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Weekly updates on the digital marketing news you need to know, including data reform, AI, cookie deprecation and platform updates.

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Google Maps gets smarter with Gemini
AI in digital AI in travel Platforms Platforms in travel

Google Maps gets smarter with Gemini

  • Google Maps is introducing hands‑free, conversational navigation via Gemini: you can ask things like “What vegan‑friendly restaurant’s along my route?” and it will handle multi‑step tasks.
  • It’s adding landmark‑based navigation, meaning directions will reference real‑world visible landmarks (e.g., “turn right after the Thai Siam restaurant”) instead of just street names or distances.
  • There’s a new proactive traffic‑alert system: you’ll get notifications of unexpected closures or heavy jams even if you’re not already navigating.
  • Plus, the “Lens built with Gemini” mode lets you point your camera at a café/shop/restaurant and ask natural questions like “What’s popular here?” or “Should I stop here?” — essentially bridging augmented reality + search.
  • Roll‑out is initially in the U.S. (Android & iOS) for landmark navigation and proactive alerts; Lens mode comes later this month in the U.S.
  • Read more
AI Mode experiments with agentic booking for tickets, restaurants, and more
AI in digital AI in travel Platforms Platforms in travel

AI Mode experiments with agentic booking for tickets, restaurants, and more

  • Google’s AI Mode is now experimenting with agentic booking — meaning it can search across multiple sites and help users book things like restaurants, events and wellness appointments in one go.
  • The rollout is currently US‑only, in English, as part of the Search Labs experiment. Restaurant bookings are available to all eligible users; event tickets and wellness bookings are available to subscribers of Google’s higher tiers (Pro/Ultra) with bigger usage limits.
  • Restaurants: specify party size, date & time, location, cuisine, and AI Mode returns available slots + booking links.
  • Event tickets: users can say e.g. “2 cheap tickets for X”, prefer standing floor etc., and get a list of options + links.
  • Wellness appointments: shows real‑time availability from local booking platforms and links to finalise.
  • And of course travel bookings can’t be far behind with Sundar Pichai stating last week: “We're working on multiple agentic experiences across key verticals such as travel, commerce shopping and so on.”
  • Having real‑time, structured data (availability, pricing, timeslots, etc) and deep‑link-friendly booking flows becomes more important so you’re surfaced in these agentic experiences.
  • Users still complete the actual booking on the provider’s site (AI Mode links through) so you’ll want to ensure your booking UX and tracking is solid.
  • Read more
PayPal partnering with ChatGPT to enable in-chat shopping and payments
AI in digital Platforms

PayPal partnering with ChatGPT to enable in-chat shopping and payments

  • PayPal is teaming up with OpenAI to enable in-chat shopping and payments in ChatGPT via the new “Instant Checkout” feature, launching in 2026.
  • It uses OpenAI’s open-source Agentic Commerce Protocol, letting merchants list products in AI apps and users shop via AI agents.
  • PayPal will support wallet and card payments within ChatGPT, offering buyer/seller protection and handling backend integrations.
  • Merchants’ products across fashion, beauty, home, and electronics will become discoverable in ChatGPT—no setup needed.
  • PayPal is also rolling out an agentic commerce suite for merchants to manage listings, payments, and user insights across AI platforms.
  • Read more
Snap partners with Perplexity to bring more AI to its users
AI in digital Platforms

Snap partners with Perplexity to bring more AI to its users

  • Snap’s partnering with Perplexity to embed its conversational AI search directly into Snapchat from early 2026.
  • The integration will live in Snapchat’s chat interface, offering verified, real-time answers within the app.
  • It’s a $400 million deal (cash + equity) that positions Snap as a major AI platform for mobile-native users.
  • This is Snap’s first large-scale external AI partnership and part of a push to make AI more “social, personal and fun.”
  • Users can still chat with Snap’s existing My AI—Perplexity will complement it as a new answer engine.
  • Read more
Link videos to product listings in Google Merchant Center
Platforms

