Perplexity makes splash with Chrome offer

On Tuesday, Perplexity offered to buy Google’s Chrome browser (and access to its ~3.5 billion users) for $34.5 billion in advance of an expected remedies announcement coming out of the Google Search anti-trust trial.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, “Perplexity told [Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai] that, as part of the proposed acquisition, it would maintain and support Chromium, the open-source project that supports Chrome and other browsers. It also said that it would continue placing Google as the default search engine within Chrome, though users could change settings.”

Read more on The WSJ (August 12). CNBC had a good summary, too.

Chief Brand Advisory’s Brad Kay commented on LinkedIn: “If If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say Perplexity’s recent $34.5B announcement about Google Chrome isn’t really about buying a browser — it’s about buying attention.”

Job well done.

Read a bit more on LinkedIn. (August 12)

More:

Perplexity reportedly seeking new funding on $20B valuation one month after $100M raise (August 13) – Silicon Angle
Perplexity wants to buy Google Chrome. Wall Street dismisses the notion as a stunt. (August 13) – Marketwatch (subscription)

From tipsheet: Only last month, Perplexity announced its Comet browser and now it announces the company wants to buy Chrome and is raising money?… is this a performative setup for Perplexity selling to Apple, Meta or someone similar?

LLMs & CHATBOTS

Gemini hunting ad fraud, IVT

Google is busy perfecting AI-enabled solutions for ad fraud and invalid traffic (IVT) – it just needs to remove a last bit of human supervision.

Kendra Barnett at Adweek reported Tuesday, “Paired with machine learning tools and traditional backend data processing and analysis, the Gemini-powered system can flag accidental clicks, hidden ads that are difficult or impossible for users to see but still register impressions, and disruptive, out-of-context ads that force users to interact with them against their will.”

A human still must review the output as Google’s director of product management for ad traffic quality, Per Bjorke, promises this will all be automated soon.

LLMs & CHATBOTS

Gemini personalization

Google’s Gemini app is becoming a more personalized experience according to a post yesterday on Google Search’s “The Keyword” blog.

Michael Siliski, Senior Director, Product Management, Gemini app, explained:

“Today, we’re introducing a new setting that allows Gemini to learn from your past conversations over time. When this setting is on, Gemini remembers key details and preferences you’ve shared, leading to more natural and relevant conversations, as if you’re collaborating with a partner who’s already up to speed.

AGENCIES

Havas’ AI Brand insight tool for AEO

Ad holding company Havas announced a new tool for brands to understand how they’re listed in answer engines (i.e. Large Language Models or LLMs). According to a press release…

“Key features include:

Unified AI Rankings: A consolidated view of brand visibility across six AI platforms.

Fast Content Analysis: Hundreds of AI-generated queries with source citations, domain coverage and credibility scoring.

Content Optimisation: Analysing existing content to receive AI-specific optimisation suggestions.

AI-Powered Content Recommendations: Tailored content ideas based on audience profiles and competitive insights.

Sources of AI Response: Understand the sources and content driving AI responses.”

The tool is part of Havas’ Converged[dot]AI operating system strategy.

Read more in the press release. (August 12)

From tipsheet: Was “search engine optimization,” now “answer engine optimization” (AEO). Also: Havas still needs to buy the domain name of its operating system.

AGENCIES

Incrementality attribution anecdote

Gil David, founder of UK-based performance agency Run DMG, said yesterday that the introduction of incrementality attribution by Meta has unlocked an opportunity for clients to understand advertising outcomes like never before.

He wrote on LinkedIn:

“[Meta’s new incrementality attribution] feature forces Facebook to work harder to find genuinely new customers. It’s like having a salesperson who can only count deals they actually closed, not ones they ‘influenced’ by standing near the customer as they came in to buy anyway.

Your CFO doesn’t care about your Facebook ROAS. They care about profitable growth.

And sometimes, the metrics that make us feel good are exactly what’s holding us back from the metrics that actually matter.

TECH

The Trade Desk scrutiny ramps up

Ever since The Trade Desk reported less-than-anticipated Q2 2025 financial results last week—and its stock plummeted 30+%—scrutiny has ramped up on the company and its AI-enabled buying platform, Kokai.

