. Amazon and Netflix Create Ad Alliance

Speaking of streaming ads, Amazon and Netflix recently announced a new partnership that promises to “blur the lines between brand-building and performance marketing.”

As a part of this new partnership, advertisers can now purchase Netflix ad inventory through Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP). This option is available in 11 countries, including the US, and aims to make advertising on Netflix easier for premium Amazon sellers.

This could also make premium advertising more accessible to smaller brands. According to Emarketer analyst Max Willens, “It’s more of an access issue. The spend and technical know-how needed to get a seat on Amazon and start buying inventory on Prime Video or Netflix is so much lower than the way things were once upon a time.”

It’ll be interesting to see how many small to mid-sized brands take advantage of this premium-level streaming option.

12. Amazon Rolls Out New AI Creative Partner

Amazon wants to help you make more sales – and it's tapping into AI to assist.

This week, the retail giant revealed its new AI tool: Seller Assistant. In the blog announcing its release, Amazon called it an “always-on, agentic AI-powered partner that helps sellers launch, manage, and grow their business.”

The tool can help with:

• Ad campaign planning
• Analyzing customer data
• Creating product pages
• Finalizing creative assets
• Inventory and fulfillment challenges
• Monitoring account health
• Developing a business growth strategy

The ads created with this new AI partner will be run across Amazon DSP, Sponsored Display, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Brand Video.

It is currently available across the United States and is expected to be introduced internationally in the next few months.

13. ChatGPT Search Update Targets Accuracy and Shopping

OpenAI has updated ChatGPT search with improvements designed to cut down on hallucinations, better detect shopping intent, and present answers in a cleaner format.

Key Updates:

• Factuality: Fewer hallucinations and more accurate answers.
• Shopping: Smarter at recognizing when users want product recommendations.
• Formatting: Cleaner, easier-to-read responses without losing detail.

Why We Care: As AI search tools like ChatGPT gain traction, they’re becoming viable alternatives to Google. Still, it’s worth remembering that AI search currently drives less than 1% of referrals, a small but growing slice of the traffic pie.

Weekly Homework:

• Start considering how you can improve personalization in your holiday sales marketing.
• If you post political or election-type content, be sure your content aligns with YMYL guidelines.
• Want to connect with more parents on social media? Download Snapchat’s newest study for some valuable insights.
• Consider tweaking your YouTube strategy to align with the new monetization tools.
• Take a look at your SEO and content strategies to find ways that you can increase your chances of ending up in ChatGPT searches.
• If you’re an Amazon seller in the United States, you might want to log in and check out the Seller Assistant to see how this new tool could improve your sales.

Digital Marketing News 9/6/2025 to 9/12/2025

This week: AI sends more broken links, Anthropic faces $1.5B settlement, and TikTok dominates Gen Z searches.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. Study Shows AI Has Three Times Higher Hallucination Rate Than Google

A new study from Ahrefs shows that AI sends users to 404 pages three times more than Google does.

The study examined 16 million URLs and found the following 404 rates:

• ChatGPT: 1.01%
• Perplexity: 0.31%
• Copilot: 0.34%
• Gemini: 0.21%
• Claude: 0.58%
• Mistral: 0.12%
• Google: 0.15%

Overall, AI assistants are directing searchers to broken or fabricated links at a 2.87 times higher rate than a regular Google Search.

While this is a problem for people using AI to write their content, it can be a bit of a benefit for the companies still capturing that 404 traffic. Instead of chasing traffic, improve your 404 page to inspire those sent there accidentally to stay and search for what they need on your page.

2. Study Reveals E-E-A-T is the Answer to AI’s SEO Disruption

Search Engine Journal recently released its fifth annual State of SEO report. The findings are clear: original content is your key to SEO success.

The report focused on which SEO activities deliver the highest ROI, how teams are using AI, the biggest SEO challenges, and more.

The data shows that original content creation continues to have the greatest positive impact on SEO strategies, while cross-functional collaboration comes in last. Of those who responded, 58.5% said that their biggest future SEO investment is in human-authored content with AI support.

To read more of the interesting findings, download SEJ’s State of SEO report here.

3. Ranking on Google Doesn’t Guarantee Visibility in ChatGPT, Study Finds

A new study shows that dominating Google’s search results doesn’t automatically translate to being visible in AI-generated answers.

Research from Chatoptic, analyzing 15 brands across five categories, found just a 62% overlap between Google’s first-page rankings and mentions in ChatGPT responses. In other words, SEO success alone isn’t enough to secure a presence in generative AI results.

Key insights:

• Brands on Google’s first page were mentioned in ChatGPT only 62% of the time.
• Google rank had almost no predictive power for ChatGPT positioning (0.034 correlation).
• Enabling ChatGPT’s browsing feature increased overlap with Google rankings by just 1%.
• High alignment: Coursera (86–87%) and GoDaddy (83%).
• Low alignment: Hostinger (32–34%) and edX (47–48%).
• By category: Online courses showed the highest alignment (65%), while hotel booking lagged (58%).
• Query intent didn’t make a difference: exploratory, feature-based, and brand-focused searches all averaged 61–63% overlap.

Why We Care: Many marketers have assumed that traditional SEO strategies will naturally carry over to AI platforms like ChatGPT. This study challenges that assumption, highlighting the need for a separate generative engine optimization (GEO) strategy to capture visibility in AI-driven answers.

4. AI Company to Pay $1.5B Settlement for Stealing Book Content

Anthropic, the company behind AI assistant Claude, has proposed a settlement of $1.5 billion in Bartz v. Anthropic.

The case, filed in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, claims that Anthropic pirated books to help train the AI assistant. Previously, the judge had ruled that any books that were lawfully obtained could be used to train AI. However, the millions of pirated books were an example of copyright infringement.

With an estimated 500,000 pirated books, it means that each book would receive about $3,000 if the settlement is approved. This marks “the largest copyright recovery ever,” according to Justin Nelson, counsel for the plaintiff class.

Why We Care: Since AI launched, copyright infringement has been a topic of conversation. If this settlement is approved, it could create a wave of licensing deals, clearer disclosures, and more per-work payouts for publishers and writers.

5. Survey Finds That Most Marketers Aren’t Ready for GEO

Despite the growing importance of AI-powered search, most companies are not investing in generative engine optimization (GEO). New survey data from Centerfield, highlights a clear skills and resource gap among digital marketers.

According to Centerfield’s survey:

• 63% of marketers said their company isn’t dedicating time, budget, or staff to GEO.
• On average, only 9% of marketing resources go to GEO, compared with 24% for SEO and 36% for social campaigns.
• Just 33% of marketers report a good or expert understanding of GEO—compared with 72% for SEO.
• 41% expect their company to allocate more GEO resources in the next year.

Why We Care: As AI-generated search summaries become increasingly common, brands that don’t optimize for visibility in answer-driven formats risk falling behind. Traditional SEO success alone won’t guarantee presence in AI search results.

6. Google Gets Rid of 6 Structured Data Types

In an announcement this week, Google shared that it will be removing six structured data types from Search Console, Rich Results Tests, and the list of Search appearance filters.

This affects reporting and testing for:

• Course Info
• Claim Review
• Estimated Salary
• Learning Video
• Special Announcement
• Vehicle Listing

Google says that dropping these six types won’t affect rankings, but instead that they “believe this change contributes to a cleaner, more focused Search results page for everyone.” The data is expected to be gone by October 1, 2025.

Action Item: If these structured data types are important to you, you should update your queries or dashboards that rely on them to minimize the impact on your Search Console data downloads.

7. Nearly All ChatGPT Users Still Turn to Google, Data Shows

Even as AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT gain traction, Google remains the dominant starting point for most users. According to new data from Similarweb, nearly all ChatGPT users also rely on Google:

• 95.3% of ChatGPT users visited Google in August.
• Only 14.3% of Google users visited ChatGPT in the same period.

International SEO expert Aleyda Solis added context, noting that ChatGPT received 5.8 billion visits, compared with Google’s massive 83.8 billion visits in August.

