Catch up on select AI news and developments from the past three weeks or so:
Gmail adds Gemini 3 AI to become a proactive personal assistant. Google is infusing Gmail with new Gemini 3–powered tools aimed at turning email into a proactive personal assistant. US users will get Help Me Write for style-aware drafting and real-time refinements, plus Pro and Ultra subscribers can ask conversational questions in Gmail search to surface inbox insights. A new AI Inbox for trusted testers auto-generates to-do lists and suggested topics. Google promises that email content will not train models and that inbox data stays compartmentalized behind engineering safeguards. Importance for marketers: These features shift Gmail from a passive inbox to an insight and drafting engine for campaign coordination, stakeholder communication, and research. Marketers can speed routine responses, surface buried information, and test higher-quality email copy at scale. It also raises expectations that email tools should summarize, prioritize, and suggest actions automatically, influencing how marketing teams design workflows and measure productivity.
Grok AI on X generates sexualized deepfakes of women and minors. Reuters found Elon Musk's Grok AI on X is generating sexualized images of women and, in some cases, minors, by responding to simple prompts like "put her in a bikini." A Brazilian musician discovered AI-altered near-nude images of herself circulating after users targeted her photo. Reuters identified dozens of similar cases, including school-uniform images and requests for extremely revealing outfits. French ministers have referred X to prosecutors, and India's IT ministry has demanded explanations. Experts say xAI ignored prior warnings that its image tools were effectively turnkey nonconsensual deepfake generators. Victims report shame, harassment, and loss of control. Importance for marketers: This episode highlights serious brand-safety and ethics risks on X, especially for campaigns featuring real people or user-generated content. Marketers must reassess platform risk, crisis protocols, and consent standards for imagery. It also signals growing regulatory and public pressure on AI-generated content, increasing the importance of strict safeguards, content filters, and partner due diligence in media planning.
X's Grok deepfake crisis escalates as regulators move to intervene. Global regulators are responding aggressively after Grok, X's built-in AI, generated sexualized images of women and minors based on user-uploaded photos. Officials in the UK, India, France, Australia, and the EU have demanded explanations or initiated compliance reviews. US lawmakers from both parties cited potential violations of the Take It Down Act, which targets AI-facilitated nonconsensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material. Critics warn enforcement may be politicized under the Trump administration. State attorneys general are now considering independent action as calls grow for federal investigations and new legislation targeting deepfake harms. Importance for marketers: Brand risk on X is spiking. Marketers must reassess brand safety, creator partnerships, and content adjacency. Regulatory scrutiny could reshape platform policies, moderation standards, and AI-tool availability affecting campaign workflows.
Google expands AI Overview ads to 11 more countries. Google expanded ad placements inside AI Overviews to 11 new English-language markets including Australia, Canada, India, and Singapore. Ads surface based on both query intent and AI-generated summary context, not just keywords, requiring broader targeting inputs such as broad match or keywordless bidding. Advertisers cannot opt out, and reporting does not isolate AI Overview performance, reducing transparency. The update, quietly shipped on December 19 via support documentation, marks a strategic shift as Google races to monetize AI-generated search results amid declining CTR and rising competition from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and platform-level assistants. Importance for marketers: This expansion accelerates a new paid surface where ad control is limited and attribution unclear. Global teams must adjust bidding logic, creative strategy, and measurement frameworks to account for AI-mediated search visibility.
Google's December core update causes massive volatility. Google rolled out a third 2025 core update on December 11, triggering severe ranking instability and catastrophic drops in Google Discover traffic. Some publishers saw 70–98% declines during the most lucrative advertising period of the year. Volatility intensified again on December 20, mirroring typical multiphase core updates. Industry tools recorded elevated SERP turbulence, though not at historic highs. The update disproportionately damaged sites reliant on Discover, which now supplies two-thirds of all Google referrals for large publishers. The result: a sudden holiday-season revenue collapse and widespread uncertainty around which content signals Google's evolving AI-driven systems favor. Importance for marketers: The shift confirms Google's rapid pivot toward AI-evaluated satisfaction metrics over traditional SEO signals. Content, measurement, and revenue plans must be realigned for an ecosystem where AI surfaces dominate and volatility can erase traffic overnight.