Link videos to product listings in Google Merchant Center

  • Google Merchant Center has launched a new “Creative Content” section that allows brands to upload and map video assets to product listings — boosting both paid and organic visibility.
  • Videos can come from social channels (including TikTok), the brand’s website or via Google’s own Product Studio — and you can now link specific videos directly to SKUs.
  • Once uploaded, videos in this new section sync automatically with the linked Google Ads asset library — saving time and keeping creative assets aligned across campaigns.
  • The feature shows up in GMC under Creative content → Video assets (below Product Studio) — if your account has it enabled.
  • For marketers: this is an early chance to test how attaching video directly to product listings affects discoverability and performance (especially for e‑commerce) — worth digging in.
  • Read more
Microsoft Copilot’s new AI Search features clickable citations
AI in digital Platforms

Microsoft Copilot’s new AI Search features clickable citations

  • Microsoft Copilot now supports “AI Search” via its generative answers, featuring prominent, clickable citations and an option to view aggregated sources.
  • The update includes a dedicated “Search” mode inside Copilot, enabling users to shift from chat‑style responses to more traditional search‑style results (concise answers or in‑depth summaries depending on the query).
  • Microsoft says this change was designed with publishers and content‑owners in mind, helping to create a “healthy web ecosystem” by making source attribution clearer and encouraging clicks to original content.
  • From an SEO/marketing lens: this means your content has a better shot at being cited directly in Copilot’s answers—so source‑quality, attribution‑friendly content matters more.
  • Read more
Almost half of AI convos return product and brand recommendations unprompted
AI in digital Marketing by numbers

Almost half of AI convos return product and brand recommendations unprompted

  • According to new research by Profound on Zero Click: The Machine Customer Era, almost half of AI chats return product and brand recommendations unprompted.
  • 33.8% - 1 in 3 conversations contained unprompted product recommendations.
  • 41.2% - Almost half of conversations saw the AI mention specific brands, unprompted.
  • 12.3% - 1 in 8 conversations included actual prices or price ranges.
  • Contact us for a copy of the report.
Query Groups now in Google Search Console
Platforms

Query Groups now in Google Search Console

  • Google Search Console has introduced Query groups in its Insights report: similar search queries are now automatically grouped, giving you a clearer high‑level view of what your audience is searching.
  • The groups are generated using AI and can evolve over time; they don’t impact ranking—they’re just for insights.
  • Currently, the feature is rolling out gradually and only available to properties with a large enough volume of search queries.
  • For content strategy, this means you can now more easily spot top‑topic clusters and allocate resources accordingly (e.g., see which ‘theme’ of queries is dropping or growing).
  • Read more
New Investment Strategy tab in Google Ads
Platforms

New Investment Strategy tab in Google Ads

  • Google Ads has introduced a new Investment Strategy tab under the Recommendations page that uses historical performance data to model how additional budget could impact clicks, conversions or conversion value.
  • The tool lets you set either an “additional weekly spend” or a “weekly increase in key metric (e.g., +50 conversions)”, and it then estimates impact and suggests which campaigns should receive the extra budget.
  • It differs from the existing Performance Planner in that it’s budget‑only planning, aimed at short‑term (next ~7 days) increases and does not support bid adjustments or reallocating budget across campaigns.
  • Useful if you’ve got extra spend ready and want to understand where it might do the most good quickly — but less useful for longer‑term strategic planning, bid setting or full campaign reallocation.
  • Read more
90% of businesses worried about discoverability due to AI growth
AI in digital Marketing by numbers

90% of businesses worried about discoverability due to AI growth

  • ~88% of businesses surveyed say they’re worried about losing organic visibility as AI‑powered search evolves.
  • 85.7% are already investing or planning to invest in AI/LLM‑optimised SEO, and 61.2% plan to increase their SEO budgets as a result.
  • 75.5% say their top priority is brand visibility in AI‑generated answers — even when there’s no direct link back to their site.
  • Only 14.3% prioritise being cited as a source (which might drive direct traffic) — highlighting a shift in what “visibility” means in the AI‑search era.
  • The survey covered 300+ in‑house marketers and business owners, mostly in mid/enterprise levels and nearly half from ecommerce brands.
  • Read more
Google Labs has a new AI Experiment, Pomelli
AI in digital Platforms