Traffic trends to watch:

• Some reports suggest ChatGPT referral traffic is declining, while Bing has overtaken it for certain sites. Results vary, so analytics monitoring is essential.
• For example, Search Engine Land saw ChatGPT traffic surge 1,233.5% in August, surpassing Bing—but Google organic search still sent 37x more traffic than ChatGPT.

AI tools are expanding rapidly, but Google is far from losing its position as the main traffic driver. As Solis notes, “LLMs are expanding and evolving (not killing) search as a discovery/marketing channel.” Clark adds, “While ChatGPT continues to grow, users keep returning to Google despite AI alternatives.”

Why We Care: AI search is growing rapidly, but traditional search engines still drive the bulk of traffic. Studies from Datos and SparkToro show that search engine usage remains at 95%, and even heavy AI users often cross-check answers on Google, according to the Nielsen Norman Group.

8. Audio Files Can Now Be Uploaded to Google Gemini

A big change was announced this week concerning Google Gemini! After listening to user requests, Google has added the ability to upload audio files to the platform.

The free plan allows you to upload up to 10 minutes and 5 prompts per day, while the paid plans, AI Pro and AI Ultra, increase to 3 hours.

This is great news for individuals who want to utilize AI to generate transcripts for podcasts, webinars, customer calls, interviews, and other audio content. The AI tool will help convert these audio files into podcast show notes, action items, or conversation briefs.

9. 86% of Gen Z is Using TikTok Searches Weekly

A new study from WARC shows that Gen Z and Millennials are loving TikTok Search. The study shows that TikTok rivals other online marketplaces, AI search platforms, and even traditional Google searches.

Of the most widely searched Gen Z topics, TikTok was used over traditional search media at significantly rising rates, including:

• Beauty, fashion, and lifestyle Advice: +26%
• Trending topics and viral content: +24%
• Cooking and recipes: +23%
• Online communities and groups: +23%
• Entertainment: +22%
• DIY and home improvement: +15%
• Local businesses and services: +14%
• Parenting advice: +14%
• Travel planning and directions: +12%
• Health and fitness: +11%
• News and current events: +11%
• Shopping, product comparison, and reviews: +10%

The study also revealed that TikTok is more than just a dancing app.

• 70% of users say it's more engaging and entertaining than other apps
• 3 in 4 users say it's their go-to place to discover new brands
• 61% said it inspires them to take action more than other platforms
• 1 in 5 users have made a direct purchase after seeing something on TikTok

Why We Care: If you want to reach Gen Z and your brand isn’t on TikTok yet, it probably should be.

10. Reddit Ads is Bringing Value for Tech Marketers

In a new report with TransUnion, Reddit revealed just how powerful its new ads are – especially for tech marketers.

The report states that “TransUnion’s meta-analysis showed that Reddit consistently outperforms other social platforms on return on ad spend (ROAS). Even with a smaller share of market spend, Reddit delivers disproportionately more marketing-driven sales. In fact, it was more efficient than 4 out of 5 other paid social platforms.”

It also said that the indexed ROAS by ad format was:

• Text: 211
• Image: 201
• Carousel: 172
• Video: 149

Reddit attributes its success to the expansion of its ad products, as well as improved AI targeting options.

11. Pinterest Guide Shares Holiday Marketing Tips

It may only be September, but Pinterest is gearing up for the holiday season by releasing its Holiday Marketing Tips guide.

The guide reveals that “[a]lmost half of monthly users on Pinterest are likely to create festive wishlists they revisit later, setting the stage for thoughtful, considered gifting. Self-gifting wishlists build momentum from October and peak in November, followed by a surge in “gift ideas for others” in December.”

To capitalize on this flow of consumers, the platform suggests:

• Personalizing your pins
• Designing them to be saved
• Invest in Pin Ads
• Use Pinterest Trends to predict seasonal trends in your industry

You can read the entire guide here.

12. Google Wants Advertisers to Lean into AI This Holiday Season

The holiday season no longer starts on Black Friday. Now, shoppers are spreading out their holiday spending from October through January. Google offered some advice on how to play the long game and capture that attention.

The search engine suggests:

• Inspire your shoppers, don’t just sell to them
• Use AI-powered Search Overviews and AI Mode to place ads where your consumers are
• Use YouTube to expand your reach
• Invest in Demand Gen to send local offers to nearby shoppers
• Embrace Google’s Creator partnerships hub and YouTube Masthead tools to drive conversions
• Increase ad performance with AI tools such as Product Studio and Asset Studio
• Set your total campaign budget across Search, P-Max, Shopping, YouTube, and Demand Gen for 3-90 days, allowing Google AI to adjust spending at peak demand
• Use Google’s new loyalty offerings to grab re-purchasers

13. Google Ads Suggested Plans

Inside the Performance Planner Tool, Google Ads released Suggested Plans. This new feature gives advertisers pre-built forecasting frameworks to simplify ad set up.

How it works:

• Optimized for goals: Each plan highlights the best potential return based on your current setup.
• Organized by campaign type: Search, Performance Max, Shopping, and App campaigns each get tailored plan options.
• Smart forecasting: The tool groups eligible campaigns by type and simulates scenarios to predict which settings are most likely to drive returns.

Suggested plans won’t always appear. That happens if:

• Your campaigns aren’t eligible for forecasting.
• Your setup is already fully optimized.
• You’re using portfolio bid strategies across accounts.
• Your account structure prevents grouping (like with CSS restrictions in some regions).

14. Google Updated Reporting for Demand Gen Campaigns

Google is breaking down reporting for YouTube placements. Now, advertisers can see separate KPIs for YouTube In-Stream, In-Feed and Shorts.

Luckily, there’s no extra work to be done on your part. This breakdown is visible in the campaign view.

Having clear campaign performance KPIs will help you plan for 2026 and onward.

15. Google AI Mode Now Available in More Languages

Although it has been available in 180 countries and territories for a few weeks now, Google AI Mode is now expanding its reach by adding support for five languages in addition to English.

Just this week, Google announced that AI Mode will now be available in Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian. This means that more searchers will be able to use Google AI to find your brand in their native languages.

While you can track your traffic from AI Mode, it’s all still a bit convoluted since Google lumps it together with traditional search within the Search Console.

Why We Care: If you are a brand that wants to target users who speak any of those five languages, this is an incredible opportunity to expand your reach and generate new traffic to your site.

Weekly Homework:

• Improve your 404 page to encourage people sent there accidentally by AI assistants to stay and explore your content anyway.
• If you’re interested in transcribing audio files, head over to Google Gemini to test out its newest feature.
• Download SEJ’s State of SEO report to see how others are leveraging SEO to generate leads, increase traffic, and achieve success in digital marketing.
• Explore ways to add to or increase TikTok in your social media marketing strategy.
• Download and read through the Reddit Ads study from Reddit and TransUnion.
• Start your holiday marketing planning by reading Pinterest and Google’s holiday marketing tips guides.

Digital Marketing News 8/30/2025 to 9/5/2025

This week: Apple unveils AI search engine, Instagram outpaces Facebook in EU, and Google must disclose ad pricing.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. Google Ads Lets You Select Location Assets Through Google Maps

Make it easier to manage existing and new location assets with your Google Ads. Select your businesses by searching Google Maps for location assets and extensions.

So, if Google Business Profile or Chain stores are working, select up to 10 locations right from Google Maps to link within your Ads account.

You can enter a physical address or a key phrase to help you search locations and link to your ad account. You can add up to 10 locations total.
This new update will help you manage location assets for all your campaigns in Google Ads.

2. U.S. Court Requests More Transparency After Google Raises Ad Prices Without Telling Advertisers

In that same opinion, Judge Mehta addressed the fact that Google’s internal “pricing knobs” increased ad prices by 5% to 15% at a time, without alerting advertisers.

In the opinion, the court wrote: “When it made pricing changes, Google took care to avoid blowback from advertisers,” and it “endeavored to raise prices incrementally, so that advertisers would view price increases as within the ordinary price fluctuations, or ‘noise,’ generated by the auctions.”

