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Ad-tech

Twice daily from the Signals Desk
Desk brief

State of Play

Revised Sep 18, 2026

The moment. The ad unit inside the assistant stopped being a pitch and became a product. OpenAI is piloting Sponsored Agents, which turn a ChatGPT ad click into a branded chat with an AI agent rather than a site visit, with Wayfair testing at limited scale, and launched conversational ads alongside CRM and ecommerce integrations. Amazon DSP became a managed buy path into ChatGPT ads with Delta Vacations among the first US pilot brands, while OpenAI keeps control of delivery and placement. Criteo became ChatGPT Ads’ first commerce partner on 4 billion globally mapped product SKUs. Thrad opened a self-serve platform for building campaigns inside large language model conversations. OpenAI named Mark Bambury head of EMEA ads. Google answered at Rethink ROI with an open-standard Universal Cart across Search, YouTube and Gmail.

The tension. Every prior ad format ended at a destination someone else could observe. A Sponsored Agent does not: the click opens a conversation held inside the seller’s own surface, logged by the seller, reported by the seller. That is the least observable inventory yet sold, and it arrived the same week a judge declined to break up Google’s ad-tech business and ordered behavioral remedies instead — a result ad-tech executives read to AdExchanger as a warning sign for the FTC’s case against Amazon. Concentration is going the same way: Google, Meta and Amazon took 56% of US ad revenue in 2025, up from 53% in 2024.

Who’s moving. OpenAI, on Sponsored Agents, conversational ads and an EMEA ads chief. Amazon, wiring its DSP into ChatGPT and buying Art19. Criteo, betting 4 billion SKUs and more than $1 trillion in annual transaction data on being the commerce layer. Thrad, going self-serve. Google, on agentic commerce, and on an AI licensing pilot that pays publishers only when content significantly contributes to Gemini and AI Overviews answers, which critics call a fig leaf. Profound, raising $180 million at a $1.8 billion valuation for AI search marketing. Madison and Wall, forecasting global ad spend up 11% in 2026 past $1.3 trillion with US revenues up 13%. Wurl, enriching bid requests across more than 140 billion monthly CTV impressions. The Trade Desk, cutting about 575 of 3,843 staff.

What the desk is watching. Whether a Sponsored Agent conversation is ever auditable by anyone but the platform that hosted it, and whether the behavioral remedy in the Google case sets the ceiling for what the FTC can win from Amazon.

Coverage

165 stories, newest first.RSS →
Ad-tech broadpeak-launches-click2cart-for-shoppable-ctv-ads

Broadpeak launches Click2Cart for shoppable CTV ads

Broadpeak has unveiled Click2Cart, letting viewers add products to their cart with one remote click during a streaming ad. It builds on Click2, adding engagement and conversion beacons for performance measurement across pre-roll, mid-roll and L-Banner formats.

Aug 28
Ad-tech meta-runs-full-page-ads-pushing-rivals-to-adopt-its-own-teen-safety-limits

Meta runs full-page ads pushing rivals to adopt its own teen-safety limits

Meta plans to run a full-page print advertisement in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and New York Times pushing other companies to adopt the same restrictions it is adding to its own apps under its settlement.

Aug 27
Ad-tech googles-ai-mode-adds-flight-tracking-and-hotel-booking

Google’s AI Mode adds flight tracking and hotel booking

Google is expanding AI Mode with tools to track flight prices across more than 300 airlines and travel sites, and to book hotels directly through conversation.

Aug 27
Ad-tech nvidia-nears-12-9-billion-deal-for-hugging-face

Nvidia nears $12.9 billion deal for Hugging Face

Nvidia has agreed to buy open source AI hub Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, The Information reported, though talks reportedly hadn’t produced a signed deal as of Wednesday night.

Aug 27
Ad-tech freewheel-bakes-truthsets-data-quality-scores-into-its-ctv-buying-platform

FreeWheel bakes Truthset’s data-quality scores into its CTV buying platform

Truthset’s audience-quality ratings, graded AAA to B, are now built into FreeWheel’s Identity Network and Audience Manager, live within days. By Q1 next year, Truthset IDs extend across FreeWheel’s unified audience marketplace.

