Publishers score Google’s ad tech remedies: they're progress, but far from a clean win

September 23, 2026 After years of waiting for the DOJ to finally curb Google’s ad tech power, publishers are finding the devil in these new remedies. Senior execs were asked to rate each remedy on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 meant “cosmetic or largely symbolic” and 10 meant “materially changes how publishers can compete and make money,” and explain the thinking behind their scores. TOP STORY The Programmatic Publisher Publishers’ scorecard on Google’s ad tech remedies: they're progress, but far from a clean win After years of waiting for the DOJ to finally curb Google’s ad tech power, publishers are finding the devil in these new remedies. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW Join us Nov. 4 in New York City for Digiday Creator Strategies, bringing together creators, brands, agencies and technology leaders shaping the future of the creator economy. When measurement frameworks don’t suit specific channels, campaigns that are working get defunded and campaigns that aren’t get scaled. Partner insights from Moloco. New purchasing pathways — especially social and agentic commerce — are leading to environments where discovery and purchase happen simultaneously. Partner insights from Circana. Advertisement MARKETING Brands in Culture Marketers have bought into microdramas — but a lack of ROI might make them irrelevant Microdramas are attracting brand dollars and audiences. The harder question is whether the format can translate that attention into meas. Marketing on Platforms In Graphic Detail: LLMs keep citing YouTube in search results The videos getting cited reveal how different AI search can be from traditional Google search. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM AUDACY Why mid-sized podcasts are an untapped advertising opportunity The biggest podcast audience isn’t necessarily the most valuable one. According to a new report, tightly engaged, mid-sized shows can outperform celebrity podcasts, with advertisers on mid-sized podcasts seeing 22% lower CPA. AI Revenue Generation What The New York Times looks for in AI licensing partnerships The New York Times is seeing a more publisher-friendly AI licensing ecosystem, but the marketplaces still have a long way to go. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM ARC XP Publishers adopt new content strategies in the AI search era Nearly nine out of 10 publishers (85%) are actively optimizing content for AI discovery or citation to combat the effects of zero-click search on referral traffic, according to a new Digiday and Arc XP survey. Advertisement DIGIDAY+ Member exclusive Future of TV Briefing: Inside The Wall Street Journal’s new shows strategy This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how The Wall Street Journal is switching up its podcast operations to accommodate video and social. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM RAPTIVE Live session: Revenue resilience strategies for publishers and building for what’s next Join this virtual event on Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. ET to learn why publishers are focusing on the fundamentals – including simplifying workflows and technology – as they build more resilient and more profitable operating models. ICYMI Google on Trial Who wins and loses from the remedies to Google's ad tech monopoly Google avoided a breakup. Here’s who actually benefits from what it got instead. Google on Trial Remedies vs reality: Publishers weigh what Google's ad tech break up could really deliver Publishers are content to see some form of recompense, but cynical that any remedy will occur in time to repair the damage currently being done by declining referral traffic. 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