The court ordered Google to disclose better how ad auction pricing works and when it is adjusted. Once the reporting is determined, they must notify advertisers about any updates that will affect their costs.

Why We Care: Any changes to benefit advertisers are a win for digital marketers.

3. Instagram is Outpacing Facebook in the EU

If you want to target EU consumers, you might want to turn to Instagram instead of Facebook. In Meta’s newest EU performance updates, they shared that the original photo-sharing app is growing at ten times the pace of Facebook.

The findings showed that Facebook had 263.6 million monthly active users between January and June 2025. In that same period, Instagram reached 281.8 million active users.

Additionally, Facebook even lost users in the Netherlands, Greece, and Germany. While Facebook remains fairly popular among EU users, Instagram is gaining a bigger focus in the region.

Biggest Takeaway: If you want to grow your brand’s EU market, consider leaning more into Instagram than Facebook.

4. LinkedIn Engagement is Booming. Here’s the Secret

LinkedIn is seeing record high levels of engagement. How can you take advantage of it?

Posting frequency. Post more often on LinkedIn and you’re going to get more reach. More posts mean more opportunities for people to see your content. LinkedIn’s algorithm rewards activity, so the more you post, the better.

Here’s some conclusions and recommendations based on this data:

1. Post 2-5 times per week to increase your post impressions to 1k per update
2. Post 6-10 times per week to boost post impressions to 5k
3. Post 11+ times to get more than 16k impressions per post

5. The EU Is Loving TikTok

Instagram isn’t the only app experiencing massive growth in the EU. TikTok also shared booming numbers between January and June 2025.

The data released shows that TikTok has grown 25% since September 2023. The short-form video app currently has 170 million users in Europe and 30 million users in the UK.

Between the growth in the EU, the focus on the detection of IP infringement and Community Guideline violations, and its in-app shopping push, TikTok is clearly making moves to become an even more important player in the ecommerce/social media space.

6. AI Search is Coming to Siri

This week, Apple announced its own AI-powered search engine, known as World Knowledge Answers. The goal is to have this search engine power Siri and Safari by Spring 2026.

Apple claims that this will go beyond fact-checking. The AI-powered tool will also generate summaries that blend text, images, video, and local results, giving Apple a stronger foothold in everyday search.

If this works as Apple intends, it could change the way billions of searches are performed on iPhones. It will also open up more visibility options for brands and businesses, who will no longer have to rely solely on Google rankings to be noticed.

7. Google Business Links Get an Upgrade

Calling all Google Business Profile users: there are some new upgrades you need to know about.

This week, Google introduced several new additions to the Business Links policies and guidelines section. If you use Google Business Profile to boost your local SEO, you’ll be extremely interested in these sections:

• Dedicated Landing Pages - All multi-location businesses must have dedicated landing pages for each location. You can no longer use general landing pages for every location.
• Direct Action Completion - Links must trigger the designated action. This includes links to social media sites, messaging links, app store links, and link shorteners.
• Business Links Crawlability Policy - Google will crawl your links, and if it cannot verify them, they will be removed. This means you must give Google unrestricted access, removing bot blockers and CAPTCHA.

Action Item: Take time to review all of the upgrades to make sure you don’t inhibit your Google Business Profile’s performance.

8. 40.1% of AI Facts Come from Reddit

According to a new report from SEMRush, AI loves Reddit.

The study was based on 5,000 keywords and 150,000 LLM citations. SEMRush looked at AI responses in four popular chatbots: Google Search Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.

The data found that 40.1% of facts returned by AI bots came from Reddit. The next most popular source of information was Wikipedia at 26.3%, followed by YouTube and Google at 23.5% and 23.3% respectively.

Why We Care: This illustrates the need for a diversified approach to your digital marketing efforts. It’s no longer good enough to simply rank in the top spot on Google. Now, you need to find ways to promote your brand on other sites, such as Reddit, Wikipedia, Yelp, and more.

9. OpenAI to Offer Parental Controls

OpenAI announced this week that they are adding new guardrails to its platform. Within the next month, the AI company will now route sensitive conversations to reasoning models like GPT-5 and introduce parental controls.

These new features come after the death of a teenager who discussed self-harm with ChatGPT, which provided him with methods to complete his desires. His parents are now suing OpenAI for wrongful death.

Since then, OpenAI has acknowledged its shortcomings and said they “recently introduced a real-time router that can choose between efficient chat models and reasoning models based on the conversation context. We’ll soon begin to route some sensitive conversations—like when our system detects signs of acute distress—to a reasoning model, like GPT‑5-thinking, so it can provide more helpful and beneficial responses, regardless of which model a person first selected.”

They are also introducing parental controls that allow parents to link their accounts to their teens’ accounts to monitor the usage and responses. They also rolled out in-app reminders that encourage breaks during long sessions.

10. Disney Hit with $10 Million FTC Fine

Disney just lost $10 million to the FTC. The proposed settlement comes from allegations that Disney didn’t take children’s privacy seriously enough.

The allegations claim that Disney uploaded child-directed videos to YouTube without marking them as “Made for Kids.” Because of this error, the viewers of the videos were served with targeted ads.

According to a complaint filed by the FTC and the DOJ, "Disney makes very popular child-directed videos available through YouTube and fails to properly mark videos as child-directed in some cases, allowing targeted advertising through collection of personal information from children without parental notice or consent.”

Disney offered to pay the $10 million fine and agreed to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. They will also establish a program to review which videos should be labeled as 'Made for Kids'.

Why We Care: As more and more people become concerned with user privacy, it’s essential that your brand take it seriously. If not, you could be the next company hit with massive FTC fines.

11. New Loyalty Features Come to Google Ads and Merchant Center

Everyone loves their loyal customers! Now, Google Ads is making it easier for you to reward them for that loyalty.

A new update allows retailers to add member-only pricing and shipping benefits to free and paid listings on Google.

According to Google, these personalized annotations resulted in a 20% increase in click-through rates for Sephora US, which piloted the program. In addition to these special shopper discounts, Google Ads is also launching a retention goal in loyalty mode to help retailers optimize their budgets for their highest valued customers. The goal is to tailor their bids to drive higher lifetime value.

That isn’t all. Google says that more changes are coming to help retailers guide more customers through their journey using Google Ads. Stay tuned for more information to be announced at Google’s Think Retail event on September 10th.

Weekly Homework

1. If expanding your visibility in the EU is important to your brand, now is the time to explore adding or increasing your Instagram and TikTok budgets. Both social media platforms are seeing major boosts in their monthly active users, and with the right strategies, you could take advantage of their popularity.
2. Consider ways to promote your brand or build your authority through sites like Reddit or Wikipedia to help capture AI crawling.
3. Google Ads users should explore how to use the new loyalty features to increase their revenue and create stronger relationships with their most loyal customers.
4. Keep an eye on the federal Google cases to see what types of transparency changes come to Google Search and Google Ads.

Digital Marketing News 8/23/2025 to 8/29/2025

This week: Google Verified replaces multiple trust badges, AI tool usage surges nationwide, and YouTube dominates Gen Z media habits.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. Google Rolls Out August Spam Update

Brace yourself for possible ranking and traffic swings! Google’s August Spam Update started rolling out on August 26th.

The update applies to internet users worldwide and is expected to take a few weeks to complete.

No additional details were provided, but multi-week rollouts are typically reserved for major search updates, so keep an eye on your Search Console trends, as well as your query and page-type patterns and peer movements.

2. Report Shows How Fragmented US Media Consumption Is

If you want to reach Gen Z, try YouTube! According to YouGov’s State of US Media Consumption report, YouTube is the fastest-growing social media platform among the valuable (and sometimes hard to reach) generation.