Google Labs has a new AI Experiment, Pomelli

  • Pomelli lets you generate on‑brand social media campaigns by analysing your website and brand assets to build a “Business DNA” profile (tone, fonts, colour palette) first.
  • Once the Business DNA is set up, you can either pick from generated campaign ideas or prompt your own, and then receive a suite of branded assets (images + copy) ready for social, web or ads.
  • The tool is launching as a public beta in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (English only) — so early access and experimentation are required.
  • It’s positioned to solve the pain point for small‑to‑medium businesses of needing time/budget/design expertise to keep content fresh and consistent across channels.
  • Read more
Pinterest launches AI-powered shopping assistant
AI in digital Platforms

Pinterest launches AI-powered shopping assistant

  • Pinterest has launched the Pinterest Assistant, an AI-powered shopping companion that helps users browse, discover, and refine shopping ideas directly in the app.
  • It uses conversational AI to help users better articulate what they’re looking for, making shopping on Pinterest more intuitive and personalised.
  • The tool integrates with Pinterest’s visual search and product recommendation tech, streamlining product discovery across fashion, home decor, and more.
  • Pinterest is rolling this out to select users in the US initially, with plans to expand to other markets in the coming months.
  • This move underscores Pinterest’s push into being a serious player in social commerce, aiming to blend inspiration with purchase capability.
  • Read more
ChatGPT Atlas is here, OpenAI’s new agentic browser
AI in digital Platforms

ChatGPT Atlas is here, OpenAI’s new agentic browser

  • OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Atlas, a new web browser built with ChatGPT at its core – designed to be your browser and your AI assistant in one.
  • Atlas integrates ChatGPT’s memory and browsing context so it can draw on your past chats & visited pages to help you complete tasks seamlessly (e.g., “Find all the job postings I was looking at last week…”).
  • Built‑in “agent mode” lets ChatGPT act on your behalf (opening tabs, digging through docs, ordering groceries), launching now in preview for Plus/Pro/Business users.
  • Privacy & control are emphasised: you decide what ChatGPT sees/does, you can toggle site visibility, archive or delete browsing memories, and it doesn’t by default use your browsing content for model training.
  • From a marketing lens: this could shift how brands engage with users – the browser itself becomes an AI “assistant channel”, so think about discoverability, how your content might be surfaced in AI‑driven flows, and how user tasks might get delegated to agents rather than traditional navigation.
  • Read more
LLM traffic for eComm converts worse than Google Search
AI in digital Marketing by numbers Platforms

LLM traffic for eComm converts worse than Google Search

  • A study looking at 12 months of first‐party analytics data from 973 ecommerce sites (Aug 2024–Jul 2025) with combined revenue of approx. US$20 billion showed LLM traffic converted worse than Google Search.
  • Traffic driven by ChatGPT (LLM referrals) was about 0.2% of total sessions—roughly 200 × smaller than organic from Google search.
  • LLM referral traffic had a lower conversion rate and lower revenue per session compared with organic search and affiliate channels; only paid social converted worse.
  • Session depth and average order value from LLM sources were also weaker than traditional search channels; the authors suggest shoppers may still “verify elsewhere” before buying.
  • Read more
Google shuts down its Privacy Sandbox
Cookies Data privacy Platforms