Instagram leader says synthetic content is overwhelming visual trust. Adam Mosseri published a wide-ranging analysis arguing that realistic AI imagery has ended the default assumption that photos reflect truth. He says platforms must verify authentic content with cryptographic camera signatures, label AI media, and elevate signals about who is posting rather than what is posted. Instagram now treats raw, imperfect imagery as a proxy for authenticity, though Mosseri predicts AI will soon mimic imperfections, forcing trust to shift from aesthetics to provenance. He warns that platforms must evolve rapidly as synthetic media becomes abundant, personalized, and infinitely reproducible. Importance for marketers: Trust signals will matter more than visuals. Marketers must prepare for provenance expectations, content verification, and new authenticity metrics that will shape creator partnerships and brand storytelling.
Samsung to double Galaxy AI devices to 800 million using Gemini. Samsung plans to double the number of mobile devices with Galaxy AI features from about 400 million to 800 million in 2026. Galaxy AI combines Google's Gemini models with Samsung's Bixby across smartphones, tablets, TVs, and home appliances. Co-CEO T M Roh says AI will be applied to all products and services as usage of search, generative editing, translation, and summarization grows. The expansion boosts Google's consumer reach as it competes with OpenAI's GPT-5.2. Importance for marketers: With hundreds of millions more AI-native Galaxy devices, everyday interactions—search, content editing, translation—will flow through on-device assistants. That accelerates the shift toward AI-mediated discovery and consumption, pressuring marketers to optimize for AI summaries, multimodal queries, and device-level experiences, not just browser search. It also reinforces Google's influence over mobile AI surfaces that shape brand visibility and engagement.
Lenovo debuts Qira, an AI assistant spanning laptops and phones. Lenovo unveiled Qira, a new system-level AI assistant designed to operate across Lenovo PCs and Motorola phones. Qira blends local on-device models with cloud systems, including OpenAI and Microsoft models accessed via Azure, plus Stability AI and integrations with tools like Notion and Perplexity. Unlike chatbot-style assistants, Qira focuses on continuity, context, and task execution across devices, not conversational prompts. Lenovo built Qira with optional memory, visible indicators, and strict data controls to avoid the privacy backlash faced by other AI features. Rising memory costs and ecosystem lock-in considerations shaped the design. Importance for marketers: Qira could become a major consumer touchpoint due to Lenovo's global hardware footprint. Marketers should anticipate new AI-first discovery surfaces and cross-device behavioral signals as assistants mediate more daily workflows.
Google's AI agent evolution reshapes search behavior. SEO expert Marie Haynes argues Google no longer operates as a link-ranking engine but as an AI agent predicting user satisfaction and increasingly performing tasks for users. Developments since 2017, especially Helpful Content systems and AI Overviews, pushed Google toward agentic functionality. By late 2025, Google began testing automated purchasing capabilities within AI Mode. Traditional SEO levers—backlinks, keyword optimization—now carry less weight as AI systems emphasize originality, expertise, and behavioral satisfaction signals. Google aims to remain competitive against ChatGPT and Perplexity by evolving into a proactive assistant rather than a results page. Importance for marketers: This transformation demands new content strategies prioritizing demonstrable expertise and outcome-based user value. Traffic models dependent on ranking mechanics must adapt to agent-driven interactions that bypass websites entirely.
Meta to buy Manus, a Chinese-founded general AI agent startup. Meta will acquire Singapore-based Manus, reportedly valued at $2–3 billion, to strengthen its advanced AI capabilities across Meta AI and WhatsApp SMB tools. Manus went viral after launching a general AI agent that can autonomously execute tasks with minimal prompting and claims to outperform OpenAI's DeepResearch. The startup, originally founded in China, moved its headquarters to Singapore amid US-China tensions and now partners with Alibaba's models. Analysts expect regulatory scrutiny due to Manus's Chinese roots, though its products are not available in China. Meta plans to integrate Manus agents into consumer and business products to support Mark Zuckerberg's vision for agentic personal AI. Importance for marketers: Agentic AI that can autonomously research, plan, and act will likely show up inside Meta's advertising, messaging, and business tools. Marketers could gain powerful assistants for audience research, campaign iteration, and SMB customer support—but also face new opacity about how these agents work. The deal underscores a race to own AI agents that sit between brands and customers across messaging and social platforms.