In addition to finding out that 56% of Gen Zers say they use YouTube more now than they did a year ago, the report also found that:

• 69% of Americans say they scroll social media while doing other things
• 26% of Americans consume 5+ hours of media per day
• 33% of Americans watch live TV for 3+ hours a day
• 63% of streamers use Netflix, while 55% watch Amazon Prime

When looking at Gen Z specifically, the report shows that:

• 48% of Gen Z and Millennials listen to podcasts while doing household chores
• 50% of Gen Z have purchased a product or service because of a social media ad

Dare Schenck, VP at YouGov America, said: “In 2025, the American media landscape is more dynamic and fragmented than ever before, with content flowing across countless platforms and formats. YouGov’s report finds that competition for audience share is fierce across television, audio, and social media. While well-known brands like Netflix, Spotify, and Facebook are used by most consumers, Americans are using a variety of platforms for their media consumption needs, often simultaneously.”

3. Changes Are Coming to Google Local Services Ads

Google announced a big change to its Local Services Ads. Starting in October 2025, multiple Local Service Ads trust signals will be replaced with one central indication: Google Verified.

This new badge replaces services such as Google Guaranteed, Googled Screened, License Verified by Google, and the Money Back Guarantee program. The goal is to make things more consistent and streamlined, so that consumers only have to look for one badge, instead of multiple.

If your business is active on Google (and it should be!), here’s what you can do before the October rollout:

• Make sure all licenses, insurance, and backup checks are up-to-date.
• Approach verification like an ongoing compliance process.
• Educate your team on the changes.
• Monitor performance to see if the new badge affects click-through or conversion rates.

Remember, this isn’t just a cosmetic upgrade. It’s a way to show consumers that your business is trustworthy and credible.

4. Study Shows Hosting Defenses Are Ineffective Against WordPress Threats

A recent case study published by Patchstack shows that Cloudflare and other firewall and malware solutions may not protect against threats and attack vectors as well as previously thought.

The study found that:

• Standard hosting defenses had an 87.8% failure rate against most WordPress plugin vulnerabilities.
• Virtual patching by providers like Monarx and Imunify did not stop WordPress-specific exploits.
• Generic firewalls and WAFs, like SQLi and XSS, caught some broad attacks, but not WordPress-specific ones.
• Patchstack consistently blocked vulnerabilities in real time.

You can read the entire case study here.

Speaking of WordPress threats, another vulnerability left over 70,000 sites at risk this week. It affects the Inspiro WordPress theme by WPZoom and makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to install plugins that can trick administrators into clicking unsecure links.

5. Snapchat Wants to Help You Connect with Consumers Using Gen AI

Snapchat recently partnered with PMG on a new study to help determine how to achieve greater success with marketing and AI.

The study polled over 14,800 respondents in 7 markets: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the U.K., and the U.S., and found that AI is having a major impact on how consumers connect with advertisers.

One of the biggest takeaways from this study was that consumers want to be informed when AI is used in advertising.

Once you increase the transparency, the results are well worth it. When using GenAI-powered video ads, brands saw:

• 38% increase in brand awareness
• 21% increase in brand favorability
• 21% increase in purchase intent
• 10% increase in first choice
• 11% increase in consumers wanting product information
• 11% increase in consumers wanting to visit the website
• 12% increase in consumers recommending the brand to others
• 12% increase in consumers talking about the brand

If you want to explore all of the findings, click here to download the report.

6. AI Tool Usage Jumps to 38% of Americans – Up from 8% in 2023

Speaking of AI, a new study by Datos and SparkToro reveals that more than one in five Americans are now heavily utilizing AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity, Deepseek, or Gemini.

The study revealed that:

• 21% of U.S. users are using AI tools more than 10 times per month
• Overall usage rate jumped from 8% in 2023 to 38% in 2025.
• 95% of Americans use search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo
• 87% of Americans are heavy Google users

While users are indeed turning to AI tools more, the study also found that when people use AI tools, they tend to conduct more Google searches.

7. Gemini and X AI’s Grok Are Catching Up to ChatGPT

ChatGPT has long been the King of AI, but it seems like other AI tools are catching up to it.

In a review of two and a half years of data, a report shows the evolving use of AI products. Fourteen different companies appeared on the list of top tools, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Poe, and Character AI.

Also included in the top ten were Google’s Gemini, Deepseek, and xAI’s Grok. Notably, for the first time ever, Google took four spots on the list of top 50 products, with Gemini, AI Studio, NotebookLM, and Google Labs all claiming spaces.

Read more of the findings, including which mobile apps are making the top 50 list, but reading the whole report here.

8. Brands (and Local Municipalities) Jump On Celebrity Engagement

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement this week – and everyone from Panera Bread to the City of Cleveland posted about it.

Whether you care about the engagement or not, it demonstrated one thing: a trend doesn’t have to be directly related to your content to turn into a big engagement source for your brand.

According to Miruna Dragomir, CMO at Planable, “Successful reactive marketing isn’t about jumping on every trend; it’s about participating in the right moments. Brands that avoid these pitfalls and maintain methodical approaches are creating long-term competitive advantages.”

Check out how this pop star + tight end engagement rounded up tens of thousands of reactions for everyone from Crumbl to Walmart by checking out ADWEEK’s favorite brand reactions here.

9. LinkedIn Says Professionals Rely on Real People First

A new LinkedIn report reveals that professionals trust their network more than they trust AI.

According to LinkedIn Corporate Communications, the report revealed that:

• 77% of B2B marketing leaders vet brands through their network
• 51% of professionals said that learning AI feels like learning another job
• 43% of professionals say their network is their #1 source of work advice, over search engines and AI tools
• 41% said that the current pace of AI is taking a toll on their well-being

There has also been an 82% increase in users posting about feeling overwhelmed by upcoming career and economic changes. With all the unknown and upcoming changes, it’s essential to continue leaning into community – real community. That’s probably why 80% of those surveyed said they are increasing their investment in community-driven content to build trust and relationships.

Weekly Homework

• If you’re a WordPress user, you might want to look into updated site defense solutions to protect against malware and vulnerabilities.
• Prepare your Google Business Profile for the new Google Verified program.
• Monitor your Google Search Console for ranking and traffic shifts due to Google’s August Spam Update.
• Download the Snapchat Gen-AI report to learn more about improving your marketing with the help of AI.
• Download YouGov’s media report to find new ways to reach your target audience.
• Explore ways to diversify your marketing across television, audio, and social media to reach every aspect of your target audience.
• Consider ways you can lean into more community-building content creation that centers around real people and their insights, over AI-generated content.

Digital Marketing News 8/16/2025 to 8/22/2025

This week: Gemini remembers past chats, ChatGPT integrates with Google tools, and streaming ads gain traction over traditional TV.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. Google Gemini Gets Personal

New Gemini updates were released this week. The AI bot now personalizes its replies with information from past chats.

The goal is to develop more personalized chats that feel like conversing with a partner, rather than a robot. If you would rather Gemini not remember your chats, there’s also an option for Temporary Chats.

This option is perfect when you just need to have a quick conversation or ask a one-off question. Temporary chats aren’t used to train models and are only kept for 72 hours.

2. ChatGPT Can Now Connect to Google Apps

If you want to incorporate ChatGPT into more aspects of your life, you’re going to love this most recent update.

OpenAI recently announced that its AI-bot can now connect to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts for Pro and Plus subscribers. According to the announcement: “Once you enable them, ChatGPT will automatically reference them when relevant, making it faster and easier to bring information from these tools into your conversations without having to manually select them each time. This capability is part of GPT-5 and will begin rolling out to Pro users globally this week, followed by Plus, Team, Enterprise, and Edu plans in the coming weeks.”

Unlike ChatGPT’s other integrations with Box, Canva, and Dropbox, if you want to connect your Gmail to your ChatGPT account, you’ll have to do it yourself. Just go to Settings → Connectors → Connect on the application.

3. Personalized Advertising Fuels Growth

According to a new study from the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (CIPL), 86% of small and medium-sized businesses across Europe attribute their rapid growth to personalized advertising.

