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, TikTok users are given the option to remove AI content from their feed, Adobe acquires GEO platform Semrush, and Channel 4 launches a self-service AI ads tool for SMEs.
Top Stories of the Week
TikTok Lets Users Choose If They See AI Content
TikTok is testing a feature letting users dial up or down AI-generated videos, now topping 1.3bn on the platform. As AI content surges, TikTok is adding clearer AI labels, an “AI-made” watermark, and a $2m literacy fund for organisations and experts to learn about using AI responsibly.
Why it matters: The move aims to reassure advertisers, who have raised concerns about their ads appearing next to AI-generated content, amid cuts in TikTok’s trust and safety teams and rising “AI slop” on the platform.
Adobe to Acquire GEO Platform Semrush
Creative software company Adobe is acquiring AI brand-visibility platform Semrush for $1.9bn, expanding its marketing stack with GEO and SEO capabilities. Semrush, which posted 33 percent YoY revenue growth, will help Adobe give marketers unified insight into brand visibility across LLMs and the web.
Why it matters: With GenAI tools sending 1200 percent more traffic to retail sites (Adobe study), the Adobe–Semrush deal underscores a wider shift: traditional SEO is no longer enough. Brands that fail to optimise for AI, risk not being seen by consumers.
Channel 4 Provides AI Ad Making Service to SMBs
Channel 4 launched “Smart Ad Engine” which uses GenAI to help SMEs create TV ads by repurposing their existing online digital content for free. Paid services will support campaign management and BCAP-compliant creative.
Why it matters: Targeting “new-to-TV” brands, Channel 4’s Smart Ad Engine aims to open up a new stream of revenue for the broadcaster, giving SMEs the opportunity to create ready-for-TV ads and reach new audiences with GenAI.
Quote of the Week
Brands & Agencies
Wavemaker Builds Recruitment AI Avatar for The Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is piloting “Atlas,” a real-time, animated conversational avatar powered by a large language model (LLM) to answer recruitment questions. Revealed through work led by WPP’s Wavemaker, Atlas is the first citizen-facing Government recruitment AI assistant. It has helped generate 89,000 expressions of interest from users and cut the workload of real life agent teams by 76 percent.
Levi Strauss & Co. and Microsoft Collaborate on ‘Superagent’
Apparel brand Levi Strauss & Co. and Microsoft announced a partnership to advance retail experiences and develop a specialised ‘superagent’. The collaboration aims to foster more personalised retail experiences and assist LS&Co. employees internally.
Target and OpenAI Announce Retail Partnership
US retailer Target is partnering with OpenAI to drive more personalised shopping experiences online and in-store. The collaboration includes the integration of the Target app into ChatGPT, an AI-powered ‘Shopping Assistant’ and ‘Gift Finder’ for Target, and AI solutions which answer customer queries.
Havas Invests In AI Brand Insights Platform
Vurvey, an AI-powered platform which gathers insights for brands, earned $8.5 million in funding, including from advertising agency Havas. The investment aligns with Havas’ AI strategy, and will power AI integration across Havas’ Creative Networks.
Marketers See AI As Transformational, But Aren’t Seeing Results Yet
A new Gartner study finds marketers expect AI to transform their roles, yet few see real business gains due to fragmented adoption, Marketing Dive reported. The research found AI is disrupting core channels like search, social and display, forcing CMOs to rethink strategy. Nearly two-thirds of marketers believe AI will change their role dramatically in the next two years, but only 5 percent report significant gains from GenAI adoption.
Media
Former Channel 4 CEO Says AI Will Rule Out TV Entry Roles
Former Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon told Broadcast’s Creative AI Summit (18 Nov) that AI will eliminate many low-level TV jobs — from editing to pitch-deck creation — as “grunt work” becomes fully automated. But she stressed human curation and judgment will only grow in importance, arguing AI can’t originate truly divergent, standout ideas.
Universal, Warner, and Sony Sign Licensing Deals With AI Company
Major music labels Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment signed licensing agreements with Klay Vision Inc., an AI music creation startup. The aim of the agreements is to provide more support to artists by protecting their copyrighted work, and to help them gain more creative opportunities.
Amazon Prime Video Introduces AI Video Recaps
Amazon Prime Video introduced Video Recaps, an AI-powered feature which summarises events from television programmes. The feature uses the technology from X-Ray Recaps, a previously released feature which provides text summaries of shows without including any spoilers.
Musixmatch Launches AI Agent For Publishers and Creators
Music data company Musixmatch announced the release of Music Lens, an AI agent which turns music catalogs into insights for publishers and creators. The tool can also generate relevant visuals and help creators view royalty details. The release aims to open up more licensing opportunities for music professionals.
AI-Generated Propaganda Content on the Rise
A new Graphika report finds major state-linked propaganda networks, including those tied to China and Russia, are heavily using GenAI – but producing mostly low-quality “AI slop.” NBC News reported the research findings that propaganda campaigns are responsible for a fraction of AI content online, including influencer personas on social media.
Tech
Gemini 3 Expands AI Search and Creative Capabilities
Google Released Gemini 3, the latest version of its multifaceted AI assistant. Gemini 3 brings advanced features to Google Search and AI Mode, offering deeper reasoning abilities to answer ultra-specific queries. The upgraded assistant is also integrated into Google Videos, allowing users to include AI features such as voiceovers and visuals to their video projects.
Teads Launches AI Eye Tracking Tool
Ad tech company Teads has launched Predictive AI, a pre-testing tool that forecasts creative performance using eye-tracking and neuroscience data. It scores ads on attention, clarity, engagement, memory and impact, giving marketers evidence-based guidance before campaigns run. The system aims to shift creative development from reactive measurement to proactive, insight-driven optimisation.
Google Launches Nano Banana Pro
Google announced an upgrade to its AI image generating assistant with Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image) which pushes image generation into a more advanced, utility-driven era. It delivers context-rich visuals, multilingual text, high-fidelity compositions and editing controls. The new update is designed to help marketers build better brand images for promotions.
MiQ Partners with TitanOS
MiQ has partnered with smart TV operating system Titan OS to become the only managed-service provider with access to Titan’s OS-level viewing data, expanding its European CTV signals to 20m devices. Titan data will feed into MiQ’s AI-powered Sigma platform in 2026 to fuel activation and attribution.
Google Adds New Demand Gen Tools for Advertisers
Google Ads rolled out its latest Demand Gen upgrades, including AI image and video enhancement features, performance testing, and suitability controls. The AI-powered campaign tool continues to drive success for advertisers, with users seeing an average 20 percent increase in conversions, Google stated.
Microsoft Integrates AI Agents Into Windows 11
Microsoft is bringing AI agents to its Windows 11 taskbar. The agents are embedded into the browser taskbar to help users automate tasks, manage workflows, and summarise information directly through the operating system.
Start-Up of the Week
AI visibility startup Peec AI raised $21m in a series A round led by VC firm Singular and with support from Antler, Combination VC, identity.vc, and S20. Peec AI stated it plans to use the funds to scale its platform tracking brand visibility across AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. The Berlin-based company’s real-time data helps brands understand and influence AI visibility in a world where brand performance is increasingly being driven by AI search.
Number of the Week
That’s the percentage of creator-led campaigns using AI, according to a study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report found the creator economy ad market will hit $37bn this year, growing four-times the rate of the media industry. Marketers are most keen to team up with content creators managed by YouTube, BrandConnect, and TikTok, with 29 percent of marketers saying they plan to use AI in creator campaigns next year, indicating an increase in AI-use in creator-focused content.
