Week In Review: Daily Mail reports an 89 percent decrease in web traffic because of AI, online retailers see 4,700 percent surge in traffic since last year, and J.Crew gets hit with backlash from Instagram users due to AI-use in ad.
Brands and Agencies
Omnicom, DDB & Whirlpool Sued Over AI Cannes Entry
Agency DM9 (part of Omnicom’s DDB network) and Whirlpool are facing a lawsuit filed by US State Senator DeAndrea Salvador, who alleges the AI-altered inclusion of clips from her 2018 TED Talk were used without her consent and submitted to Cannes Lions’ Creative Data Grand Prix. The campaign was withdrawn after an investigation found the agency had used AI-generated material in the entry – including fake footage from CNN Brasil covering the campaign. Salvador claims the ad caused “significant emotional distress” and misrepresented her message and identity for commercial gain.
J.Crew Sparks Backlash Over AI-Supported Ads on Instagram
American retailer J.Crew’s latest Instagram promotion for its collaboration with trainer brand Vans drew criticism when users spotted AI might have been used. Visual distortions, such as a foot bending backward and distorted shadows, made viewers question if AI-generated content, rather than real photography, was present in the ad. In response, J.Crew updated the posts to credit “Digital art by: @samfinn.studio,” an ‘AI photographer’ that blends real photos with distortions. This controversy underscores growing consumer sensitivity to AI usage in ads.
Carrefour and Publicis Launch First Fully AI-Generated Campaign
French supermarket Carrefour has teamed up with Publicis Conseil, the holding group’s international creative agency based in Paris, to launch an AI-generated back-to-school advert. The campaign, titled ‘Back to School at Low Prices’, is the first international campaign to be created entirely using AI for TV and digital. The back-to-school ads have rolled out across France, Italy, Belgium, and Romania. Using AI, the campaign has been tailored to each region.
Media
Daily Mail Cites Major Traffic Drop and Urges CMA to Act
DMG Media, the owner of the Daily Mail, has appealed to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for regulatory intervention, citing an 89 percent drop in click-through rates from Google searches that include AI Overviews – where visitors bypass site visits entirely. The decline was seen across both desktop (from 25.2 percent down to 2.8 percent) and mobile searches. DMG Media said users are likely to spend less time on its websites and also accused Google of prioritising links to YouTube in AI Overviews, a company that it owns.
YouTube Faces Backlash for Secretly Editing Creator Videos with AI
YouTube has come under fire after admitting to running an undisclosed test, altering Shorts videos with machine learning without disclosure or consent. Users reported subtle changes to video details including smoother textures, shifted facial features, and distorted objects, sparking concerns about creative control and platform transparency. Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s head of editorial, posted on X: “We’re running an experiment on select YouTube Shorts that uses traditional machine learning technology to unblur, denoise and improve clarity in videos during processing (similar to what a modern smartphone does when you record a video).”
Will Smith Accused of Using AI to Fake Concert Crowds in Gig Promo
Will Smith is facing intense scrutiny after fans noticed distortions, including crowds of fans moving in unison, in a recent concert promotional video, sparking claims he used AI-generated footage to inflate audience size. While the video portrays energetic fans cheering him on, critics have slammed the visuals as “AI crowds” and accused it of undermining the authenticity and transparency of the promo videos. The incident highlights growing concern over AI’s influence on creator content and audience trust.
Netflix Establishes GenAI Guidelines for Production Partners
Netflix has introduced its first comprehensive set of guidelines for the responsible use of GenAI in content production. The company acknowledges GenAI as a “valuable creative aid” but insists its use must be transparent, ethical, and legally compliant. Netflix has issued its first formal guidelines for how partners can use GenAI in creating shows and films, underscoring both the opportunities and risks the technology presents.The guidelines outline five core principles: AI outputs must not replicate copyrighted or unowned material, GenAI tools should not store or reuse production inputs, they must operate in secure environments, generated content should be temporary, and AI must never replace performances covered by trade unions without explicit consent.