The study found that:

• 76% agreed that personalized digital ads make it possible to compete with large businesses
• 73% said it would be impossible to compete without personalized digital advertising
• 46% of businesses said the ads helped them earn more revenue
• 33% said they helped them hire more people

If regulatory practices were enacted that limited personalized ads:

• 47% of businesses said they would anticipate price increases to make up for advertising spend increases
• 21% would have to reduce staff
• 56% said they would have to add a paywall or move to a subscription-based service model
• 74% said they would have to increase advertising spending

Why We Care: This data highlights the positive impact of digital advertising, demonstrating how it can foster stronger connections between consumers and brands, while also driving revenue growth and stimulating the economy.

4. New Marketing Opportunities Come to iOS

Google recently updated the iOS App Install campaigns to help improve marketing through the app.

Updates include:

• New creative formats, including co-branded YouTube ads, playable end cards, and creator-driven content for YouTube Shorts and in-feed ads
• Privacy measurements, such as on-device tracking
• Expanded AI-driven strategies for bidding and value-based optimization

Key Takeaway: It’s always been a bit of a struggle to advertise successfully on iOS. With this new update, advertisers should start testing their content and investing in measurement infrastructure. Remember, changes can take some time, so keep your focus on the bigger picture.

5. Streaming Advertising is Picking Up Steam

Advertisers are continuing to shift their advertising dollars from traditional TV ads to streaming services.

According to a new report from Media Dynamics:

• Linear TV’s prime-time ad sales are down 3.2% from $18.4 billion last year to $17.8 billion this year
• Streaming was up over 18% from last year to $13.2 billion
• CPM for broadcast and cable was $43.50 and $19.35, respectively – down 4.1% and 6.8%
• Streaming’s CPM was $27.25, down 7.6% from last year’s numbers

This could be due to several reasons, the primary one being that streaming platforms don’t require locking in early, while also offering more flexibility for viewers.

Biggest Takeaway: Streaming ads are slowly gaining momentum and becoming a more popular form of advertising as consumers continue to shift away from traditional media.

6. WordPress Vulnerability Affects 300k Sites

Another week, another WordPress vulnerability. This time, it affected the 300k sites that use the Redirection for Contact Form 7 plugin.

According to the Wordfence advisory, the vulnerability “makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files on the server, which can easily lead to remote code execution when the right file is deleted (such as wp-config.php).”

This WordPress vulnerability is affecting all versions of the plugin, up to version 3.2.4. To protect themselves, users of the plugin should update to the latest version.

7. ChatGPT Traffic Grew 5.3% in One Month

Google remains the king of organic traffic, but ChatGPT is gaining ground. According to Ahrefs, “ChatGPT is growing 3.8x faster than Google.”

Tim Soulo, CMO at Ahrefs, posted a screenshot on LinkedIn showing the percentage of their site’s traffic coming from Google and the percentage coming from ChatGPT. While Google is clearly still generating more traffic, ChatGPT is trying.

According to the dashboard, “ChatGPT now drives measurable referral traffic to websites, representing a new channel that didn’t exist 2 years ago.”

Key Takeaway: If you aren’t actively working on optimizing your site for AI, you may want to start, as you could miss valuable site traffic.

8. Meta is Combining More Ad Targeting Options

A few months ago, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the site is shifting more toward AI-driven automation for ads. This week, a new announcement showed that they are moving closer to that goal.

In addition to improving AI-targeting and bidding tools, as well as creative and reformatting tools, Meta is now removing or consolidating even more ad-targeting options. In the company’s Q2 earnings update, Zuckerberg explained that: “On advertising, the strong performance this quarter is largely thanks to AI unlocking greater efficiency and gains across our ads system. This quarter, we expanded our new AI-powered recommendation model for ads to new surfaces and improved its performance by using more signals and a longer context. It’s driven roughly 5% more ad conversions on Instagram and 3% on Facebook.”

Don’t worry if you’re running ads using the consolidated targeting options. The recent consolidations won’t take effect until January 15, 2026, so you have some time to adjust your Meta advertising strategy.

9. Meta’s Professional Dashboard Gets an Overhaul

Speaking of Meta, the social media giant just made updates to its Professional Dashboard to improve it for creators.

The updates to Meta’s Advertising Dashboard include:

• Graphs charting overall performance
• Content insights
• Monetization overview
• New audience insights and performance metrics
• New “Popular with Your Followers” module
• And more

The update also included a refreshed web version of the dashboard with an improved layout and simplified navigation. Meta’s Facebook for Creators website was also updated. According to Meta, “[w]hether you’re looking for guidance on content strategy, monetization, community engagement, or stories from other Facebook creators, the revamped website puts everything at your fingertips.”

10. Google Ads Updates & News

1. Local Service Ads (LSAs) are being consolidated into a single Google Verified badge to signify clear trust signals, grow visibility, and credibility.
2. Google Ads new tool will help advertisers identify issues with shopping cart data to help improve your reporting. This new tool will help you identify and confirm product details are complete, IDs match and more.
3. Google is removing manual language targeting for search campaigns, leaving AI to fill in the gaps, simplifying set up, but releasing control. Non-Search campaigns will get to keep their language targeting settings for now.
4. Get access to full site-level impression data in your Google Ads account. This report gives insight into data and delivers on Google’s attempt to become more safe.
5. Richer conversion imports give Google AI the opportunity to create better modeling, attribution and better campaign performance.

11. TikTok Address Misinformation

A new update to TikTok’s Community Guidelines is aiming to curb misinformation on the short-form video app.

In the updated guidelines, TikTok explains that: “[o]ur updated Community Guidelines reflect our deep commitment to trust and safety, with clearer, simpler language, more transparency, and new or enhanced policies. This update builds on our ongoing trust and safety work, including a suite of safety features for teens and families, creators, and the whole TikTok community.”

The most important updates include:

• Prohibition of automation tools or scripts designed to bypass their systems
• Prohibition of misleading AI-generated content regarding matters of public importance
• Updated language around “regulated goods and services,” including alcohol, tobacco, drugs, firearms, and dangerous weapons
• Clearer guidance for content regarding mental and behavioral health and sensitive and mature themes
• More safety measures on features like direct messaging, comments, LIVE, and TikTok Shop

Weekly Homework:

• If you want a more personalized ChatGPT experience, connect the AI-bot to your Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts.
• Explore whether the new marketing opportunities on the iOS App are right for you.
• If you’re a Redirection for Contact Form 7 plugin user, be sure to update your plugin to the latest version to avoid being vulnerable to attacks.
• Be sure your TikTok content is not violating any of the updated Community Guidelines.
• Explore the new updates to Meta’s dashboard and ad guidelines to see how you can use these new insights and tools to optimize your Meta Ads.
• Research how the new iOS marketing features could improve your brand’s advertising ROI.
• Brainstorm new ways to improve your personalized digital marketing.

Digital Marketing News 8/9/2025 to 8/15/2025

This week: Instagram posting boosts reach, Google lets users choose news sources, and Apple tests Siri voice-activated apps.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. New Study: Posting More on IG is Key

According to a new study by Buffer, the more you post on Instagram, the more you can maximize your reach.

By analyzing over 2 million posts from 100k Instagram accounts, there was a key correlation in posting and engagement and reach.

Here’s some key insights:

• Posting between 3 and 5 times a week can double your follower growth
• Posting refers to photos, Reels, and carousels, NOT stories
• Accounts posting between 3 and 5 times a week see a 12% average reach boost per post

Take these insights with a grain of salt. Posting more is not always better. Stick to sharing high-quality content to keep your audience engaged without overwhelming them.

2. False Advertising Costs Match Group $14 Million

Match Group, which owns dating apps like Match, Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish, has agreed to settle a case with the FTC for $14 million.

In a case dating back to 2019, the FTC accused Match Group of using deceptive advertising practices to lure consumers back to their apps. According to the lawsuit, “consumers were at risk of being scammed after the company sent marketing emails regarding new messages from senders it had already identified as likely bots or scammers, subsequently deceiving them into purchasing subscriptions while knowingly profiting from it.”

When the consumers attempted to dispute the charges, they were locked out of their accounts. The suit also accused Match Group of making it incredibly difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.