Aug 27
Ad-tech chatgpts-ad-exclusion-tools-leave-brand-safety-gaps-emarketer-finds

ChatGPT’s ad exclusion tools leave brand safety gaps, eMarketer finds

eMarketer reports that ChatGPT’s advertising exclusion controls give brands some safeguards against unwanted placements, but targeting precision still falls short of what buyers expect from established ad platforms.

Aug 27
Ad-tech comcasts-universal-ads-taps-tracer-for-operational-data-backbone

Comcast’s Universal Ads taps Tracer for operational data backbone

Universal Ads, Comcast’s self-serve TV ad platform, is using Tracer to unify operational and revenue data across systems — real-time visibility into delivery and forecasting as it scales AI-driven, self-serve products.

Aug 27
Ad-tech openais-executive-exodus-points-to-brockman-consolidating-power-ahead-of-ipo

OpenAI’s executive exodus points to Brockman consolidating power ahead of IPO

More than a dozen OpenAI executives have left since January, the COO, CRO and CMO among them. Infrastructure and product now report to president Greg Brockman — power consolidating as the company preps a 2027 IPO.

Aug 27
Ad-tech agency-runs-fully-autonomous-ctv-buy-via-pubmatics-agentic-platform

Agency runs fully autonomous CTV buy via PubMatic’s agentic platform

Butler/Till ran an end-to-end CTV campaign through PubMatic’s Agentic OS inside Claude — no DSP workflow, no manual optimization — cutting supply-chain costs 80% and lifting impressions 40% on the same budget.

Aug 27
Ad-tech reddits-chatgpt-citation-share-crashed-86-in-four-days

Reddit’s ChatGPT citation share crashed 86% in four days, then recovered

PromptWatch data shows Reddit’s share of ChatGPT citations fell from 3.83% — the highest of any platform — to under 1% in four days, echoing a September 2025 collapse. The share has since recovered; OpenAI hasn’t explained either move.

Aug 27
Ad-tech runable-raises-21m-to-push-ai-agents-from-building-sites-to-running-ads

Runable raises $21M to push AI agents from building sites to running ads

Runable raised a $21 million Series A to push its AI agent beyond building websites into ad campaigns, social media and SEO for small businesses. It claims a $2 million run rate and 1.7 million registered users.

Aug 26
Ad-tech iab-issues-guide-on-ais-growing-role-in-programmatic-video-buying

IAB issues guide on AI’s growing role in programmatic video buying

IAB’s new guide maps how AI now touches planning, bidding, pricing, and optimization across programmatic video. It breaks down effects for advertisers, publishers, and DSPs/SSPs, and flags transparency as the industry’s next big question.

Aug 25
Ad-tech stability-ai-raises-76m-from-music-and-gaming-giants-it-now-licenses-with

Stability AI raises $76M from music and gaming giants it now licenses with

Stability AI raised $76 million, bringing its total to $232 million. Backers include Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music and EA — companies it already has content and co-development deals with, not typical venture investors.

Aug 25
Ad-tech openai-product-chief-chatgpt-work-hit-20-million-users

OpenAI product chief: ChatGPT Work hit 20 million users

OpenAI’s head of product Thibault Sottiaux tells TechCrunch that ChatGPT Work, its agent platform for white-collar tasks, has reached 20 million users. He frames it as bringing coding-agent capability to a broad, non-technical audience via a $20/month Plus plan.

Aug 25
Ad-tech keenable-raises-26m-to-build-a-search-index-built-for-ai-agents-not-people

Keenable raises $26M to build a search index built for AI agents, not people

Ex-Yandex search lead Andrey Styskin’s startup Keenable exited stealth with a $26M Accel-led seed round. It has indexed over 100 billion documents and already powers retrieval for AI labs and inference providers in production.