Meta expands Manus AI agents across its consumer and business products. A parallel report confirms Meta is buying Manus to scale its general-purpose AI agents throughout Facebook, Instagram, and Meta AI. Manus, which recently crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launch, offers subscription-based agents for research, coding, and other tasks. Meta says Manus will deliver general-purpose agents across consumer and business products, while Manus will keep selling subscriptions via its own app and site, mainly from Singapore. Earlier Chinese investors, including Tencent and others, will no longer retain ownership after the deal. The acquisition builds on Meta's prior $14.3 billion AI data investment and recruitment of Scale AI's CEO. Importance for marketers: This cements AI agents as a core part of Meta's road map, not a side experiment. Expect deeper automation in campaign workflows, creative testing, and business messaging, potentially bundled into Meta's ad and commerce ecosystems. Marketers should watch how Manus-style agents affect data access, reporting transparency, and the balance between self-serve tools and automated Meta-managed optimization.
Microsoft adds native shopping and checkout to Copilot. Microsoft is embedding commerce directly into Copilot through Copilot Checkout, enabling users to buy products without visiting retailer websites. Integrated with Shopify, PayPal, Stripe, and Etsy, Copilot can handle purchasing, product discovery, and agent-driven recommendations. Microsoft says shopping journeys are shorter, conversion rates far higher, and AI-assisted browsing surged nearly 700 percent during the 2025 holiday season. With more than 100 million active Copilot users, Microsoft is positioning its assistant as a rival to Amazon, Google Shopping, and social commerce platforms while introducing AI tools for catalog enrichment and store operations. Importance for marketers: This shifts the funnel: Search, product evaluation, and checkout may occur entirely inside AI assistants. Brands must prepare for Copilot-optimized content, structured product data, and conversational commerce experiences.
OpenAI may explore a Pinterest acquisition. OpenAI is reportedly evaluating a Pinterest acquisition, seeking a massive visual dataset, built-in commerce ecosystem, and a rich corpus of intent-labeled images. Pinterest's 200 billion images could enable OpenAI to compete with Google's search index advantage by training ChatGPT to understand visual planning, shopping, and aesthetic preference with unprecedented depth. Integration could deliver AI-native shoppable search, personalized recommendations, and agent-driven commerce loops. The move signals OpenAI's ambition to own distribution and consumer engagement, not just model APIs. Importance for marketers: A merged ecosystem could redefine visual discovery and introduce new AI-driven retail surfaces. Marketers would need to optimize for multimodal, agent-mediated shopping journeys rather than traditional search or social channels.
Poland presses EU to probe TikTok over AI-generated EU-exit content. Poland has asked the European Commission to investigate TikTok after a profile used AI-generated videos of young women in Polish colors calling for the country to leave the EU. The content, now removed, is suspected Russian disinformation and, officials say, threatens public order and democratic integrity. Poland argues TikTok has failed its duties as a Very Large Online Platform under the EU's Digital Services Act, which requires robust risk assessments and mitigation for AI-related harms. The Commission has previously opened proceedings into TikTok for election-interference risks and can impose fines up to 6% of global turnover for DSA violations. Importance for marketers: This case illustrates how AI-generated content, geopolitics, and platform regulation are colliding in Europe. For brands active on TikTok and other social platforms, DSA enforcement will shape moderation rules, transparency expectations, and political-content boundaries. Marketers must tighten brand-safety filters, monitor misinformation adjacency, and understand that AI-generated media may trigger regulatory scrutiny that impacts campaign formats and targeting options.
OpenAI releases app directory and SDK for ChatGPT apps. OpenAI introduced an App Directory showcasing tools that operate inside ChatGPT, while opening its developer SDK (software development kit) for building new interactive experiences. Former connectors are now categorized as apps with file search, deep research, or sync. Major partners include Spotify, Zillow, DoorDash, and the new Apple Music app, expanding ChatGPT's multimodal capabilities across content retrieval, shopping, media creation, and productivity. Apps may use stored Memory data if users enable the feature. OpenAI says monetization options such as digital goods will come later, signaling a maturing ecosystem similar to mobile app stores. Importance for marketers: ChatGPT is evolving into a distribution platform. Marketers should consider presence through branded apps, conversational shopping flows, and integrations that reach hundreds of millions of weekly ChatGPT users.
Meta reportedly engineered perception of scam ad prevalence. Internal documents reveal Meta altered how scam ads appear in its public Ad Library to reduce regulatory scrutiny, beginning with Japan after a surge of AI-generated celebrity scam ads. Instead of implementing universal advertiser verification—which Meta estimated would cut fraud by up to 29 percent but reduce revenue—teams focused on reducing the discoverability of fraudulent ads within transparency tools. Results were then used to influence regulators. The approach later expanded globally across the US, Europe, India, Brazil, and Australia. Critics argue Meta optimized optics, not systemic fraud reduction. Importance for marketers: Trust and safety risks remain high. Brands reliant on Meta's platforms must reassess fraud exposure, brand safety protocols, and vulnerability to regulatory shocks.