Match Group agreed to pay the FTC $14 million to settle the suit, saying that “[t]he FTC’s outdated claims are entirely moot, as the alleged practices at issue ended years ago or are based on mischaracterizations that do not reflect our business today.”

Let cases like these be a warning to avoid deceptive practices and false advertising. While these practices may lead to higher revenue at first, the end expense of deceptive practices isn’t worth it.

3. Google Users Can Now Set Preferred Sources

If you’ve been fighting for your life to get into Google’s Top Stories, this new feature will excite you!

Users can now set their Preferred Sources to make sure they get their Top Stories news from sources they trust. The feature is already live in the United States and India, and will roll out in other markets within the next few days.

To turn it on, simply search for a topic that is currently trending. Tap the little icon to the right of the Top stories header. This will open a screen where you can select the outlets you want to hear from the most.

While other sources will still come through when you search for news, the list will prioritize the sources you selected.

The best news about this feature is that publishers can promote Preferred Searches to their readers. By encouraging them to set you as a preferred source, you’re increasing the likelihood of getting more eyes on your content. The user hears more from a source they respect, and you get more clicks on your content. Sounds like a win-win to us!

4. Google Invalid Ad Traffic Down 40%

Google is working hard to help fight invalid traffic (IVT) on Google ads. Its use of AI to combat fake traffic has resulted in a significant 40% decrease in IVTs.

As Google explained, “We've long used AI to fight IVT, and new applications are further improving our results. Our Ad Traffic Quality team, with Google Research and Google DeepMind, recently introduced industry-leading defenses powered by large language models to more precisely identify ad placements generating invalid behaviors… Beyond this, we continue to run extensive automated and manual checks to ensure advertisers aren't charged for IVT, even if an ad serves.”

This is great news for advertisers who were previously paying for fake clicks.

5. Generic Keywords Could Be Stunting Your Visibility

Keyword research is always changing, but if you’ve been using generic keywords over branded ones, you might be stunting your ability to stand out.

According to Google’s John Mueller, many small business owners fall into the trap of generic keywords, thinking that it will help get them discovered. As it turns out, that could make it even harder for them to stand out.

For example, if you’re a photographer, relying on generic keywords increases your chances of getting lost in the sea of other similarly named photographers. Instead, Mueller suggests using branded keywords, having a unique business name, and relying on localized targeting with content, structured data, and Google Business Profile optimization, to help establish you as a more distinctive (and easy to find!) brand.

Action Item: Work on building up your brand awareness so that people can find you through branded hashtags and you don’t get lost in a sea of generic ones.

6. New PMax Exclusions Improve Targeting Efforts

Google has been working hard on improving PMax campaigns. This week, advertisers noticed a new beta feature that allows gender exclusions.

This new exclusion can be used to:

• tailor messaging
• promote men’s and women’s products independently
• help create more relevant ad copy
• focus product feeds on more relevant targets

If you don’t have this beta function on your Google Ads dashboard, ask your rep to be added to the beta testing to see if it could help improve the ROI on your ads.

7. Run Ads on YouTube Without Google Ads

YouTube Promote campaigns offer more granular button options available on desktop.

Promote allows creators to boost both Shots and videos directly in the platform, without using Google Ads.

New options include: Book Now, Get Quote, and Contact Us.

This update gives creators even more flexibility in promoting their local content. These new buttons bring fresh in-stream promotions for creators.

8. More Vulnerabilities Hit WordPress

Last week, we reported that WordPress plugins were vulnerable to security issues. As it turns out, this week wasn’t much better.

WordPress plugins, The Database for Contact Form 7, WP Forms, and Elementor Forms all became vulnerable to attacks by unauthenticated users. Together, these plugins have over 70,000 installations. The attack enables the hacker to delete arbitrary files, deny service, or execute code remotely.

Another 1.3 million sites were left vulnerable by three different file management plugins: File Manager WordPress Plugin, Advanced File Manager – Ultimate WP File Manager and Document Library Solution, and File Manager Pro - Filester. This vulnerability enables attackers to delete files.

Finally, users with the Tutor LMS Pro WordPress plugin should upgrade to the latest version, 3.7.1 or higher, to prevent an attack that could allow hackers to access sensitive information stored in the database.

9. Meta’s Threads is Closing in on X’s Monthly Active Numbers

Meta has been trying hard to close the gap between its Threads users and X’s high user count. This month, they’re getting closer.

Instagram chief, Adam Mosseri, announced this week that Threads has hit 400 million monthly users. Elon Musk says that X now has 600 million monthly active users, after losing 15% of its European user base when he took over the app. While Threads isn’t there yet, it’s definitely getting closer.

With this news and the recent addition of Threads Ads, it’s clear that Meta is still pushing to take over the text-based social media crown from X.

Speaking of the race to become the top text-based platform, Bluesky is still steadily growing, but not at the same rapid pace as before. The app is now up to 38 million users, a long way from X’s 600 million.

10. Bing Webmaster Tools Updates Data

Bing’s getting a facelift.

Now you have access to 24 months of data! Originally, this was limited to 16 months of data so the expansion should help you identify trends and seasonality patterns.

This upgrade comes with a new country and device filter as well and the ability to analyze keyword trends for search performance.

Spend some time looking into your site’s search performance on Bing this week.

11. Instagram Rolls Out New Feature – Instagram Map

You may have noticed a new feature on your Instagram this week. Instagram Map is officially live.

The feature allows US users to share their most recent location, which is great for helping people discover location-based content, such as restaurants and stores. If your brand is big into localized content, this new tool could be incredibly useful for you to boost foot traffic and create a buzz around your brand.

However, some people are already expressing concerns about the privacy implications of live location sharing. Instagram says that live location sharing is off by default, but some users found that not to be the case.

Action Item: If you’re concerned about your privacy and don’t want to share your location, be sure to head into your settings and toggle your location tag off. This is especially important if you’re running an Instagram account from your phone for a brand or business.

12. Apple’s New Siri Leans Into Voice Search

Reports came out this week that Apple is testing a version of Siri that will allow users to activate apps entirely through voice commands.

The Bloomberg report says that this version of Siri “will be able to take actions on your behalf across various apps by following voice commands. The company plans to release a new version of App Intents, its framework that gives developers the ability to allow users access to parts of their app via different systems, like search and Shortcuts.”

Current apps included in the beta testing include: Uber, AllTrails, Threads, Temu, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

Why We Care: We’ve long been telling our clients to optimize their content for voice search, but this is just one more sign of technologies moving toward voice-activation. This is especially important for Amazon sellers or those who run Meta Ads on Facebook or Threads. Now is the time to optimize your content – before your competitors do!

Weekly Homework:

• If you write time-sensitive content, share the news of Preferred Sources with your audience and encourage them to make your site one of their preferred sources.
• Check on your WordPress plugins to ensure you haven’t been left vulnerable to security risks.
• Update your keyword strategy to include more branded and unique keywords, instead of generic ones.
• Consider whether adding Threads to your social media strategy makes sense.
• Take steps to optimize your content for voice search.

Digital Marketing News 8/2/2025 to 8/8/2025

This week: AI discovery surges, Yelp boosts local branding, and Reddit search hits new highs.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. AI Discovery is Up 527%

We’ve been saying that AI will change search – and now we have proof!

According to the 2025 Previsible AI Traffic Report:

• From January to May 2025, AI-referred sessions increased from 17,076 to 107,100.
• 1% of all SaaS sites sessions come from AI
• 55% of LLM-driven sessions involve legal, finance, SMB, insurance, or health
• LLM sessions involving legal questions went from 0.37% to 0.86% in five months
• LLM sessions involving health questions went from 0.17% to 0.56% in those same months
• ChatGPT is the biggest player, with Perplexity, Copilot, and Gemini gaining traction

What This Means: Users are turning to LLMs for contextual questions that involve trust and consultation. If you are a high-context content creator, you need to optimize your strategy for generative AI.

