Welcome to Week In Review
From new tools transforming creative work, to campaigns reshaped by automation, we track the biggest shifts at the intersection of AI, media, and marketing. This week, ChatGPT ads expands to 31 European markets, IAB updates its AI disclosure framework, and OpenAI backs away from Reddit citations.
Top Stories of the Week
ChatGPT Ads Expands to 31 European Markets
Six months after beginning tests in the US, OpenAI announced this week that ChatGPT Ads will expand to 31 European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria, with ads set to serve on August 24. Advertisers will initially be able to access ChatGPT Ads through the OpenAI Ads Solutions team, agency partners and tech partners, with self service access through Ads Manager to come later this summer.
Why it matters:
This launch into Europe is the largest single geographic expansion of ChatGPT Ads since the business launched in February. The European market is the most regulated advertising environment in the world, with the EU AI Act’s transparency obligations now active from August 2nd, OpenAI will have some work to do to navigate advertising in this region.
IAB Updates AI Disclosure Framework as Legal Requirements Grow
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released version two of its AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework, establishing an industry baseline for when and how AI use in ads should be disclosed as laws and regulations surrounding AI disclosure come into effect in the EU, Asia, New York and California.
Why it matters:
The initial framework, which is voluntary, was released in January. The new one warns advertisers that overusing AI disclosures could lead to ‘label fatigue’, making them less effective in the long term, recommending a balance between transparency and business objectives.
OpenAI Backs Away from Reddit Citations
Reddit’s citation rate in ChatGPT responses has dropped from appearing as many as 4.5 percent of all outputs to approximately 0.5 percent, following a change in how OpenAI pulls information, as it has switched to going to specific sites rather than the open web as a starting point, Gizmodo reported.
Why it matters:
Simultaneously, Reddit is bolstering its own AI tools that let users engage with posts in new ways. This move signals how many publishers, who have so far fed AI tools, are now attempting to compete with those same models through their own offerings. So far, Reddit has been a key source for GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) recommendations. If LLMs are more likely to get information from other sources, this shakes up that narrative.
Quote of the Week
Brands & Agencies
Omnicom Outsources Team That Built Its AI Platform
Adweek reported exclusively that Omnicom has transferred at least 468 engineers and product staff who built its Omni AI platform to third party IT services firm Endava – across the US, UK, India and Malaysia – with the moves happening in June and July, months after the revamped platform was revealed at CES. Alongside these transfers, approximately 50 US-based employees from the Omni Platforms Product and Engineering division were laid off in June.
PepsiCo Launches Global AI Marketing Transformation Review
PepsiCo has initiated a global review focused on AI-driven marketing transformation inviting pitches from major agency networks and management consultancies – reflecting a shift where AI capability is being evaluated alongside, and in some cases, ahead of, traditional creative and media expertise. The review aligns with PepsiCo’s publicly stated ambition to become “agentic AI-first.”
LiveRamp Shareholders Approve Publicis $2.2 Billion Deal
LiveRamp shareholders voted to approve Publicis Groupe’s $2.2 billion acquisition this week, moving the deal closer to completion and cementing what will be one of the most consequential data infrastructure moves in the ad industry. The vote also rejected a proposed $82.6 million executive pay package tied to the deal.
Media
The Atlantic Hedges Against AI and Builds Games
Digiday reported this week that publication The Atlantic has launched a games vertical – puzzles, word games, and interactive features – explicitly built by human editors and writers, positioning the investment as a deliberate hedge against AI-automated content.
UK Cinemas Block Meta Glasses Over Piracy Fears
UK cinemas, including Odeon and Vue, are blocking the use of Meta’s AI-enabled smart glasses that have a built-in mini-camera, over piracy fears, Reuters reported. This move serves as one of the first concrete policy responses to the roll-out of Meta glasses in a commercial environment. The AI wearable has gotten backlash from much of the public, as it has been accused of primarily being used to film people without consent.
A new study from Pew Research analysed nearly half a million English-language webpages and found that in a snapshot of pages published after ChatGPT’s launch, 35 percent showed significant signs of AI authorship – .com domains showed AI authorship at around ten times the rate of .edu or .gov domains.
Tech
Reddit Tests AI-Generated Videos That Read Posts
Reddit is experimenting with AI-generated video versions of popular posts and threads, adding a ‘Play’ toggle that lets users switch between the original text and an AI-narrated audio-visual version.
Mobavenue Expands with New Decisioning Layer
Mumbai-based Mobavenue AI has announced the next phase of its adtech platform extending its AI-powered decisioning capabilities across mobile, connected TV and digital out-of-home inventory – positioning itself as a cross-screen performance advertising platform with AI at the decisioning layer rather than as a point solution.
Alipay Launches AI Commerce Platform
The Chinese payment platform Alipay has launched a new AI-powered platform giving merchants on its network access to conversational AI tools for product discovery, customer service, and transaction completion – extending the agentic commerce model into one of Asia’s largest payment and commerce ecosystems.
Startup of the Week
The AI video generation startup founded by former Snap employees raised $400 million from Goldman Sachs and DST Global at a $5.4 billion valuation this week – and Liberty Global Tech Ventures invested alongside.
Number of the Week
The research also found that 42 percent of marketers ignore recommendations because they feel generic or irrelevant to the campaign, 22 percent say the suggestion doesn’t align with strategy and 17 percent cite a lack of explanation or transparency.