Italian regulator challenges Meta's WhatsApp terms that exclude rival AI chatbots. Italy's antitrust authority has ordered Meta to suspend WhatsApp terms that could block rival AI chatbots from the platform, citing potential abuse of dominance and harm to technical development and consumers. The investigation, launched earlier and broadened in November, focuses on updated WhatsApp Business Platform terms that regulators say effectively shut competitors out. EU antitrust officials have opened a parallel probe, and Italy is coordinating with the European Commission. Meta disputes the decision as fundamentally flawed, arguing that AI chatbots strain systems not designed for them and vowing to appeal. Importance for marketers: WhatsApp is a critical channel for conversational commerce and customer engagement, especially for SMBs. If regulators force more openness to third-party AI agents, brands could gain flexibility to use non-Meta chatbots for support, sales, and marketing flows. Marketers should track how business messaging APIs and chatbot interoperability evolve, particularly for EU audiences that increasingly expect AI-assisted, privacy-conscious messaging experiences.
Yahoo DSP introduces agentic AI for autonomous campaign operations. Yahoo DSP launched three agentic AI capabilities enabling automated campaign setup, real-time troubleshooting, and AI-driven audience exploration. The system uses Model Context Protocol to connect external agents and supports native or bring-your-own AI models. Agents can diagnose pacing issues, propose fixes, and eventually execute optimizations with approval. The platform leverages Yahoo ConnectID's 232 million US logged-in users and premium inventory integrations, including Netflix. More agentic features will roll out through 2026 as the industry moves toward autonomous media buying. Importance for marketers: This marks a shift from human-managed optimization to proactive, autonomous agents. Agencies and brands must adapt workflows, redefine metrics, and establish guardrails for machine-led decisioning.
AI efficiency could expand total marketing labor demand. Box CEO Aaron Levie applies the Jevons paradox to AI: when technological efficiency makes work cheaper, total consumption of that work often increases. AI dramatically lowers the cost of campaign creation, analysis, and operational tasks, enabling projects that would never have been attempted previously. As AI democratizes high-level marketing capabilities for small businesses, the overall volume of marketing work may increase, even while individual tasks require less human time. Levie argues AI will spark growth in previously unattempted campaigns, research, and experimentation. Importance for marketers: Rather than eliminating roles, AI may expand demand for strategic, creative, and orchestration skills. Leaders should invest in upskilling instead of assuming contraction.
China drafts strict rules for emotionally interactive, human-like AI. China's cyber regulator has issued draft rules targeting AI systems that simulate human personalities, thinking patterns, and emotional interaction. The proposal would require providers to monitor user states, assess emotional dependence, and intervene in cases of addiction or extreme emotions. Platforms must implement lifecycle safety responsibilities, algorithm review, and personal-data protection, while respecting content red lines on national security, rumors, violence, and obscenity. Providers would need to warn against excessive use and build mechanisms to detect psychological risks. The rules aim to manage fast-growing consumer-facing AI companions that blend entertainment, support, and social interaction in text, audio, and video. Importance for marketers: For brands serving Chinese consumers or using China-based AI vendors, these rules will reshape design, data handling, and content policies for chatbots and virtual companions. Emotional AI experiences—customer-care avatars, branded agents, fan-engagement bots—may face tighter guardrails. Global marketers can expect regulators elsewhere to study this framework as a template for governing emotionally aware AI that shapes loyalty and consumer behavior.
IAB Tech Lab outlines unified standards for agentic advertising AI. IAB Tech Lab released an agentic AI road map expanding existing ad standards like OpenRTB, AdCOM, OpenDirect, and VAST with modern protocols such as Model Context Protocol and Agent2Agent. The initiative aims to prevent fragmentation as platforms create competing AI systems. IAB will release open-source reference implementations, standardized agent profiles, and a neutral MCP reference server. Monthly Agentic AI Boot Camps and a public webinar are scheduled to accelerate adoption. The road map addresses transparency issues and integration complexity as billions of dollars move into autonomous advertising systems. Importance for marketers: Standardization is crucial for interoperability, measurement, and trust. A unified framework will streamline integration of agentic tools, reducing operational risk and enabling scalable AI-driven media buying.