2. Google Business Profile Just Got Easier to Manage

Google recently updated their post creation tool to place all posts in a centralized location. It’s now streamlined into a single hub where you can quickly create updates, events, or highlight offers all from a single screen.

Other highlights include:

• Centralized Posts Hub - Instead of the “Add Update” screen, you can now manage all your posts in one place
• New Management View - See key details for each post including creation date, status, post type and more

Along with some simple visual improvements to the user interface, Google is dedicated to making it easier for you to manage your business.

If you are a local business or want to build a local footprint, focus on Google Posts! Get local attention by sharing images, promotions, offers and events, all while boosting your local SEO efforts.

Have questions? Lucky for you we have a webinar coming up next week, August 14th covering Google Business Profiles. Sign up, you don’t want to miss it.

3. Yelp’s New Ads Help Your National Brand Grow Locally

Yelp’s here to save the day with a new ad format to help brands without locations build authentic local connections.

Big national brands can team up with local businesses to appear in new co-branded Showcase Ads that run on Yelp search results. Local businesses will benefit from the visibility and won’t be charged while big brands will grow brand loyalty by aligning with trusted local businesses.

Examples:

• Bilt Rewards saw an increase in 300,000 location visits and 5.5% increase in Yelp page views for participating restaurants
• Pepsi reported a 35% drop in cost per lead through its campaign

These new ads bring together national branding and local discovery. For example, brands can use photo or video ads to highlight local partners in relevant searches.

4. Nearly 700 Million People Use ChatGPT Each Week

Speaking of AI discovery, ChatGPT announced that it, too, had broken a record.

Nearly 700 million people visit the site each week. This is up from the 500 million who did in March.

What This Means for Marketers: When OpenAI released ChatGPT, traditional search reported a drop in traffic from 76% to 61%. As ChatGPT continues to grow, it will likely make moves that rival those of mainstream search engines. Be sure to position your brand in the best light possible by optimizing your content for Generative AI.

5. Reddit Hits 70 Million Weekly Queries

ChatGPT wasn’t the only one to have record usage last week. Reddit reported recently that over 70 million people use its internal search option weekly.

In addition to its millions of searches, it also reported that its AI-powered Reddit Answers feature is also finding success, reaching 6 million weekly users – up five times the amount from the previous quarter.

To capitalize on this increase, Reddit will now be focusing on three key areas:

• Improving the core product
• Growing its search presence
• Expanding internationally

What This Means for You: Reddit is making moves to become a heavy hitter in the search world. Whether it’s encouraging consumers to talk about you on the site or running Reddit ads, take a look at how you can utilize the website to push your content and build brand awareness.

6. 49% of Gen Z Consumers Value Humor and Music in Ads

If you want to capture the attention of Gen Z users, you have to be funny.

According to a new study from Edison Research and SiriusXM Media, 49% of Gen Zers are more likely to watch your ad if it’s funny or has good music.

Other popular elements included content that is:

• Inspirational
• Honest and Transparent
• Unique and Different

Celebrities and influencers were pretty high on the list, too, but not so high that you need to use your whole advertising budget on bringing them in. Turns out, all you need for scroll-stopping content is humor and good tunes.

7. Digital Ad Spend is Down for First Time Since 2009

If you’ve recently reined in your digital ad spend, you aren’t the only one.

According to a new study by eMarketer, US digital ad spending is down to less than 10% for the first time since 2019. This is likely due to several reasons, a significant one being high tariffs that make business harder. The use of AI is thought to be another one.

8. Multiple Sites Face Vulnerability Issues

Hundreds of thousands of websites were affected by multiple vulnerability issues this week.

The first affected popular plugin AI Engine. Installed on over 100,000 websites, a vulnerability was discovered that would allow authenticated hackers access to upload malicious files. This isn’t the first time AI Engine has been vulnerable to threats. This week’s problem was the fourth vulnerability discovered since July of this year.

The second involved a WooCommerce plugin for customer reviews. This vulnerability allowed unauthenticated attackers to launch a stored cross-site scripting attack. This attack was executed whenever a user visited an affected page.

A third vulnerability was uncovered in Wix’s vibe coding platform. This critical flaw enabled attackers to bypass authentication and gain access to private enterprise applications. Although it was noticed and fixed within 24 hours, the issue affected the popular Base44 vibe coding platform, which contains sensitive personal information used by HR, chatbots, and knowledge bases.

Key Takeaway: Let this serve as a reminder to stay up-to-date on your website’s privacy and security.

9. 80% of Consumers Want Personalization, Study Reports

A recent study by Meta and Deloitte found that personalization is the key to building strong and sustainable brands.

The study showed that:

• 80% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase when brands personalize their experiences
• When brands tailor their interactions to meet consumers' needs, they spend 50% more.
• In the EU, Meta’s personalized advertising was linked to €213 billion in economic growth.

As Derya Matras, VP for Global Business Group at Meta, said: “As people want content and services that are more relevant to them, they are increasingly drawn to brands that make them feel understood.”

Action Item: Review your marketing efforts to identify areas for increased personalization and enhanced consumer experience.

10. Instagram Restricts Live Streaming

If you’re a small creator on Instagram, listen up! You’ll need at least 1,000 followers if you want go Live.

This week, a ton of smaller creators saw this pop-up when they tried to go Live. This will affect nanoinfluencers and other smaller accounts that prefer to broadcast live within the app.

Instagram isn’t alone in this requirement. TikTok also requires users to have at least 1,000 followers to live-stream. While some smaller accounts may be upset about the change, it should improve the quality of live streams and prevent NSFW material from dominating users’ feeds.

11. Nielsen Offers New Tools to Streaming Partners

If you’ve been thinking about adding streaming ads to your marketing strategy, Nielsen has some updates for you.

Nielsen launched its new Outcomes Marketplace, a platform to “bring together a diverse set of key brand, sales, attention, and conversion metrics within the Nielsen ONE platform.” The company says it will go beyond surface-level metrics to provide a deeper understanding of how ads are generating attention and emotional responses across platforms. It also identifies specific elements of the campaign and creative assets that were most engaging.

12. Google P-Max Ad Strength Now Looks at Sitelinks

Google Ads is pushing advertisers to prioritize the inclusion of sitelinks in their P-max campaigns.

Sitelinks didn’t used to be part of the ad strength calculation for p-max ads, but they are now! Google announced this week that it will now appear in the asset group interface, alongside images, videos, products, headlines, and descriptions.

This is great for several reasons, primarily because sitelinks can boost engagement and provide more paths to conversion.

Action Item: If you’re running P-Max campaigns, be sure to add sitelinks, or else you could face penalties in ad strength.

Weekly Homework:

• Conduct a security audit of your website to ensure all plugins and connections are secure.
• Consider optimizing your content for Reddit and ChatGPT, especially if you’re creating content for high-context industries such as legal, healthcare, and SaaS.
• Audit your upcoming marketing campaigns to identify places where you could improve consumer personalization.
• If Gen Zers are your target audience, think about ways you can add humor and trending music to your ads.
• Audit your P-max campaigns to make sure they include the correct sitelinks.

Digital Marketing News 7/26/2025 to 8/1/2025

This week: Google’s AI Mode favors brands, Q2 stats show marketing strength, and new RSA testing boosts transparency.

Here's what happened this week in digital marketing:

1. Google’s AI Mode is Dominated by Brands

New data from BrightEdge shows that Google’s AI Mode is a hot spot for brand mentions.

According to their data:

• Brands appear in 90% of AI Mode responses
• AI Mode surfaces 3.8x more unique brands
• Brands are mentioned 43% of the time in AI Overviews
• AI Overviews’ week-to-week volatility is 30x higher than AI Mode
• AI Mode uses 5-7 source citations
• AI Overviews can use 20+ inline citations per result

Biggest Takeaway: This study demonstrates that AI Mode is a more stable source of discovery, characterized by lower entry barriers and more predictable patterns. AI Overviews are still a great place to be spotted, but it’s a more selective and fast-shifting curator.