Google shuts down its Privacy Sandbox

  • Google has retired 10 remaining Privacy Sandbox APIs (including Attribution Reporting, Topics, Protected Audience) for both Chrome and Android.
  • The move follows Google dropping plans to phase out third‑party cookies in Chrome, meaning the familiar ad‑tech ecosystem remains intact — at least for now.
  • While this offers stability for advertisers in the short term (you can keep relying on existing measurement/targeting tools), it signals that a truly privacy‑first ad framework is still unresolved.
  • Google says it will continue privacy improvements (e.g., CHIPS, FedCM, Private State Tokens) but is moving away from the “Privacy Sandbox” branding.
  • For marketers: it’s a moment to reassess your dependency on cookie‑based tracking, explore alternative signals and attribution models, and monitor where the ad‑tech ecosystem is heading next.
  • Read more
81% of AI Mode sessions result in 0 clicks
AI in digital Marketing by numbers Platforms

81% of AI Mode sessions result in 0 clicks

  • Key takeaways from the first ever AI mode study:
  • Across the 250 tasks, the median number of clicks per task was 0. Users often didn't click out of AI Mode.
  • Looking at the session level, external clicks were still rare. Only 77.6% of sessions had an external visit.
  • Most people claimed that they "skimmed quickly" when reading AI Mode results.
  • When external visits happened, they mostly occurred in "Shopping" results. 22% of the exits were attributed to a "Shopping Pack"
  • When giving product options, AI Mode preferred to send users to marketplaces over brands for generic queries.
  • Read more
Meta’s Festive Season Guide is here
AI in digital Platforms

Meta’s Festive Season Guide is here

  • Three key elements were highlighted to capitalise on the festive season to lower cost per result:
  • Maximise opportunity score. Score is determined by examining an ad account vs other advertisers in the same industry so it does pay to action recommendations.
  • Make use of AI advantage + features to optimise and automate parts of your campaign using AI (creative, targeting, placements, budgets).
  • Meta also highlighted adding the meta verified badge to your ad accounts to build consumer trust, increased search result visibility and higher traffic through features like links on organic reels. However, we don’t necessarily recommend this due to the additional cost.
  • Read more
Import cost data directly from Meta and TikTok in GA4
Platforms

Import cost data directly from Meta and TikTok in GA4

  • Google Analytics now offers native integrations to automatically import cost‑data from Meta Platforms (Meta) and TikTok ads, enabling unified cross‑channel spend and ROI tracking.
  • The integration supports pulling up to 24 months of historical cost data and then ongoing automatic updates, reducing the need for manual uploads or third‑party connectors.
  • Marketers must ensure they remove any overlapping manual cost‑data imports, as the system doesn’t automatically dedupe imported records — duplicates could inflate campaign cost/ROI results.
  • With this update, Google Analytics becomes a more complete hub for paid‑media analysis, helping compare spend efficiency across Google, Meta and TikTok campaigns without siloed data.
  • Read more
Google now lets you “Hide sponsored results”
Platforms

Google now lets you “Hide sponsored results”

  • Google is replacing individual ad labels with a persistent “Sponsored results” label to clearly group text ads on Search.
  • A new “Hide sponsored results” feature lets users collapse ads, focusing only on organic content.
  • The updated label design applies to all ad types including Shopping ads, now shown as “Sponsored products”.
  • These changes aim to improve transparency and user navigation, and are rolling out globally on desktop and mobile.
  • The number and size of ads remain unchanged, with a max of four grouped text ads displayed.
  • Read more
Ads in AI Overviews expands to more markets
AI in digital Platforms

Ads in AI Overviews expands to more markets

  • Google is rolling out AI Overview ads beyond the US to more English-speaking markets by the end of 2025.
  • Ads will appear directly within AI-generated summaries, offering brands new ad placements in response to complex search queries.
  • This shift marks a major change in search advertising, blending paid results with conversational AI content.
  • Marketers will need to adapt strategies to optimise for visibility and intent in this new, more context-driven ad environment.
  • Gradual rollout allows for testing and learning, giving advertisers time to refine their approach.
  • Read more
Semrush study of 1000 domains shows how link building matters for AI search
AI in digital