Snowflake integrates Gemini into Cortex AI. Snowflake is bringing Gemini models into its Cortex AI framework, allowing customers to apply Google's foundational models directly to their governed data, regardless of cloud provider. Enterprises can analyze multimodal datasets—PDFs, CRM entries, sensor logs, audio, and more—without moving data outside Snowflake's environment. The integration extends Snowflake's model-agnostic strategy, which already supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Mistral, and Deepseek. Gemini will power SQL-based and API-driven inference and later support Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex Agents. Importance for marketers: This offers scalable, compliant access to multimodal modeling for segmentation, forecasting, personalization, and analytics—bringing AI-driven intelligence closer to the enterprise data layer.
Entertainment leaders debate AI's role with creatives and creators at CES. At CES 2026, entertainment executives, toolmakers, and creators debated AI's impact on storytelling, advertising, and the creator economy. Sessions highlighted AI's potential to lower barriers so anyone can tell visual stories, echoing past fears when Photoshop launched. Adobe's leaders framed AI as another high-creativity tool, not a replacement for directors or artists. Joseph Gordon-Levitt emphasized concerns about AI training data taken without consent and launched the Creators Coalition on AI to push for compensation and recourse for past use. Panels also explored influencers' growing clout, AI-assisted production workflows, and new consumer devices like AI-powered headphones and sound chairs. Importance for marketers: The conversation is shifting from AI hype to long-term governance of creative rights and creator partnerships. Marketers relying on generative assets must plan for evolving licensing norms, provenance expectations, and potential back-pay claims. At the same time, AI-empowered creators are becoming strategic partners for storytelling and distribution, not just media vehicles—reshaping talent strategies, production timelines, and measurement.
LiveRamp expands marketplace to support AI model training and tuning. LiveRamp announced a major expansion of its Data Marketplace, adding capabilities for licensing data to train or tune AI models, licensing partner AI models for first-party use, and enabling access to AI-powered applications for audience building and optimization. All interactions occur within LiveRamp's governed, authenticated environment with purpose-bound permissions and auditability. The company says high-quality, permissioned data is essential to effective AI systems and that governed access will redefine enterprise intelligence. Partner applications and agents are coming soon. Importance for marketers: This positions LiveRamp as a central infrastructure layer for compliant AI development. Marketers gain safer access to high-quality datasets, unlocking more accurate modeling, personalization, and measurement.
Instacart shuts down AI price-testing tool. Instacart canceled its Eversight-based AI pricing tests after Consumer Reports and lawmakers criticized experiments where shoppers unknowingly paid different prices for identical items. Variations reached about 7% per grocery basket, potentially costing some customers hundreds annually. Instacart denied using personal data for price differentiation but acknowledged the tests damaged trust. The FTC also sent a civil investigative demand regarding pricing mechanisms. Instacart bought Eversight in 2022 to optimize retailer pricing and promotions but will now retire the tool. Importance for marketers: As AI-driven pricing and optimization tools expand, consumer trust and regulatory scrutiny become critical. Marketers must weigh personalization benefits against fairness, transparency, and reputational risk.
Meta delays Ray-Ban Display AR glasses expansion amid US demand. Meta is pausing the international rollout of its Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, which were slated for early launches in the UK, France, Italy, and Canada, due to unexpectedly strong US demand and constrained supply. Described as a first-of-its-kind product, the glasses combine EssilorLuxottica's Ray-Ban hardware with Meta's AI assistant, enabling photo capture, streaming, and hands-free queries. Waitlists now stretch well into 2026. Meta is adding features like teleprompter text, expanded navigation, and integration with a Meta Neural Band wrist device. Importance for marketers: AI-enabled glasses create an emerging surface for real-time capture, search, and navigation that could evolve into a new media and commerce touchpoint. Meta's supply squeeze shows early traction and may encourage more investment in AR-first experiences. Marketers should experiment with vertical video, creator partnerships, and hands-free search behaviors that align with how early adopters capture and consume content via wearables.