Tech
4,700 Percent Surge in GenAI Traffic to Retail Sites, Says Adobe Report
Adobe’s latest data shows that AI tools like chatbots and AI browser features have driven a 4,700 percent year-over-year increase in traffic to US retail websites in July 2025. This growth builds on a 1,300 percent surge during the 2024 holiday season and reflects consumers’ growing reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT for shopping research and decision-making. Users arriving via GenAI sources are notably more engaged – spending 32 percent longer on site, visiting 10 percent more pages, and bouncing 27 percent less than those from traditional traffic sources.
51 Percent of UK Adults Fear AI Will Alter or Replace Their Jobs
A new poll by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals that 51 percent of UK adults – and notably 62 percent of those aged 25-34 are increasingly anxious that AI could undermine their job security or alter working conditions. The survey comes amid faltering job growth and recent announcements from BT, Amazon, and Microsoft linking AI to potential job reductions. As a response, the TUC is calling for a ‘worker-first’ AI strategy that includes public investment into reskilling initiatives, and ‘digital dividends’ to ensure productivity gains benefit the workforce.
Meta Signs Over $10B Six-Year AI Cloud Deal with Google
Meta Platforms has entered into a landmark agreement with Google Cloud, committing over $10bn across a six-year term to support its AI infrastructure needs. This move is part of Meta’s wider strategy to enhance its computing capabilities and deliver more AI tools to more people. The deal provides Meta with access to Google’s servers, storage, networking, and other core cloud services tailored for AI workloads. This partnership underscores a broader industry shift as tech giants seek flexible, multi-cloud approaches to meet soaring compute demands. It also stands as a major win for Google Cloud, which recently reported 32 percent year-over-year revenue growth – a clear signal of rising demand for AI infrastructure.
Meta Licenses Midjourney to Power Visuals
Meta has entered a strategic licensing agreement with GenAI studio Midjourney to integrate its image and video generation AI models and products into Meta AI tools. The tool will benefit advertisers and marketers using Meta’s AI tools for generating ad content – the tech giant says that almost 2 million advertisers are using its video generation products. “To ensure Meta is able to deliver the best possible products for people it will require taking an all-of-the-above approach. This means world-class talent, ambitious compute roadmap, and working with the best players across the industry,” said Meta’s chief AI officer Alexandr Wang.
Elon Musk’s xAI Files an Antitrust Suit Against Apple and OpenAI
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI has launched a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of engaging in anticompetitive behaviour. The suit claims Apple’s exclusive integration of ChatGPT into its iOS system gives OpenAI an unfair advantage, and diminishing competitors like xAI’s Grok and limiting users’ choices. The companies argue that this arrangement also includes manipulation of App Store rankings, which allegedly suppresses Grok’s visibility and hinders its ability to compete effectively.
Meta Unveils AI Ad Features for Holiday Goers
Meta has rolled out a new suite of AI-powered ad tools designed to help brands to work with creators and maximise performance during the holiday shopping season. Updates include the ability to merge creator partnership ads with Advantage+ catalog ads via the new “Show Products” feature. According to Meta, this will deliver a 4 percent lift in click-throughs and a 3 percent boost in conversions. While a new “Flexible media” option uses AI to optimise placements and has been shown to deliver a 23 percent jump in conversions. To combat ad fatigue, Meta also introduced “Related media,” which suggests new creative assets, alongside creative insights that provide performance feedback.
Perplexity Offers Publishers Revenue Share Through ‘Comet Plus’
AI startup Perplexity has announced Comet Plus, a premium subscription tier for its AI search browser that gives users access to licensed publisher content and allocates $42.5m in shared revenue. Participating publishers will receive 80 percent of subscription income, with Perplexity retaining the rest, as part of an effort to address mounting legal challenges from media groups including The New York Times, BBC, Forbes, and Condé Nast over unauthorised content use. The initiative comes as publishers face steep traffic declines from AI search tools that summarise content directly, reducing site visits. Positioned as an alternative to licensing agreements, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas framed the move as creating a “better internet” where publishers still get paid.
Number of the Week
$46.7 billion. That’s how much AI chip maker Nvidia reported making in the three months to July, a boost of 57 percent year-on-year. The AI giant released its much-anticipated financial results this week, showing not-so-suprising figures that beat market expectations. Nvidia’s chips are central to AI models, and this year reached a $4 trillion valuation – making it the most lucrative company on the planet. Despite this success, investors are watching AI markets closely to see if the ‘bubble’ will burst, or if AI investments are sustainable.
