Title: Today’s AI Stories and Takeaways for Marketers
Date: Friday, 16 May 2025
As the pace of AI adoption in marketing accelerates, today’s updates highlight both the promise and pitfalls marketers are encountering while integrating AI into their strategies. From emerging tools and smarter ad formats to the complexities of human-AI collaboration and evolving compensation models, here are the insights shaping how marketing teams should adapt.
AI Agents Are Changing the Marketing Funnel
AI is becoming a new “buyer” in the customer journey, drastically impacting the dynamics of traditional marketing. As AI agents begin making product recommendations and purchasing decisions on behalf of users, marketers are now tasked with optimising for machine decision-makers as well as humans.
However, challenges persist. Klarna’s failed attempt to fully replace its marketing team with AI highlights that going all-in on automation can lead to performance gaps. Successful marketing strategies will depend on hybrid models that integrate AI to enhance (rather than replace) creative and strategic human work.
Meanwhile, marketers are also grappling with integrating AI tools in ways that align with brand goals, values, and KPIs — demonstrating that operational and cultural readiness remains as crucial as tech investment.
The AI MarTech Stack Expands
We’re seeing a new generation of AI-powered marketing platforms take shape:
– BlueConic added generative AI to its customer data platform to improve personalisation and real-time segmentation.
– PubMatic launched an AI-enhanced buyer platform aimed at streamlining media buying.
– Algolia unveiled Smart Groups, an AI-assisted tool that blends manual merchandising controls with algorithmic content ranking.
These tools aim to reduce time-to-insight and increase personalisation, but adoption also demands more data management maturity and cross-functional integration.
Efficiency Gains, But Traditional Compensation Lags Behind
AI is delivering on promised efficiencies — especially in content production, where significant cost savings are being reported. However, compensation models across agencies and brands have not yet caught up.
While productivity gains mount, the transition towards outcome-based compensation remains sluggish. Attribution complexity is one barrier, but so is the inertia of retainer and FTE-based contracts. Some forward-looking agencies are moving towards “marketing-as-a-service” frameworks, pricing work based on deliverables — a trend to watch as AI scales.
Streaming Ads Get Smarter and More Shoppable
Streaming advertising continues to evolve rapidly, powered by AI and enhanced data signals.
– AI and automatic content recognition (ACR) are enabling sentiment-based ad placements, helping brands align messaging with the emotional context of scenes. LG and Tubi are leading in this space with AI-curated ad slots such as “Tubi Moments.”
– Shoppable formats — like QR codes and pause ads — are gaining momentum across platforms (LG, Samsung, Vizio), supporting direct in-screen conversion.
– ESPN and others are capitalising on unified data strategies to enable end-to-end measurement, signalling a shift towards holistic attribution for CTV and linear media.
These innovations are moving digital ad buying from demographics to context, emotion and real outcomes.
What This Means for Marketers
– Optimise for AI Buyers: As AI agents influence purchasing, ensure that your product metadata, availability and relevance signals are machine-readable and optimised.
– Maintain Human-Centred Creativity: Use AI to enhance production and insight, but keep storytelling and strategic alignment human-driven.
– Invest in AI Ops Readiness: AI tools are only as powerful as the workflows, training and data quality they run on. Focus on building organisational agility alongside tool adoption.
– Prepare for Output-Based Pricing: Whether in-house or agency-side, expect growing pressure to shift compensation from hours to outcomes.
– Embrace Contextual & Shoppable Video Formats: Develop creative assets tailored for emotion- and moment-based placement in streaming environments, and design for instant engagement.
The marketing landscape is evolving fast — keeping a close eye on these developments is key to staying both relevant and competitive.