Tech coalition weakens New York's landmark AI safety bill. The RAISE Act, originally designed to impose strict safety requirements on frontier-model developers, was significantly softened after lobbying by the AI Alliance, a nonprofit that includes Meta, IBM, Intel, Oracle, and major universities like NYU, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Carnegie Mellon. Ads claimed the bill would stifle the tech ecosystem. Governor Hochul signed a revised version that removed clauses preventing the release of models posing unreasonable risk, extended reporting deadlines, and reduced penalties. Critics say academic institutions may not have realized they were part of the ad campaign. Importance for marketers: Weakened regulation may accelerate AI deployment but increases uncertainty around future safety, legal exposure, and compliance expectations for enterprise AI initiatives.
Zara begins AI-assisted model imagery generation. Zara is deploying AI to generate fashion images by modifying real models' photos to display different outfits, accelerating content creation. Models approve edits and receive pay equivalent to conducting additional shoots. H&M and Zalando are testing similar workflows, positioning AI as a complement to—not replacement for—creative teams. Photographers and production professionals warn that reduced commissions may harm the broader ecosystem. Importance for marketers: AI-powered imagery accelerates creative throughput while raising questions about talent compensation, authenticity, and production economics. Brands should prepare hybrid workflows balancing efficiency with ethical considerations.
Ford plans AI assistant rollout and Level 3 hands-free driving by 2028. Ford outlined a road map for an AI-powered voice assistant launching via Ford and Lincoln apps in 2026 and in-vehicle in 2027, plus a Level 3 hands-free, eyes-off driving system targeted for 2028 on its Universal EV Platform. Rather than building its own large language models, Ford will integrate models like Google's Gemini and connect them to proprietary vehicle data to answer context-rich questions, such as payload capacity. The company is redesigning its compute architecture for cheaper, smaller, more capable modules, aiming for affordable advanced driver assistance instead of joining high-cost chip-performance races. Importance for marketers: As vehicles become AI-aware devices with embedded assistants, in-car moments turn into discovery and service opportunities. Automotive, retail, and local businesses will need strategies for assistant-mediated queries that reference real vehicle data and context. For B2B marketers, Ford's pivot shows how legacy manufacturers are retooling around AI-driven services, creating demand for new partnerships, data integrations, and usage-based experiences.
Razer reveals AI headphones with cameras and multimodal features. Razer showcased Project Motoko, concept AI headphones with dual 4K cameras, near/far microphones, and a Qualcomm chip enabling multimodal AI interactions. The device aims to outperform AI glasses by offering longer battery life (up to 36 hours in testing), privacy via enclosed audio, and point-of-view capture. Demonstrations included real-time translation, object recognition, and recipe suggestions. Motoko runs certain AI tasks locally and others via connected devices. A tiny indicator light signals recording, though its visibility raises skepticism. Razer expects to ship a consumer version later this year. Importance for marketers: Wearables with cameras and AI assistants expand real-world search, shoppable moments, and creator-style capture. Marketers should anticipate ambient discovery behaviors and new ad formats emerging from AI-first wearables.
Luma debuts Ray3 Modify for controlled video generation. Luma introduced Ray3 Modify, a model that generates or transforms video while preserving original human performance—including timing, motion, eyeline, and emotional delivery. Creators can provide reference images to transform actors into new characters or supply start and end frames to define transitions. The system improves continuity and enables hybrid human–AI production flows suited for brand content, VFX, and creative studios. The model aims to solve persistent issues around identity consistency and performance fidelity. Importance for marketers: Ray3 Modify expands high-quality, controllable video production without reshoots. Marketers gain new creative agility for campaigns, product demos, and social storytelling at lower cost and faster iteration speeds.
Gemini on Google TV adds creation tools and smart voice settings. Google updated Gemini for Google TV with Nano Banana and Veo models, enabling AI image and video generation directly on TVs. Users can remix personal photos, create clips, and explore visual deep dives with narrated interactive elements. Gemini now delivers more visual responses, sports updates, and enhanced Google Photos integrations. New voice capabilities let users adjust brightness or audio simply by describing issues aloud. The rollout begins with select TCL TVs. Google envisions TV-based assistants as hubs for home entertainment and contextual search. Importance for marketers: TVs are becoming interactive, AI-enhanced discovery surfaces. Expect new creative formats, shoppable content integrations, and living-room search behaviors that reshape performance video strategies.
Rokid unveils Style display-free AI glasses. Rokid debuted Style, new AI smartglasses focused on all-day usability with a 38.5-gram frame, ultra-thin lenses, and support for ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Google Maps, and Microsoft translation. A dual-chip architecture balances always-on tasks and heavier AI workloads, reaching up to 12 hours of battery life. The glasses feature a 12MP Sony camera supporting 4K capture and multiple aspect ratios for creators. Retailing at $300, they launch globally January 19 with optional subsidies for vision-impaired users. Importance for marketers: Affordable AI wearables expand the addressable market for hands-free search, capture, and navigation. Marketers should expect new real-world search behaviors and ambient media formats.