Aug 25
Ad-tech equativ-survey-voters-trust-ctv-over-social-for-political-ads

Equativ survey: voters trust CTV over social for political ads

Equativ’s voter survey finds social media leads political news consumption at 59% but only 26% trust it, while CTV and broadcast score higher on credibility despite reaching over half of voters.

Aug 25
Ad-tech ias-uncovers-papyrus-fraud-scheme-hiding-in-e-book-reader-apps

IAS uncovers ‘Papyrus’ fraud scheme hiding in e-book reader apps

IAS says a fraud ring used novel-reading apps to run hidden browser sessions, generating ~$1M/month across 800+ domains. It also faked engagement signals — 25x higher click success, 4x eCPMs — inflating traffic value for buyers.

Aug 25
Ad-tech robotaxis-from-google-amazon-could-become-ad-inventory-on-wheels

Robotaxis from Google, Amazon could become ad inventory on wheels

Driverless taxis from Waymo (Google) and Zoox (Amazon) are hitting critical mass, and advertisers see driverless interiors as blank canvases for screens, sponsored rides and local promos tied to existing ad platforms.

Aug 25
Ad-tech meta-expands-ai-advisor-tools-for-smb-advertisers

Meta expands AI advisor tools for SMB advertisers

Meta is rolling out AI tools that let SMBs pull data from Facebook, Instagram, Meta Ads and Google Workspace into Meta AI for benchmarking and campaign feedback.

Aug 25
Ad-tech openais-altman-declares-code-red-on-chatgpt-pushes-back-ads-plan

OpenAI’s Altman declares ‘code red’ on ChatGPT, pushes back ads plan

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared a ‘code red’ internally to counter competitive threats to ChatGPT, according to The Information. As part of the shift in priorities, the company is delaying its planned advertising effort.

Aug 24
Ad-tech alphonso-weighs-ipo-comcast-jv-or-koch-buyout-after-lg-legal-war

Alphonso weighs IPO, Comcast JV or Koch buyout after LG legal war

Alphonso, LG’s ad tech unit, is weighing a traditional IPO, a Comcast joint venture or a private equity deal with the Koch brothers, after three years of litigation with parent LG Electronics over a 2022 boardroom ouster.

Aug 24
Ad-tech google-ai-overviews-breaks-the-search-grand-bargain-with-publishers

Google AI Overviews breaks the search ‘grand bargain’ with publishers

Google’s AI Overviews now roll out to all US English-language users, summarizing web content above the blue links so users need not click through.

Aug 24
Ad-tech meta-to-strip-advertisers-of-placement-exclusion-controls-2

Meta to strip advertisers of placement exclusion controls

Meta is removing the ability to exclude specific placements, devices, or platforms from ad sets, notifying advertisers in-platform. Marketers will no longer opt out of formats like Facebook search or Reels in-stream, or restrict delivery to one device type.

Aug 24
Ad-tech perplexity-launches-comet-browser-to-challenge-google-chrome

Perplexity launches Comet browser to challenge Google Chrome

Nvidia-backed Perplexity AI launched Comet, an AI-powered browser for Perplexity Max subscribers that uses agentic AI to navigate and complete tasks, targeting Chrome’s dominance.

Aug 24
Ad-tech openai-builds-out-enterprise-ad-sales-operation-2

OpenAI builds out enterprise ad sales operation

OpenAI is hiring a head of ads enterprise marketing at up to $415,000 plus equity, tasked with positioning it as a “premium advertising platform” for big marketers.

Aug 24
medianexis.
165 signals

Ad-tech

Desk brief

State of Play

Revised Sep 18, 2026

The moment. The ad unit inside the assistant stopped being a pitch and became a product. OpenAI is piloting Sponsored Agents, which turn a ChatGPT ad click into a branded chat with an AI agent rather than a site visit, with Wayfair testing at limited scale, and launched conversational ads alongside CRM and ecommerce integrations. Amazon DSP became a managed buy path into ChatGPT ads with Delta Vacations among the first US pilot brands, while OpenAI keeps control of delivery and placement. Criteo became ChatGPT Ads’ first commerce partner on 4 billion globally mapped product SKUs. Thrad opened a self-serve platform for building campaigns inside large language model conversations. OpenAI named Mark Bambury head of EMEA ads. Google answered at Rethink ROI with an open-standard Universal Cart across Search, YouTube and Gmail.

