Zero-click reality is rewriting the rules of search for brands

Worries over whether the changing dynamics of search marketing will affect major brands have finally reached the boardroom.

In several earnings calls this month, executives at high-profile advertisers like Airbnb and Expedia fielded questions from analysts over the impact of generative AI chatbots or Google’s AI Overviews feature on their businesses. It’s a sign that alarm bells are ringing.

“It’s going to be really tricky for brands to play in this new space,” said Daniel Moreno, a senior SEO and GEO consultant at Dept U.K.

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As it ramps up push to fund AI bets, Meta makes a new play for agencies

Meta may be automating more of the tasks agencies once handled but it’s not ready to sideline them altogether.

The tech company is pitching a new agency team to independent agencies, according to three agency execs who are familiar with the situation. Dubbed the “Agency Growth Collective”, the move is framed as a way for agencies to join “to achieve greater success on their [Meta’s] platform,” said one exec, who has been pitched it.

It’s a shift from the way the platform has previously worked with agencies. Typically, agencies are appointed a single Meta rep as their go-to platform exec, whom they meet with periodically to discuss what more they can get out of the platform — including new features, or whatever else the agency needs from the platform to commit more ad dollars to it.

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