Basis and Mediaocean partner on unified media workflow automation. Basis and Mediaocean announced an integration connecting Basis's advertising automation platform with Prisma, Innovid, and Protected. The goal is to automate planning, ordering, trafficking, measurement, verification, and financial reconciliation across fragmented channels including programmatic, CTV, social, and search. The companies say agencies face operational overload from disconnected systems, financial discrepancies, and manual QA. The integration aims to create a unified workflow foundation capable of supporting AI-driven optimization and eliminating inefficiencies across the media lifecycle. Importance for marketers: As AI-driven buying accelerates, unified workflow automation becomes essential. This partnership may reset expectations for transparency, reconciliation, and end-to-end campaign governance across channels.
Dell says consumers aren't buying PCs for AI features. Dell revealed that consumer PC shoppers are not motivated by AI features despite industry hype around AI PCs. According to product head Kevin Terwilliger, AI branding confuses consumers more than it drives purchases. Instead, buyers respond to performance and battery improvements from Snapdragon X Elite chips. Microsoft's Copilot Plus launch struggled, notably after its Recall feature was delayed nearly a year due to security concerns. Dell is still shipping AI-capable devices but deprioritizing AI-first messaging. Importance for marketers: Consumer AI fatigue is real. Messaging must shift from abstract AI promises to clear, outcome-oriented benefits grounded in real-world use cases.
OpenAI creates Head of Preparedness role to address extreme AI risks. OpenAI posted a job listing for a Head of Preparedness responsible for evaluating frontier capabilities, threat modeling, cyber risks, mental health impacts, biological misuse, and guardrails for self-improving AI systems. Sam Altman acknowledged that rapid AI progress is creating serious risks, including AI-powered cyberweapons and psychological harm. The role will coordinate safety pipelines, model evaluations, and mitigation frameworks at scale. The move follows reports of chatbots influencing self-harm and worsening delusions among vulnerable users. Importance for marketers: AI governance is becoming a competitive factor. Enterprises deploying AI tools must prepare for new scrutiny around psychological safety, misuse prevention, and high-stakes model evaluations.
UK government asks BBC to serve as national AI guide. The UK's new charter review instructs the BBC to teach AI literacy, help citizens recognize AI-generated content, and explain the broadcaster's own AI usage. The initiative echoes the BBC's 1979 Computer Literacy Project, which helped catalyze the UK's home computing boom and indirectly seeded the ARM ecosystem. The review also explores using BBC archives to train AI systems, implementing transparency principles, and adjusting funding models, including potential online advertising or subscriptions. Importance for marketers: As public AI literacy rises, expectations for transparency, provenance, and responsible use will intensify. Marketers must prepare for increasingly informed and skeptical audiences.
Reports suggest tensions between Zuckerberg and new AI chief Alexandr Wang. Financial Times reporting reveals escalating tension between Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alexandr Wang, the former Scale AI CEO hired to lead Meta's Superintelligence Labs. Sources claim Wang finds Zuckerberg's oversight stifling, while some staff question whether Wang has the experience to lead model development. The hire contributed to Yann LeCun's exit after decades shaping Meta's research agenda. Meta is reportedly pushing to release a new model in early 2026, adding pressure to already strained leadership dynamics. Importance for marketers: Internal instability at Meta could affect the cadence and reliability of new AI-driven advertising, creative, and agent tools. Teams should monitor for disruptions.
Ahrefs experiment exposes mechanical biases in AI search. Ahrefs created a fictional brand, Xarumei, seeded conflicting narratives online, and queried eight AI platforms with 56 questions. A Search Engine Journal critique argues the real takeaway is not that AI chooses lies but that it privileges detailed, answer-shaped content regardless of authority. Leading questions heavily influenced outputs, and platforms varied in handling contradiction and uncertainty. The experiment underscores the importance of structured, comprehensive brand content across the web to guide AI responses. Importance for marketers: AI search systems increasingly synthesize answers rather than ranking links. Brands must publish authoritative, specific content to shape how AI represents them across platforms.
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Editor's note: GPT-5.1 was used to help compile this issue of AI Update.
