AI attracts Meta to Google

LLMS & CHATBOTS

Meta tries Google’s Gemini for ads?

According to The Information last Thursday, Meta was exploring the use of Google’s Gemini large language model to improve its advertising capabilities. If true, this would be a striking contrast to the appearance of Meta’s well-positioned, AI-enabled ad strategy, which recently produced strong Q2 2025 results. Read more. (September 25 – subscription)

Reacting to the news, Gil Luria, head of tech research at investment bank D.A. Davidson, told Investor’s Business Daily, “For as much pride as Meta has in its own AI capabilities, it is quite an admission for them to ask Google for help on AI algorithms for selling ads.” Read more from IBD. (September 26)

But on Friday, Meta comms director Andy Stone set the record straight via Meta’s Threads app. He said of The Information article:

“No, what’s happening here is part of the work we regularly do to evaluate third-party tools for the purpose of benchmarking. We have always built our own industry-leading, proprietary ad targeting and recommendation systems – that’s a separate thing.”

See the thread. (September 26)

From tipsheet: You can see how twitchy the media is regarding ads and LLMs right now. Everybody is waiting for “the big launch” — such as ChatGPT integrating ads.

Surprise!… Meta isn’t suddenly using Google to power its ad system.

Regardless of whether Meta is using Google AI models for ads, a new paradigm may be emerging in which walled-garden competitors license AI models from each other.

If you’re not a walled garden and a tech company, then you’re most likely already using the walled garden LLMs or those of the native AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and so on. The AI model business is booming.

LLMS & CHATBOTS

Survey: Using AI to develop software

In a note to Wall Street investors on Friday, New Street Research analyst Dan Salmon covered last week’s Google Cloud 2025 DORA Report, an annual deep dive into “the trends shaping modern software development.” Though not advertising- or marketing-specific, there are implications for the development of ad and martech as coding and its costs are streamlined due to AI.

Mr. Salmon said the survey of 5,000 developers globally showed that “71% are using AI to write new code and 66% are using AI to modify existing code.”

Salmon concluded that the survey’s findings support his previous forecasts for expected efficiency due to AI in software development. He reviewed:

“Headcount reductions over time at the lowest levels of software engineering as ‘blocking and tackling’ coding is increasingly done by AI.”
“Growth in average compensation levels at the highest levels of software engineering, as we expect humans that best leverage AI will increasingly rise to the top of these organizations and become relatively more valuable.”

More: “How are developers using AI? Inside our 2025 DORA report” – Google’s The Keyword blog (September 23)

LLMs & CHATBOTS

Developments

Anthropic to triple international workforce in global AI push (September 26) – CNBC
Introducing Vibes: A New Way to Discover and Create AI Videos (September 25) – Meta
Perplexity launches massive search API to take on Google’s dominance (September 25) – VentureBeat

BRANDS

“Human” (not AI) ads for ChatGPT brand

OpenAI launched a new ad campaign yesterday for its answer engine, ChatGPT. The media buy is expected to run through the end of the year and be larger than its Super Bowl ad campaign in February.

OpenAI CMO Kate Rouch told Adweek that “the ads are inspired by real examples of ways people use ChatGPT in their daily lives, from cooking to studying to planning trips. Each scenario features young people, who are ‘some of our most creative, proactive users.” Read more. (September 28)

See one of the new 30-second OpenAI spots on Ad Age. (September 28)

OpenAI was careful to highlight “human” versus “AI” involvement in the new campaign. Adweek’s Brittaney Kiefer wrote, “Despite promoting an AI tool, human craft was central to the campaign. OpenAI’s in-house creative team developed it with agency Isle of Any, director Miles Jay shot the films on 35mm through production company Smuggler, (…). The media agency was PHD.”

From tipsheet: No surprise here on OpenAI’s brand tactics. The company wants to emphasize the opportunity for humans with AI. Let others make ads with AI influencers and the like. Over the long haul, OpenAI’s biggest challenge is with government and proving it is creating technology with benefits to humanity rather than trying to overtake it.

BRANDS

AI Mode for law firm marketers

On law publication JD Supra, paid media manager Tyler McKnight of law firm marketing agency 9sail explored what paid search ads in Google Search’s “AI Mode” will mean for its core law firm clients.

Traditionally, law firm pay-per-click advertising has been among the most competitive clicks you can buy.

Mr. McKnight explained his pitch for allocating “AI Mode” ad spend:

“Reach higher-quality leads (users already primed with context before seeing the ad.“
“Gain earlier brand exposure with AI-driven answers, continuing to propel you as a thought leader.“
“Stay competitive as organic space shrinks, grabbing on to new real estate as much as you can.“
“One major advantage of AI Mode ads is they appear higher in SERPs than normal PPC search ads.“

Nevertheless, McKnight urged law marketers to pay attention to their ROAS in AI Mode to see if the juice was truly worth the squeeze.

