Why AI is agencies’ frenemy

Retail media networks have been striking deals and inking partnerships with social and streaming platforms to open up ad inventory across the internet. It’s a push to get advertisers to see RMNs as full funnel marketing channels as opposed to a search and display one trick pony. Now, if advertisers like Ferrero see it as such, that’s still up for debate (18:29). Also on this episode, why Paramount Skydance is eyeing a bid for Warner Bros Discovery (3:18), what the Amazon and Netflix DSP deal could mean for The Trade Desk (8:47) and inside the FTC’s latest big tech probe (14:30).

This week's episode goes inside the search wars. More people are starting their online search with AI-powered chatbots and publishers are feeling the effects. To breakdown what AI search means for publishers (15:22), Digiday staffers Jessica Davies, senior media editor and Sara Guaglione, senior media reporter, join the show. Also on this episode: Google won't have to sell Chrome after all (1:27), Apple plans its own AI-powered search engine (8:15) and publishers call to include Gemini in Google investigation (12:42).

This week’s episode recaps what ended up being a messy summer, from corporate changeovers and AI existentialism to fresh competition for Google and a return to the TV bundle for streaming. Oh, and tariffs; we can’t forget tariffs. As stated, the season was kind of a mess, and Digiday managing editor Sara Jerde joined the show to help make sense of the events that transpired and what they portend for the rest of 2025. Related stories: WPP has its next CEO – but what do clients make of the heir apparent? The coalition of the willing (and unable): publishers rally to wall off AI’s free ride Google readies its last stand in latest antitrust trial The next browser wars are here — and AI wants the ad dollars too How tariffs have upended the back-to-school season

This week’s episode recaps xAI’s lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI (3:58), retail media’s recent boom that could be a bubble (11:11), and publishers’ push to usage-based pricing in their AI deals (15:23). Then (18:50) Digiday editors Seb Joseph and Michael Bürgi join the show to discuss how generative AI technologies could spur agencies to lose client relationships or push brands to rely on agencies even more for AI access. Related articles: Why generative AI doesn’t fit into a standard in-housing playbook – yet As AI alters cost of creative, indie agencies review how they charge clients WTF is AI ‘grounding’ licensing, and why do publishers say it matters over training deals?

On this week's episode, AI startup Perplexity puts in its bid to buy Google Chrome and The Trade Desk loses exclusivity with Walmart DSP, signaling another tough loss for the tech titan. Then (19:00), Uber's global head of ads Kristi Argyilan shares how she got her job, and why her career path may no longer be replicable.

On this week's episode, Disney phases out Hulu and launches ESPN streaming service, and that's just one part of streaming's current reshuffling. Meanwhile, the Omnicom-IPG d eal gets another go-ahead in the U.K.. Then, Reddit chief operating officer Jennifer Wong joins the Digiday Podcast to talk about Reddit's plans to become a go-to search engine.

This week’s episode recaps Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s personal superintelligence memo, the reported price Amazon is paying to license The New York Times’s content and a check-in on the TV and streaming advertising upfront as negotiations wrap up. Then (18:51), Digiday senior media reporter Sara Guaglione and executive editor of news Seb Joseph join the show to share their reporting on a recent meeting between IAB Tech Lab, more than 80 publishers and AI giants including Google and Meta to discuss how publishers can respond to AI companies scraping their sites.

This week's episode recaps the Trump administration’s greenlight of the $8 billion union of Paramount and Skydance, and the White House's AI Action plan. Then (16:11), Alexander Lee, senior entertainment media reporter, and Krystal Scanlon, platforms reporter, join the Digiday Podcast to parse through what’s in, what’s out and who’s getting paid in the creator economy right now.

This week’s episode recaps what CBS's cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert says about the media business and takes a look at OpenAI's agentic AI offering. Then (24:20) Albert Thompson, head of digital innovation at ad agency Walton Isaacson, joins the show in a live recording from Digiday’s CTV Advertising Strategies event to break down why the CTV ad industry needs to prioritize more native ad formats.

Creator Brandon Edelman stops by the Digiday Podcast to talk about his pivot to full-time content creation, how he strikes brand deals and life after TikTok (22:00). Also on this episode, Digiday platforms reporter Krytsal Scanlon joins co-hosts Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson to talk about Linda Yaccarino’s exit from X, what WPP’s new CEO means for the holding company’s growth and how AI is shaping the next era of the browser wars.