Semrush study of 1000 domains shows how link building matters for AI search

  • Authority Score is key: Domains need to hit a higher Authority Score threshold before backlinks make a real difference in AI visibility. Weak or incremental backlink growth won’t cut it.
  • Link quality > link volume: A strong positive correlation (Pearson: 0.65) was found between link quality and AI mentions. AI systems clearly prioritise a few high-authority backlinks over many weak ones.
  • Nofollow ≈ Follow links: Surprisingly, nofollow links perform nearly as well as follow links in boosting AI visibility — especially when from reputable sources like Reddit, Wikipedia, or Quora.
  • Image links outperform text links: Image-based links showed stronger correlations (Pearson: 0.415) with AI mentions than traditional text links, especially for higher-authority domains.
  • Diverse referring domains matter: The diversity of linking domains strongly influences authority scores. Marketers should prioritise outreach to new, relevant websites instead of stacking links from the same sources.
  • Read more
Subscription goods now available via Google Shopping Ads
Platforms

Subscription goods now available via Google Shopping Ads

  • Google now allows merchants in the U.S. to sell physical goods on a recurring (subscription) basis via Shopping ads, expanding beyond just digital services or one‑off physical goods.
  • The update covers specific categories such as apparel & accessories, coffee, healthcare (excluding prescription drugs), home & garden, personal care, pet supplies, prepared foods and toys.
  • Merchants must supply new attributes in their product feed: subscription_cost (with sub‑attributes for period, period_length and amount). Only one subscription price per landing page is supported, and discounts on subscription offers are not yet allowed.
  • For marketers, this opens up a fresh lever: recurring‑revenue models via Google Shopping, boosting customer lifetime value and loyalty from “auto‑replenish” style buys. Early adopters in suitable categories stand to gain a competitive edge.
  • Read more
AI-generated trending previews now in Google Discover
AI in digital Platforms

AI-generated trending previews now in Google Discover

  • Google has launched AI-powered trending previews in the Discover feed, now live in the US, South Korea, and India.
  • These previews summarise trending topics and link directly to publisher or creator content, offering new visibility opportunities.
  • A “What’s new” sports feed is also set to roll out soon in the US for mobile users, surfacing fresh sports-related content.
  • The updates reflect Google’s ongoing push to integrate AI summaries and personalisation across its platforms.
  • Read more
AI Mode is now in Australia
AI in digital Help desk Platforms

AI Mode is now in Australia

  • Google has officially launched AI Mode in Australia. The update started rolling out last week on 8th of October across the Google Search experience.
  • If you’re currently investing in Google Ads, no immediate action is required. Ads are not yet live within AI Mode - Google anticipates introducing ad placements in early 2026. In the meantime, Google recommends advertisers begin leveraging its existing AI-powered ad solutions to prepare for the upcoming integration.
  • AI Mode is transforming organic search by prioritising direct, summarised answers over traditional content. With fewer outbound clicks and greater emphasis on visibility within AI-generated search results, success now depends on creating authoritative, intent-driven content that AI recognises as trustworthy and comprehensive.
  • At In Marketing We Trust, our team has spent the past six months researching, testing, and adapting our strategies to ensure our clients remain competitive as the search landscape continues to evolve. We’ll continue to monitor AI Mode’s rollout and share updates as more details become available.
  • Get a free consultation
Built-in apps now in ChatGPT
AI in digital Platforms

Built-in apps now in ChatGPT

  • ChatGPT now supports built‑in apps that you can invoke conversationally (e.g. “Spotify, make me a playlist”), or have suggested by ChatGPT when contextually relevant.
  • At launch the apps include partners like Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Spotify, Zillow, Expedia — giving users integrated functionality (maps, slides, listings) without leaving chat.
  • Developers can build their own ChatGPT apps using the Apps SDK preview, which is open and built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
  • All apps must comply with OpenAI’s safety, data minimisation, and privacy policies; users will be prompted explicitly to connect apps and understand what data is shared.
  • In coming months, OpenAI will open up submissions, allow monetisation, launch directories, and roll out to Business/Enterprise/Edu tiers.
  • Read more
AI Mode goes agentic in Search Labs in the US
AI in digital Platforms