The tension. Every prior ad format ended at a destination someone else could observe. A Sponsored Agent does not: the click opens a conversation held inside the seller’s own surface, logged by the seller, reported by the seller. That is the least observable inventory yet sold, and it arrived the same week a judge declined to break up Google’s ad-tech business and ordered behavioral remedies instead — a result ad-tech executives read to AdExchanger as a warning sign for the FTC’s case against Amazon. Concentration is going the same way: Google, Meta and Amazon took 56% of US ad revenue in 2025, up from 53% in 2024.

Who’s moving. OpenAI, on Sponsored Agents, conversational ads and an EMEA ads chief. Amazon, wiring its DSP into ChatGPT and buying Art19. Criteo, betting 4 billion SKUs and more than $1 trillion in annual transaction data on being the commerce layer. Thrad, going self-serve. Google, on agentic commerce, and on an AI licensing pilot that pays publishers only when content significantly contributes to Gemini and AI Overviews answers, which critics call a fig leaf. Profound, raising $180 million at a $1.8 billion valuation for AI search marketing. Madison and Wall, forecasting global ad spend up 11% in 2026 past $1.3 trillion with US revenues up 13%. Wurl, enriching bid requests across more than 140 billion monthly CTV impressions. The Trade Desk, cutting about 575 of 3,843 staff.

What the desk is watching. Whether a Sponsored Agent conversation is ever auditable by anyone but the platform that hosted it, and whether the behavioral remedy in the Google case sets the ceiling for what the FTC can win from Amazon.

Broadpeak launches Click2Cart for shoppable CTV ads

Broadpeak has unveiled Click2Cart, letting viewers add products to their cart with one remote click during a streaming ad. It builds on Click2, adding engagement and conversion beacons for performance measurement across pre-roll, mid-roll and L-Banner formats.

Meta runs full-page ads pushing rivals to adopt its own teen-safety limits

Meta plans to run a full-page print advertisement in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and New York Times pushing other companies to adopt the same restrictions it is adding to its own apps under its settlement.

Google’s AI Mode adds flight tracking and hotel booking

Google is expanding AI Mode with tools to track flight prices across more than 300 airlines and travel sites, and to book hotels directly through conversation.

Nvidia nears $12.9 billion deal for Hugging Face

Nvidia has agreed to buy open source AI hub Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, The Information reported, though talks reportedly hadn’t produced a signed deal as of Wednesday night.

FreeWheel bakes Truthset’s data-quality scores into its CTV buying platform

Truthset’s audience-quality ratings, graded AAA to B, are now built into FreeWheel’s Identity Network and Audience Manager, live within days. By Q1 next year, Truthset IDs extend across FreeWheel’s unified audience marketplace.

ChatGPT’s ad exclusion tools leave brand safety gaps, eMarketer finds

eMarketer reports that ChatGPT’s advertising exclusion controls give brands some safeguards against unwanted placements, but targeting precision still falls short of what buyers expect from established ad platforms.

Comcast’s Universal Ads taps Tracer for operational data backbone

Universal Ads, Comcast’s self-serve TV ad platform, is using Tracer to unify operational and revenue data across systems — real-time visibility into delivery and forecasting as it scales AI-driven, self-serve products.

OpenAI’s executive exodus points to Brockman consolidating power ahead of IPO

More than a dozen OpenAI executives have left since January, the COO, CRO and CMO among them. Infrastructure and product now report to president Greg Brockman — power consolidating as the company preps a 2027 IPO.

Agency runs fully autonomous CTV buy via PubMatic’s agentic platform

Butler/Till ran an end-to-end CTV campaign through PubMatic’s Agentic OS inside Claude — no DSP workflow, no manual optimization — cutting supply-chain costs 80% and lifting impressions 40% on the same budget.

