‘They’re going to be extinct at some point’: Why the chief AI officer is a transitional species

June 04, 2026 Presented by The chief AI officer has an expiry date — and that’s the point. That’s the view of James Chandler, chief strategy officer at the Interactive Bureau of Advertising U.K., who sees the role as a means to an end — that end being a business where AI is so embedded it no longer needs a dedicated executive to champion it. Advertisement TOP STORY The Business of AI 'They're going to be extinct at some point': Why the chief AI officer is a transitional species AI has quietly automated large swathes of how ads are bought, from walled garden auctions to the programmatic pipes that fund the open web. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW The website used to be where consumer intent became visible, but that picture is getting harder to read as AI impacts discovery and web signals splinter. Mobile’s measurement playbook offers a roadmap for the web. Partner insights from AppsFlyer. If organic search pageviews are the primary KPI, publishers are optimizing for a shrinking channel. Publishers who shift toward engagement depth, user conversion rates and subscriber lifetime value are best positioned for upcoming platform changes. Partner insights from Piano. With changes to measurement frameworks happening at a record pace, migrating infrastructure is both logistically complex and operationally sensitive. Partner insights from Adjust. A MESSAGE FROM BASIS Why unified, AI-driven advertising is becoming essential Today’s fragmented media landscape isn’t doing modern advertisers any favors, as siloed channel strategies create blind spots and affect results. Basis is helping marketers overcome this with Compass, an agentic AI solution that accelerates planning and activation across all channels, from the open web to walled gardens. And its SmartBid AI optimization technology analyzes dozens of live performance signals to make continuous, goal-aligned adjustments throughout campaigns, so advertisers see stronger results. Read more MEDIA & PLATFORMS Member exclusive Media Briefing: Perplexity’s new ‘trust and transparency’ pitch does little to win over publishers Perplexity wants to be a trusted partner to publishers, but a growing list of copyright lawsuits are making that a difficult sell. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM NEXXEN Why ACR data must live inside the DSP The DSP is the control panel of modern advertising. It determines what runs, where, how often and how success is defined. If ACR data sits outside the DSP, value leaks at every step. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CONTENTFUL As AI becomes standard for scaling marketing, leaders are finding ways to adapt More organizations are using AI to produce more with fewer resources — but the advantage comes from how creative and technical marketers activate AI, not just add it to their tech stack. Advertisement MARKETING The Creator Economy Why creator Lola Torres prefers the stability of affiliate marketing over brand partnerships Creator Lola Torres on the hustle of building her career in affiliate marketing, the challenge of creator programs, and more. Equality and Opportunity Target has alienated Black-owned brands, founders say, as some startups vanish from its shelves Black founders Modern Retail spoke with said they found Target to be a frustrating wholesale partner. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM DIRECTV ADVERTISING National buys alone don’t reach loyal regional and local sports fans Shifting sports rights to streamers has made regional and local sports that much more valuable because fragmentation makes it much harder for national buys alone to reach local fans effectively. ICYMI Member exclusive Future of TV Briefing: How AI agents will figure into this year’s upfront negotiations This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at the conversations that upfront sellers including Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are looking to have with advertisers regarding incorporating AI agents in ad buys. Zero-click Future How publishers are modeling – and mitigating – a future with significantly less Google search traffic Publishers are modeling the business impact of a zero-click future and developing growth strategies for the Google AI search era. Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy