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The Top Three

🏆 THE INDUSTRY’S MOST IMPORTANT STORIES TODAY

🥇 AI MODE MOVES IN

Google $GOOGL ( ▲ 3.74% ) is ramping up efforts to push AI-powered search, now testing an “AI Mode” button directly in the Search bar on its homepage. While the tech giant has previously promoted AI Mode with promotions via in-SERP banners, the feature is now getting prime real estate, sometimes even replacing the long-standing “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. more

• By default, the button appears gray with “AI Mode” text, but it adds colour when you hover your mouse over it.

• Clicking it opens the AI Mode interface.

🥈 NEW AMAZON CTV AD FORMATS

Amazon Ads $AMZN ( ▲ 8.11% ) announced three new connected TV ad formats today: contextually relevant pause ads, shoppable ads for Amazon products, and shoppable ads for off-Amazon products. These ads will appear on Prime Video’s ad-supported content, which the company said now reaches 130 million viewers monthly, up from 115 million last year, with 88% of those viewers also shopping on Amazon. more

• Pause Ads use AI to display relevant ads when a viewer pauses content, making sure the ad is suitable to the show or movie.

• Shoppable Ads for Amazon Products let viewers add items to their Amazon cart during the ad.

• Shoppable Ads for Off-Amazon Products let viewers send ad info to their phones for brands not sold on Amazon, such as a travel ad offering more details on beach trips.

• Amazon said pause ads will launch in Q4, while the other two new formats are set to roll out in Q3.

🥉 TITKOK OPENS DMs ON LIVE

TikTok is testing a new lead-gen tool for livestreamers: the ability to switch on DMs during broadcasts so viewers can message them. Some creators are now seeing a “LIVE setup for client acquisition” option, letting them activate DMs mid-stream. more

• This adds a message CTA button to the broadcast.

• No word yet on a full rollout.

Today’s Other News

📰 EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MATTERS

• Google Ads confirmed a "rare" bug caused over-reported click-through rates due to invalid clicks being processed later than the corresponding impressions. One user shared an example of an ad group with more than 3,000 impressions and a 107% CTR. Google is aware of the issue and said it's working on a fix. more

• Meta $META ( ▲ 7.92% ) is now expanding its “Opportunity Score” metric to more users through a new alert in Ads Manager, providing AI-based recommendations. The Opportunity Score gives a 0-100 point summary of how well a campaign is set up to maximize performance, offering feedback to help advertisers. more

• Roblox $RBLX ( ▲ 2.24% ) is pitching some serious numbers to sell branded worlds, with a new study it commissioned showing that users’ attention to branded content on Roblox was 100 times higher than social ads and 35 times higher than streaming TV ads. The study also found a 211% increase in unaided brand recall versus social ads and a 95% lift compared to streaming TV. (Though, it's worth noting again, the study was commissioned by Roblox itself.) more

• Brand safety woes continue to threaten ad dollars for news publishers. A new report found that 40% of media buyers cite performance issues as the main reason for cutting spend, matched equally by concerns over brand safety. more

  • It’s not just about ROI: 40% of advertisers point to brand safety fears, including worries about media reputations (like X) and supporting harmful environments tied to hate speech or violence.

• Digiday reports today that marketers attending this year’s TV upfronts are expected to be cautious due to ongoing economic uncertainty. Media buyers anticipate slower negotiations and potentially reduced spend as they weigh commitments amidst the risk of an economic downturn. While TV companies are offering more flexibility, marketers are wary of locking into large investments. Live sports, however, are expected to remain a strong selling point for broadcast networks, with NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and college football driving demand.

• 👀 No Medicaid, No Moderation: Late last night, House Republicans added new language to the Budget Reconciliation bill that not only slashes Medicaid access for millions of Americans but also introduces a sweeping ban on state-level AI regulation for the next 10 years. The broad wording, covering everything from generative AI to older automated systems, could block enforcement of existing and future state laws designed to protect people from the risks of AI. more

• Cloudflare’s First-party Mode is now Google Tag Gateway: Cloudflare and Google have partnered to release first-party domain mapping for Google Tag — now available on all Cloudflare plans. It masks Google Tag URLs with a first-party domain, routing them to Cloudflare, and the proxy will then redirect them to Google. more

The Ticker

📈 HOW DIGITAL MARKETING STOCKS ARE DOING

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