2. Google Q2 Stats Show Optimism for Digital Marketing

While some experts are concerned that global economic fluctuations could negatively impact the effect of digital marketing, Google’s Q2 stats are giving people something to be optimistic about.

According to Marketing Dive, there are a few numbers that specifically spark excitement and show growth when some people expected a decline:

• $54.2 billion in ad revenue for Google’s key search
• 2 million advertisers used Google’s generative AI tools to run ads
• 40 billion hours of sports content were consumed on YouTube
• AI Overviews draw over 2 billion monthly active users
• Complex AI Mode searches generate over 100 million monthly active users

While the economy may change from day to day, one thing remains true: people continue to consume content on Google’s platforms, which means Google Ads still influences them.

3. Google Launches New Way to Organize Results Pages

A new experimental feature from Google could change the way group searches are formatted.

The new AI-generated search results organization tool, Web Guide, is now available in Search Labs.

It uses a version of Gemini to run multiple related queries at the same time. This “fan-out” technique is designed to give searchers a broader view of their topic. Google says it's most helpful for two specific kinds of searchers: exploratory searches and multi-part questions.

Although this is still in its early phases, it’ll be interesting to see how users within Search Labs respond to it and whether Google ultimately adapts it for all users.

4. Soft 404s Affect Your Crawl Budget, Says Google

If you’re looking for ways to maximize your crawl budget, take a hard look at your soft 404s.

Previously, experts thought that if soft 404s returned a 200 OK status, it didn’t affect the site’s crawl budget. Google’s Gary Illyes is saying that this is not true.

During Search Central Live Asia Pacific 2025, Gary explained that, unlike true 404s, these pages consume crawl budget without offering any actual value. With smaller sites, this might not be too big of a problem, but with larger sites, it could eat away at crawl budget, making search engines skip important pages. To prevent wasting your crawl budget, you should:

Return a 404 or 410 status for content that no longer exists
Use 301 redirects when necessary
Add structured data for out-of-stock notices instead of resorting to empty product pages
Make your 404 pages more helpful to users to that your crawl budget isn’t wasted on unhelpful or unnecessary content

5. Google’s AI Mode Gets an Update

Google Search has expanded its AI Mode by adding more user-friendly tools.

Now, AI Mode users can:

• Upload images directly into the search box
• Ask questions about uploaded files
• Receive AI-generated responses based on both the document’s content and web results
• Better organize updates and saves as questions evolve
• Incorporate videos into Search Live features

The update will help users build task checklists, travel itineraries, and study guides. While it’s a great update for general users, it’s also an opportunity for digital marketers to structure their content in a way that will get their content into these continually evolving summaries.

6. Research Shows Differences in Responses from Google Versus ChatGPT

Some people are shifting their search focus over to ChatGPT, but according to a recent BrightEdge study, the results could vary.

In an analysis of B2B technology, education, healthcare, and finance queries, BrightEdge found that there are differences in the way Google and ChatGPT respond to similar questions. The biggest differences are found:

• 62% in healthcare queries
• 47% in B2B queries
• 45% in education queries
• 39% in finance queries

The findings suggest that Google views searches from a research assistant's perspective, while ChatGPT is more akin to a decision-making coach.

These findings don’t necessarily mean that one platform is better than the other, but they do indicate that digital marketers need to be aware that they interpret intent differently. This difference could affect their content strategy decisions.

Why We Care: If you are producing content in one of the 4 categories listed above, you’ll need to take into consideration where your target audience is searching and how that tool interprets intent.

7. Reddit Introduces Automated Bidding to Ads

If you’ve been advertising on Reddit, or at least thinking about it, listen up to this recent announcement from the user-centric forum. Now, Reddit users will have the ability to automate their ad bidding options to include more ad objectives, such as Brand Awareness and Reach.

In the announcement, Reddit explained: “With this update, advertisers can now choose from two automated bidding strategies – lowest cost and cost cap – to optimize delivery, drive more impressions, and simplify how brand budgets are managed on Reddit. Spend less time adjusting bids and more time driving impact, no matter the scale of your brand campaign.”

The platform says that early adopters of its automated bidding have seen a 16% increase in CPM and a 17% increase in overall impressions.

8. AI-Powered Store Summaries Come to Google Chrome

Google has updated its Chrome web browser to help shoppers make more informed purchases.

Not only will this feature help to provide a better shopping experience for users, but it will also help Google better compete with retail giants like Amazon, which have been using AI to improve shoppers’ experiences.

It will also help them compete with AI-powered search engines that are attempting to chip away at Google’s stronghold on search.

9. Google Rolls Out New AI Max Ads

Have you noticed a change in Google’s AI Max ads? You’re not alone! Google revealed a new format this week.

The new format includes:

• Longer headlines
• Dynamically generated sitelinks
• Ad content pulled directly from blogs

According to Nikki Kuhlman of Jumpfly, this new format is increasing ROAS for blog articles, even more than landing pages. While this is great for brands with blogs, more automation can lead to less control and potential risks involving brand safety, performance consistency, and user experience.

10. TikTok Introduces New AI Tools, Parental Controls & Fact-Checking Systems

TikTok wants to become more user-friendly, especially for minors. This week, they announced a ton of new changes and upgrades, including new parental controls and Footnotes, a fact-checking system.

Some of the new features include:

• Parental controls that automatically update parents when their teenager uploads a public video, story, or photo
• The ability for parents to block specific accounts from their teen’s account
• The introduction of “Creator Care Mode” to filter comments identified as offensive, inappropriate, or profane
• An AI feature to help creators block more inappropriate comments, specifically from users with a history of being blocked or deleted
• A professional inbox where creators can set up customized responses to address frequently asked questions
• The introduction of Footnotes, a new fact-checking system

The Creator Care Mode and the Creator Inbox are probably the most interesting features for brands trying to engage with fans and consumers on the app. Now, brands can create AI-generated responses to quickly address their audience’s questions, encouraging engagement and fostering a relationship with those consumers.

Creator Chat Room is available to creators who have at least 5,000 followers and either a Subscription or Live Fan Club. Each user can have at least 20 different chats, which will be capped at 300 people.

11. TikTok Proves to Be Emerging Player in Search Advertising

TikTok announced a new role focused on search ads, proving it to be a pillar of the ad business.

TikTok is trying to position itself as a key player in the world of search advertising. As search behavior switches to social media forward and relies less on Google and other traditional search engines, performance driven channels will reap the benefits.

Those who adopted the ad platform early had the chance to test, learn, and optimize their ad campaigns before the space became too cluttered and overwhelmed.

However, advertisers haven’t fully bought in yet. They are still unsure because of mixed campaign results, economic uncertainty and the looming threat of banning the app.

12. A/B Test Your RSA Headlines Based On Scores

Yes, you heard that correctly. It’s time to start testing headlines in your Responsive Search Ads.

Google is finally showing real click and conversion data for each headline. Previously it would just show “Good” or “Bad” without providing any contextual information. Now, instead of guessing which headlines are working, advertisers have the freedom to make decisions based on data.

Here’s a few ways to take full advantage of the feature:

1. Cut or rewrite low-performing headlines
2. Test pinning vs non-pinning strategies
3. Build clear asset categories

Speaking of transparency, Google is testing a new feature to bring transparency to RSAs: “Search Term Categories.”

It groups user search queries into intent-based categories and subcategories to bring advertisers performance metrics insights:

• Conversions
• Click-through rates
• Impressions
• Search volume

These two features will bring clarity to Google RSAs and give advertisers more control over their budgets.

Weekly Homework

• If you are an ecommerce brand, check out how Google’s new AI-powered summaries are describing your shopping experience.
• Sign in to Google Search Labs to explore their new way of organizing search results.
• Audit your website for soft 404 errors and update them to prevent negative impact on your crawl budget.
• Perform industry-specific searches in ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode to see how your brand is showing up in their results. If you aren’t satisfied with it, or if your brand isn’t appearing at all, work with your content team to brainstorm ways to change your appearance.
• Explore Reddit Ads’ new automated bidding opportunities.