Referencing an interaction on The Trade Desk’s earnings call with Wall Street analysts, LUMA Partners’ Terence Kawaja observed on X:

“Wall Street seemed to be particularly alarmed by [Trade Desk CEO] Jeff Green’s reaction when asked about competition from Amazon. Jeff said ‘Amazon is not a competitor, and Google really isn’t much of a competitor anymore either,’ claiming that TTD is an objective technology intermediary with no media to sell. Of course just because Amazon operates many businesses doesn’t mitigate their strength as a competitor…”

The competitor being the Amazon DSP, of course. Read more on X. (August 12)

Yesterday, Garrett Sloane at Ad Age found another angle to potential challenges ahead as he penned: “The Trade Desk’s AI platform sparks concerns over biased inventory.” Read it. (subscription)

Mr. Sloane explained the article’s premise on LinkedIn – including his own observations:

“So, is The Trade Desk using automation to direct deals into an OpenPath ‘walled garden’? That is the fear on the supply side, after default settings in Kokai and other changes seemed to disadvantage SSPs. It’s interesting that companies are coming out now to raise their concerns, but as with everything in ad tech, it’s just complicated. Rivals and partners, intertwined and overlapping allegiances, a tangled programmatic ad market.

Here’s what I can tell so far…”

Read Sloane’s observations on LinkedIn. (August 13)

More: “Big adtech story in Ad Age today. The story behind that story is in the last episode of Adtech Adtalk.” – Adam Heimlich on LinkedIn (August 13)

Finally, an article in Digiday took a largely, different view on “The Trade Desk versus Amazon DSP” battle yesterday.

Katie Johnson, a programmatic buyer at New Engen told the publication, “The Trade Desk continues to lead Amazon in cross‑device and advanced reporting capabilities, allowing marketers to understand a consumer’s path‑to‑conversion, even across search and social channels.”

Read: “The Trade Desk holds its own against Amazon’s growing, but still distant threat” (August 13) – Digiday

From tipsheet: The company still has a $26 billion market cap – larger than any of its agency holding company clients. Of course, it’s down from a market cap almost triple that less than a year ago.

TECH

Ad load and AI efficiency

In a new blog post, Mobile Dev Memo analyst Eric Seufert explored how a consumer’s disposable income might play into future ad targeting with AI’s help. Put another way, AI will make ads that responsive.

In the mix of Mr. Seufert’s thesis is “ad load” which refers to the number of ads “loaded” or served for the user to see. And so the question that may be answered in the future is, “When is it better to serve less ads?” for example, in the interest of the best experience for all parties (user, advertiser, publisher)?

Mr. Seufert concludes:

“Of course, these considerations pertain to direct response ads and not brand-oriented ads. Another potential adaptation that ad platforms could make to navigate the disposable income constraint that becomes more acute with improved conversion rates is to shift more impressions to awareness ads that aren’t intended to incite an immediate response. This could result in ad load mostly remaining constant, with the mix between direct response and brand changing. If direct response ads can generate equivalent (or more) revenue with lower ad load through conversion improvements, then shifting the impression mix towards brand creates incremental revenue opportunities.”

Read more on Mobile Dev Memo. (August 13 – subscription)

TECH

Bringing AI to attention metrics

Commenting on the evolution of digital ad measurement and attention metrics (hear a recent podcast from his venture capital firm), Aperiam general partner Joe Zawadzki suggested on LinkedIn on Tuesday that the next steps for digital ad measurement will be artificial intelligence-related and, hopefully, include a new “currency.”

Mr. Zawadzki, co-founder of programmatic firm MediaMath, wrote:

“AI is in the wings — not as the protagonist, but as the stagehand making the hard stuff easier. It can normalize messy data, connect attention signals to outcomes, and embolden teams to try bolder experiments. Which brings us to the closing provocation:

What if a few brave brands and publishers agreed to really transact on attention — rough edges, no gaming, shared responsibility for outcomes? The moment feels right to test whether attention can become not just a metric, but a currency.”

HR

You’re hired

William Schild joins Aqfer as CEO – Bill Schild on LinkedIn (August 12)

PROMPT

Prompt: How will attention metrics and outcomes intersect in 5 years in the advertising industry?

Response from Google’s Gemini app:

In the next five years, the intersection of attention metrics and advertising outcomes will be defined by a fundamental shift from a “viewability-first” to an “attention-first” approach. This evolution will see attention metrics become a standard, and often a primary, currency for media planning, buying, and campaign optimization.

Here’s a breakdown of how this intersection will likely unfold…

Perplexity makes splash with Chrome offer

LLMs & CHATBOTS

Gemini hunting ad fraud, IVT

LLMs & CHATBOTS

Gemini personalization

AGENCIES

Havas’ AI Brand insight tool for AEO

AGENCIES

Incrementality attribution anecdote

TECH

The Trade Desk scrutiny ramps up

TECH

Ad load and AI efficiency

TECH

Bringing AI to attention metrics

HR

You’re hired

PROMPT

Prompt: How will attention metrics and outcomes intersect in 5 years in the advertising industry?

MORE