AGENCIES

WPP preparing for AI, Ad Week

Looks like agency holding company WPP rolled out new online marketing collateral for its AI capabilities over the weekend. See it now.

“AI at WPP – transforming marketing with artificial intelligence… Our AI-enabled marketing platform connects people, tools, data and intelligence to deliver better-informed and more effective end-to-end marketing,” reads the landing page.

WPP Open —WPP’s AI-enabled marketing platform— is featured across planning, production, media and commerce strategies.

With Advertising Week in New York City (October 6-9) only a week away, many advertising agencies are shining their brands in anticipation.

On that note, WPP’s Elav Horwitz, EVP, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships and AI solutions, is appearing Wednesday, October 8 on a panel titled, “How agencies can thrive in the age of generative AI.” Executives from Meta and Assembly Global are also joining the panel.

From tipsheet: WPP executives such as new CEO Cindy Rose and WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser have consistently signaled that WPP’s unique use of AI is key to differentiating the company amongst its competitors – as well as pull it out of its recent decline.

AGENCIES

FTC gives Omnicom-IPG approval with caveats

FTC Gives Final Omnicom/IPG Approval, Imposes Ideological Restrictions – MediaPost (September 26)

“The Federal Trade Commission on Friday approved Omnicom’s $13.5 billion merger with Interpublic Group, but appears to impose new restrictions on the company’s ability to take publishers’ content into account when purchasing ad inventory.”

More: Final Consent Order (September 26) – FTC.gov

SELL-SIDE

Bot attribution is hard

Was the recent Cracker Barrel kerfuffle a consumer-led rejection of a new corporate logo for a beloved brand? Or was it the coordinated attack of AI bots?

Bots! – according to new research covered by The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

Emilio Ferrara, a computer science professor at USC told The WSJ, “What’s different now is how quickly AI-powered bots can spin up ‘grassroots-looking’ campaigns around incendiary or divisive issues, e.g., culture-war topics, and keep them trending. (…) Attribution is hard, but these examples are illustrative of non-state campaigns directed at brand reputation.”

SELL-SIDE

Meta, the publisher, under pressure in UK

Pressure from regulators has become so strong in Europe —and now the UK— regarding privacy concerns and its ad targeting capabilities that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram are expected to roll out a subscription version in the United Kingdom in the next few weeks.

Reuters reported, “The move will give users a choice between paying a monthly fee or continuing to use the services for free with targeted advertising, a model that has faced increasing scrutiny from European regulators.” Read more.

Meta rolled out a European subscription initiative in 2023 and in 2024, which included a “less personalized ads” option.

Analyst Eric Seufert broke down the UK model known as “Pay or Okay” here on LinkedIn yesterday.

More: Facebook and Instagram to Offer Subscription for No Ads in the UK (September 28) – Facebook

From tipsheet: Though there doesn’t appear to be any publicly-released data by Meta on the subscription plans’ impact, it can’t be good for Meta’s European ad business and marketers seeking European audiences. Run-of-site makes a comeback?

TECH

AI enabling services in CTV

CTV and video ad platform Tatari says it has improved its services – thanks to AI, with over 300 brands using its platform. Tatari’s revenue also doubled year-over-year, according to an article in AdExchanger.

And there have been headcount benefits, too.

Tatari co-founder and CEO Philip Inghelbrecht told AdExchanger, “Two years ago, we were 280 people. Today, we’re still 280. Yet in revenue, we were half this size… So we doubled our business with the same group of people.”

Read more in AdExchanger. (September 26)

From tipsheet: Ad tech is the new ad agency and vice versa, to a degree.

PROMPT

How will an event like Advertising Week in NYC be transformed by AI in 5 years?

Response from OpenAI’s ChatGPT:

Here’s how I imagine the experience (for attendees, sponsors, organizers, and content) might change.

Before the event: hyper-personalized preparation

Dynamic, AI-curated agendas – Rather than a fixed schedule, when you register, an AI system ingests your profile, past attendance, stated interests, and tailors your schedule — suggesting which sessions to attend, which booths to visit, and even dynamically adjusting during the event based on what you engage with…

AI attracts Meta to Google

LLMS & CHATBOTS

Meta tries Google’s Gemini for ads?

LLMS & CHATBOTS

Survey: Using AI to develop software

LLMs & CHATBOTS

Developments

BRANDS

“Human” (not AI) ads for ChatGPT brand

BRANDS

AI Mode for law firm marketers

AGENCIES

WPP preparing for AI, Ad Week

AGENCIES

FTC gives Omnicom-IPG approval with caveats

SELL-SIDE

Bot attribution is hard

SELL-SIDE

Meta, the publisher, under pressure in UK

TECH

AI enabling services in CTV

PROMPT

How will an event like Advertising Week in NYC be transformed by AI in 5 years?

Before the event: hyper-personalized preparation

MORE