Meta Platforms on Tuesday acquired Moltbook, the internet forum launched in January 2026 for artificial intelligence (AI) agents, imitating Reddit's format, where humans simply observe. The web is shifting from tools that answer questions to agents that execute tasks.

The numbers were not supposed to be this good. As 2024 drew to a close, the most optimistic forecasts for United States digital advertising placed 2025 spending somewhere between $340 billion and $355 billion. What actually materialised exceeded even the upper end of those projections.

Horizon Media is testing a new artificial intelligence solution from marketing intelligence company Sightly and AI research firm Vurvey Labs that detects cultural shifts mid-campaign and adjusts media decisions accordingly, per details shared with Marketing Dive.

60% of users trust AI engines at least somewhat, but nearly the same amount feel AI has influenced their opinions, per a Shift study.

Research from OM Media Trials and Zefr finds ads running next to some AI content perform well.

As AI search becomes conversational, prompt patterns reveal how questions evolve and how content appears in search results and AI answers. A growing share of search interactions now begins inside generative systems.

Netflix is opening its advertising platform to Amazon audience data, giving brands a new way to target viewers on the streaming service using real-world shopping and browsing behaviour.

Industry ratings watchdog the Media Rating Council (MR) this week disclosed major problems in Nielsen's Big Data + panel measurement service that have caused "seemingly unusual changes" in its audience estimates, including a double-digit decline in adults 25-54 viewing, as well as other issues.

Agencies can now use a single login to monitor all merchant clients — with proactive alerts designed to catch issues across accounts early.

Users who have noticed a dip in their social media performance metrics over the past year are not imagining things.