Reddit’s ChatGPT citation share crashed 86% in four days, then recovered

PromptWatch data shows Reddit’s share of ChatGPT citations fell from 3.83% — the highest of any platform — to under 1% in four days, echoing a September 2025 collapse. The share has since recovered; OpenAI hasn’t explained either move.

Runable raises $21M to push AI agents from building sites to running ads

Runable raised a $21 million Series A to push its AI agent beyond building websites into ad campaigns, social media and SEO for small businesses. It claims a $2 million run rate and 1.7 million registered users.

IAB issues guide on AI’s growing role in programmatic video buying

IAB’s new guide maps how AI now touches planning, bidding, pricing, and optimization across programmatic video. It breaks down effects for advertisers, publishers, and DSPs/SSPs, and flags transparency as the industry’s next big question.

Stability AI raises $76M from music and gaming giants it now licenses with

Stability AI raised $76 million, bringing its total to $232 million. Backers include Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music and EA — companies it already has content and co-development deals with, not typical venture investors.

OpenAI product chief: ChatGPT Work hit 20 million users

OpenAI’s head of product Thibault Sottiaux tells TechCrunch that ChatGPT Work, its agent platform for white-collar tasks, has reached 20 million users. He frames it as bringing coding-agent capability to a broad, non-technical audience via a $20/month Plus plan.

Keenable raises $26M to build a search index built for AI agents, not people

Ex-Yandex search lead Andrey Styskin’s startup Keenable exited stealth with a $26M Accel-led seed round. It has indexed over 100 billion documents and already powers retrieval for AI labs and inference providers in production.

Equativ survey: voters trust CTV over social for political ads

Equativ’s voter survey finds social media leads political news consumption at 59% but only 26% trust it, while CTV and broadcast score higher on credibility despite reaching over half of voters.

IAS uncovers ‘Papyrus’ fraud scheme hiding in e-book reader apps

IAS says a fraud ring used novel-reading apps to run hidden browser sessions, generating ~$1M/month across 800+ domains. It also faked engagement signals — 25x higher click success, 4x eCPMs — inflating traffic value for buyers.

Robotaxis from Google, Amazon could become ad inventory on wheels

Driverless taxis from Waymo (Google) and Zoox (Amazon) are hitting critical mass, and advertisers see driverless interiors as blank canvases for screens, sponsored rides and local promos tied to existing ad platforms.

Meta expands AI advisor tools for SMB advertisers

Meta is rolling out AI tools that let SMBs pull data from Facebook, Instagram, Meta Ads and Google Workspace into Meta AI for benchmarking and campaign feedback.

OpenAI’s Altman declares ‘code red’ on ChatGPT, pushes back ads plan

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has declared a ‘code red’ internally to counter competitive threats to ChatGPT, according to The Information. As part of the shift in priorities, the company is delaying its planned advertising effort.

Alphonso weighs IPO, Comcast JV or Koch buyout after LG legal war

Alphonso, LG’s ad tech unit, is weighing a traditional IPO, a Comcast joint venture or a private equity deal with the Koch brothers, after three years of litigation with parent LG Electronics over a 2022 boardroom ouster.

Google AI Overviews breaks the search ‘grand bargain’ with publishers

Google’s AI Overviews now roll out to all US English-language users, summarizing web content above the blue links so users need not click through.

Meta to strip advertisers of placement exclusion controls

Meta is removing the ability to exclude specific placements, devices, or platforms from ad sets, notifying advertisers in-platform. Marketers will no longer opt out of formats like Facebook search or Reels in-stream, or restrict delivery to one device type.

Perplexity launches Comet browser to challenge Google Chrome

Nvidia-backed Perplexity AI launched Comet, an AI-powered browser for Perplexity Max subscribers that uses agentic AI to navigate and complete tasks, targeting Chrome’s dominance.

OpenAI builds out enterprise ad sales operation

OpenAI is hiring a head of ads enterprise marketing at up to $415,000 plus equity, tasked with positioning it as a “premium advertising platform” for big marketers.

Cover