AI Mode goes agentic in Search Labs in the US

  • Google has added Agentic capabilities to AI Mode in Search Labs, allowing users to make restaurant reservations via natural language prompts.
  • Soon, the feature will expand to booking local services and event tickets — a clear push toward task-completion within search itself.
  • Available only in the US for now, users must be signed into their personal Google Account with Web & App Activity enabled.
  • The AI searches multiple platforms in real-time, returning curated booking options and linking directly to finalise the task.
  • For marketers, this hints at a future where search becomes an action engine — making visibility in task-relevant results more important than ever.
  • Read more
Google replacing meta descriptions with AI-generated content
AI in digital Platforms

Google replacing meta descriptions with AI-generated content

  • Google is experimenting with replacing or supplementing standard meta descriptions in search results with AI‑generated descriptions or AI‑summaries of page snippets.
  • These AI snippets are being marked with a small Gemini (Google’s AI branding) icon to signal they were generated by AI.
  • In many cases, Google hasn’t always used the meta descriptions you provide anyway — so this shift could give Google more control over how your page is represented in SERPs.
  • For SEOs and content marketers: now more than ever, focus on clarity in your headers, intro paragraphs and content structure — since Google’s AI may pull from any part of your page to craft snippets.
  • Read more
Google DeepMind launches Gemini 2.5 Computer Use model
AI in digital Platforms

Google DeepMind launches Gemini 2.5 Computer Use model

  • Google DeepMind has launched the Gemini 2.5 Computer Use model, a UI-controlling AI agent that mimics human interactions on screens—think automated browsing, form filling, and navigation at scale.
  • Marketers can expect AI that actually operates in-browser—clicks buttons, types text, and scrolls through pages—enabling more hands-off automation for tasks like testing landing pages, scraping competitors, or managing web workflows.
  • It uses a feedback loop via a “computer_use” API—you give it a screenshot and past actions, it decides the next move—offering flexibility for custom automations without building full software integrations.
  • While it's still browser-first (not desktop-native), it's showing early promise for mobile UI support, which could be big for mobile-first marketing stacks and campaign ops.
  • Strong safety protocols are baked in, helping dev teams build automations with guardrails, so marketers don’t have to stress about rogue behaviour or compliance risks.
  • Read more
Online holiday sales expected to grow 5.3% YoY with mobile and AI trending
AI in digital Marketing by numbers

Online holiday sales expected to grow 5.3% YoY with mobile and AI trending

  • Record spend incoming: Online holiday sales are forecasted to hit $253.4B in the US, up 5.3% YoY, with Cyber Monday peaking at $14.2B.
  • Mobile takes the lead: For the first time, mobile is expected to drive over half (56.1%) of online sales, with 70% of retail visits happening on mobile.
  • BNPL booms: "Buy Now, Pay Later" usage will grow 9–12%, totalling up to $20.4B, with Cyber Monday breaking $1B in BNPL spend for the first time.
  • AI-powered traffic explodes: Visits to retail sites from AI sources like chatbots are projected to surge 515–520%, with Thanksgiving Day seeing 730% growth YoY.
  • Hot sellers: Toys, video games, consoles, and electronics are expected to be the most in-demand categories this season.
  • Read more
Buyers can now shop and purchase directly in ChatGPT
AI in digital Platforms

Buyers can now shop and purchase directly in ChatGPT

  • ChatGPT is introducing Instant Checkout, letting users buy items directly in-chat (starting with U.S. Etsy sellers) without leaving the conversation.
  • This is powered by an open‑standard protocol (the Agentic Commerce Protocol) built with Stripe, so merchants and developers can integrate with minimal friction.
  • In this first phase, only single‑item purchases are supported; multi‑item carts and broader merchant/region rollout are coming later.
  • The vision: shift ChatGPT’s role from just “helping you find something” → “helping you buy something,” making AI an active participant in commerce.
  • Read more

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