Paul Evans explores the gap between YouTube’s claims and its conduct in this piece for The Media Leader. He looks at what distinguishes it from TV and considers how advertisers should evaluate the platform. Well worth a read.

Google has introduced four new experimental ad-detection tools with the goal of providing additional metrics for paid media teams that buy and sell advertising, as identifying the value of website visits have become more challenging for advertisers since the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI).

The findings suggest that comparisons and recommendations delivered through AI can influence choices before consumers reach a brand’s website or a retailer, according to WPP Media's researchers, complicating how marketers measure the work that leads to a sale.

For the first half of 2026, Publicis Media was tops in new business with billings of $3.24 billion, according to agency research firm COMvergence. That’s a global net figure that factors in wins, losses and retentions. Group level wins included Adidas (Greater China), HP, Microsoft and Prada. Omnicom Media ranked a close second with $3.15 billion with wins including Delta, IBM and Subway.

Graeme Griffiths, co-director of media research at the IPA, commented that the survey data “shows planning is in good health”. “Planners play a crucial role in bringing structure, insight and foresight to decision-making, ensuring agencies and brands can respond effectively to change. That has never been more important than today.”

A foundational cybersecurity concept called 'principle of least privilege' points toward security lessons and what companies like Amazon, Google, OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta allow AI models to do.

Amazon has restricted its customers from using Muse AI — Meta’s newest artificial intelligence agent — while shopping on its ecommerce platform, following denied requests that Meta remove its agent from the retail site.

Pinterest - Is putting ads directly into visual search results. LinkedIn - Is testing a new feed that only shows posts from people you actually follow or have connected with. Meta - Launched Muse for Mac, allowing users to give the AI agent permission to perform tasks directly on their computer. YouTube - Has new guidance for creators and brands that want to change the direction of a channel without losing their existing audience.

AI isn't hurting content performance. Dropping proven content strategies is the bigger reason content isn't delivering, survey suggests. Just 14% of marketers said their blogs delivered “strong results.”

The report describes the growth as 'unusually rapid' and frames AI as supporting rather than disrupting an already-concentrating market, with spend flowing toward the largest platforms. The number to sit with is this: within four years, roughly a quarter of US ad dollars will not be steered by a human media buyer at all. Optimisation, targeting and allocation increasingly happen inside black-box automated systems.