Marketers are using AI search concerns to argue for higher media budgets

September 15, 2026 Presented by What connects running shoes, home insurance and luxury cars? Customers take their time picking the right one. They research, they compare, and they consider. Increasingly, they do all those things using generative AI tools; 61% of U.S. consumers used an AI assistant for shopping research or decisions in the past three months, according to a survey of 2,600 shoppers by digital agency Dept. Advertisement TOP STORY Managing Through Crisis Marketers are using AI search concerns to argue for higher media budgets Brands with long consideration journeys, like insurance and cars, are paying close attention to shifting search behaviors. They’re using that concern to make their case for more media dollars. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW Join us Oct. 26–28 in Newport Beach for three days of actionable insights, valuable connections and candid conversations about what’s next in media buying. Connect one-on-one with leaders from Digitas, Assembly, Omnicom and more. As AI tools become more accessible to both consumers and businesses, they are becoming more ubiquitous across e-commerce sites themselves. Partner insights from Swap. Measuring CTV on last-touch alone tells only part of the story. Across hundreds of advertisers, 30% of campaigns are significantly undervalued by last-touch models alone. Partner insights from Moloco. A MESSAGE FROM TATARI Reddit CEO Steve Huffman returns to Forward 2026 Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman returns to Forward 2026 for a live keynote and an open Q&A on what’s next in advertising and how real engagement happens. The forum will offer sharp ideas from today’s leading growth marketers, followed by cocktails and networking on The Glasshouse’s terrace. Forward is free to attend, but space is limited. RSVP now THE BUSINESS OF AI The Business of AI In Graphic Detail: Inside the scramble to measure a brand’s AI visibility Marketers are catching on that AI doesn’t rank their brands, it decides whether it gets brought up at all. That shift is already reshaping how the industry works. Ad Tech Briefing: AI is reinforcing Big Tech’s grip on advertising growth Why advertising’s AI boom favors Google, Meta and Amazon, even if marketers are uneasy. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM BLUEPEAR How brands are evaluating affiliate marketing and stopping budget leakage For online fashion outlet Otrium, auditing its affiliate program uncovered nearly 5,000 suspicious transactions, preventing €40,842 in commission leakage in only 3 months. MEDIA & PLATFORMS Marketing on Platforms Electronic Arts is bundling its games to make a bigger pitch to advertisers The gaming company is betting that giving brands access to multiple franchises in one buy will help it win bigger advertising budgets. Marketing on Platforms As more surfaces become ad inventory, the economics get complicated Ads now invade fridges, dashboards and AI search, testing consumers’ tolerance and the value exchange. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM TALON.ONE Guide: WTF is agentic commerce? Agentic commerce differs from earlier forms of automated shopping in that AI agents don’t wait for human input to approve each step. They set a goal, evaluate options against structured criteria and execute on it. Advertisement PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CONTENTFUL How AI is impacting content marketing According to a new survey from Contentful and Benchmarker, AI hasn’t replaced content outsourcing, but it is used most heavily in ideation, writing and editing. ICYMI The Creator Economy What we’ve learned from the creator snafus at this year’s US Open Everyone’s hating on creators at the US Open, but they’re here to stay in the tennis world, just perhaps with some adjustments. 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