Marketing Dive published digital marketing statistics for H1 2025 on July 8, 2025, expecting the global social media ad market to grow 12% this year. 71% of marketers plan to invest at least $10 million into AI over the next three years, up from 57% in 2024.

Articles published on July 15 and 16, 2025, discuss the shift from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), with GEO superseding SEO as customers turn to AI assistants. Brands need to adapt their content strategies to be cited in AI responses.

Cyara launched an AI-powered customer experience (CX) assurance platform, including AI validation, real-time monitoring, and no-code test automation. The platform features Pulse 360, an AI-driven CX monitoring engine spanning over 360 carriers in more than 120 countries.

Google's new 'AI Mode' and the broader impact of AI on search are transforming marketing, with visibility becoming the most important metric. Marketers are advised to treat Google's AI as a partner, focusing on structured, high-quality data to ensure brand visibility.

In Q2 2025, ad budgets for Google paid search, Meta, Amazon Sponsored Products, and YouTube increased, while TikTok saw a 20% decline in ad investments due to U.S. tariff concerns and economic uncertainty.

Google is integrating AI, using Gemini 2.5 Pro, into Search to allow users to directly call businesses for pricing and availability information. This feature, rolling out in the U.S., aims to assist users, especially younger generations, who prefer not to make phone calls.

Trupeer, a San Francisco-based start-up, secured $3 million in funding to develop its AI platform for creating professional-looking videos. This platform aims to make video production easy and cost-effective for businesses.

Google is testing Demand Gen ecommerce ads in Gmail Promotions tab, creating a mini shopping experience with product listings, images, prices, and ratings. These ads aim to drive conversions by showcasing multiple products in a native Shopping-style layout.

HP is launching an ad business with laptop-targeted ads and a streaming service, reaching 160 million U.S. users monthly across 19 million devices. The company is also rolling out a free ad-supported TV service.

U.S. Bank is partnering with Netflix for the movie 'Happy Gilmore 2,' debuting July 25, marking its first Hollywood integration. The bank will be the title sponsor for the fictional Tour Championship golf tournament.

Clinch, an agentic adtech firm, is shifting from impression-based fees (CPMs) to a flat monthly rate for unlimited ad serving, aiming to cut client costs by 30-50%. Clinch's clients, including Hyundai and Coca-Cola, can now serve ads across all channels without worrying about campaign volume.

NiCE, Genesys, and Five9 have launched AI studios to help brands build AI agents for customer interaction. Key considerations include a shared workspace for collaboration, visibility into AI agent performance, and sufficient guardrails.

Quad/Graphics Inc. expanded its In-Store Connect service by partnering with Vallarta Supermarkets to install digital ad screens. The screens will display video ads, featuring CPG brands, local products, and promotions in English and Spanish.

Articles published on July 16, 2025, discuss how generative AI is transforming consumer-brand relationships, with approximately half of consumers using it for purchase decisions. 30% of active gen AI users trust AI suggestions more than those from friends, retailers, or search engines.

A UserTesting survey found that 2 in 5 are buying fewer products overall, and a Gartner survey found 2 in 5 are looking to spend less. Over one-third of U.S. consumers are stressed by tariffs.

Brands must integrate into creator-led spaces to reach Gen Z, with 81% of Gen Z users on social media during afternoon and evening hours. 52% of Gen Z consumers feel a stronger connection to creators than to traditional celebrities.

Manu Mathew discusses the importance of building lasting customer connections through engagement, trust, and personalization to drive revenue and loyalty on July 15, 2025.

Google is testing AI-generated summaries in Discover on Android and iOS, similar to AI Overviews on Search, currently available only in the US. This feature could affect traffic to news websites and change the advertising-based business model of the media.

Wix.com Ltd. launched its AI Visibility Overview on July 16, 2025, a new solution for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). This tool helps users understand and improve their brand's visibility in LLM-based search engines like ChatGPT and Gemini.

Articles published on July 10 and 11, 2025, discuss the impact of AI on marketing and SEO, highlighting the shift from traditional marketing and SEO to AI optimization. They emphasize the need for businesses to adapt to AI-driven search and platforms.

Google's 2025 Ad Quality Update uses AI to evaluate landing page experience and navigation, requiring marketers to adapt or risk losing visibility and ad budget. The update will impact how Google assesses ad quality, emphasizing user experience.

Google Search Console introduced comparison views for 24-hour performance data on July 16, 2025, allowing users to analyze recent search traffic patterns against previous periods and weekly benchmarks. The rollout began around 6:20 am ET.

The article discusses a four-pillar AI strategy for marketers to acquire, convert, retain, and support customers more intelligently, highlighting AI tools like Voiceify, Reply.io, Lindy, and Amplero. The strategy focuses on operationalizing AI for systematic improvements and measurable results.

Search Engine Land publishes an article on 7 ways to grow brand mentions for AI Overviews visibility, emphasizing the importance of brand mentions in the AI era for organic visibility. The article provides tactics such as building local SEO presence and leveraging third-party entry points.

The marketing landscape is changing rapidly due to AI and shifting buyer behaviors, with traditional marketing playbooks becoming obsolete. Zach Vidor, CEO of Octave, discusses the challenges and opportunities in modern go-to-market strategies.

Citation Labs introduced FLUQs (Friction-Inducing Latent Unasked Questions) to enhance content visibility in AI search on July 16, 2025. The method focuses on identifying and addressing hidden questions that can derail the buying process.

Joe Cunningham shares a framework for improving webinar email promotions to increase clicks and registrations, including understanding the target audience and crafting a compelling offer. The article emphasizes the importance of relevance and value.

Kevin Indig explores the shift from keyword-first to topic-first SEO, explaining why optimizing for topics is crucial for long-term results and content systems. The article highlights the limitations of keyword-focused strategies and contrasts them with the benefits of a topic-first approach.

eMarketer released a report on July 15, 2025, forecasting retail media search ad spending trends for 2025, anticipating almost $5 billion of incremental ad spending in 2026. By 2028, retail media search ad spending will exceed $50 billion, with Amazon claiming 81.4% in 2025.

WARC's 'The Future of Programmatic 2025' report highlights key trends in programmatic advertising, including the growth of programmatic out-of-home advertising, with global digital out-of-home (DOOH) spend forecast to reach $17.6 billion.

Most North American marketers believe AI-powered tools can significantly accelerate their firm's marketing growth, according to recent research.

The article discusses the resurgence of Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) due to privacy regulations, signal loss, and omnichannel advertising complexity, with 56% of ad buyers in the US planning to increase their focus on MMM in 2025.

In July 2025, Influencer Marketing Hub published a playbook on outsourcing influencer gifting operations, addressing challenges like inventory management and compliance. The playbook suggests leveraging fulfillment partners for distributed warehousing and technology integration.

In 2025, brands are losing the media game due to old-school media buying approaches that involve separate buys for connected TV (CTV), digital audio, display, and digital out-of-home (DOOH). Modern media buying tools offer unified data and real-time optimization across various channels.

McKinsey reports CMOs face limited input on strategy amid economic uncertainty, with only two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies having CMOs in 2024. To regain a seat at the corporate strategy table, CMOs must rebuild relationships with other executives, focusing on consumer sentiment, behavior, and AI.