🤖 Google's pay-per-word ad model

Today’s Insights

Feature

Pre-written text ads weren’t built for a world where the AI answer itself includes recommendations.

Google Research recently proposed a solution. But one that Sam Altman strongly disagrees with for ChatGPT.

Here’s what Google’s Research paper suggests:

👉 The AI’s response can be shaped by multiple advertisers, each bidding on every word it writes.

👉 Brands pay for weighted influence in AI’s word selection process.

👉 Instead of submitting copy, brands provide prompts that reflect their voice and messaging

🎭 The Trust Dilemma: Google vs. OpenAI

While Google is exploring a pay-for-influence model, OpenAI may take the opposite path.

CEO Sam Altman warned that modifying chatbot responses based on advertiser bids would be a “trust-destroying moment.” Users, he argued, need to believe they’re getting the best possible answer, not the highest bidder’s version.

Altman isn’t against ads altogether, but his comments suggest OpenAI will avoid models where money directly shapes what the AI says.

The balancing act: Google, and their new competitors, will all attempt to serve advertisers seeking discoverability without eroding user trust. Striking that balance will play a key role in shaping who leads the next era of search.

Sponsored by Cousin Labs

💰 Influencer marketing spend to hit $33B globally

In the U.S. alone, content creator marketing spend is set to top $10B this year. Consumer brands like Unilever now dedicate up to 50% of their ad budgets to social media and plan to hire 20 times more content creators.

And when it comes to Creator Marketing…

• 99% of advertisers are making THIS mistake…

• Algorithms care about engagement, not media tactics.

• To succeed on Meta or TikTok, you need creative velocity.

• Most advertisers are not making enough ads for short-form video.

Don’t be like most advertisers. Visit www.cousinlabs.com

👗 Google has launched ‘Doppl,’ an AI try-on app for visualizing outfits

The experimental app creates digital images of users wearing outfits by combining their photos with clothing images. Doppl can also generate short video clips to show how the outfit looks in motion. The app is currently available in the U.S. through Google Labs.

📊 Google Ads rolls out video analytics to track performance across campaign types

Marketers can now track performance for video assets used in PMax, Demand Gen, GDN, and video-only campaigns in one place.

🔍 Instagram will enable Google and Bing to index public posts from professional accounts

Starting July 10, photos and videos from professional accounts may appear in open web search results. This is a notable shift for Instagram has traditionally kept most of its content contained within its app.

💸 X will begin charging advertisers based on ad size

Ads that occupy more screen space will cost advertisers more. Elon Musk says the move is intended to discourage giant ads that "impair the user experience."

📺 YouTube dominates the streaming market, surpassing Netflix

In the U.S., YouTube leads all platforms in TV viewership, holding a 12% share ahead of Netflix and Disney+. More Americans now watch YouTube on their TVs than on mobile.

🔥 YouTube Shorts averages 200+ billion daily views

This represents a 186% increase from March 2024, when Shorts had around 70 billion daily views. CEO Neal Mohan says more viewers are watching YouTube on their TVs, with over 1 billion hours streamed daily. Mohan also announced that Veo 3, Google’s AI video tool, will launch on Shorts this summer.

🧠 Apple is exploring using OpenAI and Anthropic models to power Siri, according to Bloomberg

As well as potentially using third parties for Siri, Bloomberg also recently reported that Apple had internal talks about acquiring Perplexity.

🛰️ Perplexity has started to release its AI-first browser

The AI search startup has invited a small group of early testers to try ‘Comet’ on Windows. CEO Aravind Srinivas also said the Android version is on the way soon.

Thanks for reading

And thanks to today’s sponsor, Cousin Labs.

Cousin Labs is a forward-thinking creator marketing agency who are looking for top talent to join their team. Cousin Labs Co-Founder, Paul Marvucic, has even included his personal email for Meta or TikTok experts considering a new challenge and want to get in touch👇

Have a marketing friend who would find today’s newsletter useful? There’s a share button below.

We’ll be back next week!