Agencies
- Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun has accused the advertising industry of getting carried away with AI, telling The Drum that ‘overpromising on AI has been a global sport’ over the past three years. He warned that unrealistic claims and cut-price pitches put jobs at risk, arguing that agencies should prove AI’s value through results rather than hype.
- WPP Media is testing AI-generated synthetic audiences, built partly from charity donation data, to improve ad targeting. Early trials across beauty and fashion campaigns delivered a 2% lift in video completion rates, with the agency arguing that the approach helps brands target consumers based not just on demographics and behaviour, but also on shared values.
Media owners
- Snap is making another push into smart glasses, unveiling its new AR-powered Specs for £1,995 nearly a decade after its original Spectacles flopped and cost the company millions. The standalone glasses can overlay digital content onto the real world, run AI-powered tasks, play AR games, and browse the web without a smartphone. While Snap positions Specs as the next step in computing, analysts say the high price, bulky design, and four-hour battery life could limit mainstream adoption.
- ChatGPT’s market share has dropped below 50% for the first time since it’s debut in late 2022, according to Sensor Tower’s State of AI Report for 2026. While it remains the most popular chatbot with 1.1 billion monthly users, ChatGPT’s market share was 46.4% in May. Google’s Gemini now has 27.7% of the market and Anthropic’s Claude clocks in at 10.3%. The stats reflect a maturing AI market, where users are increasingly spreading their attention across multiple assistants rather than defaulting to a single platform.
- It was also spotted this week that OpenAI is pushing advertisers to use AI for ad creative, introducing tools that can generate, edit, translate, and optimise ads at scale. The company says brands will remain responsible for reviewing and approving any AI-generated content. It comes the same week as a new WordPress VIP report said that 60% of US consumers find AI in brand messaging a turn-off.
- Threads has reached 500 million monthly active users, bringing the social media site roughly on par with X. Three years after it was launched, the Meta-owned company is now looking to increase its popularity by rolling out a series of new features. ‘Your Algo’ will let users privately control the content they see in their feeds and a new dedicated Communities hub is focused on making it easier to speak about niche topics.
- Microsoft is considering spinning off Xbox as a separate entity, according to The Information. Xbox has struggled in recent years due to declining console sales and a shortage of blockbuster titles, while efforts to boost growth through subscriptions and cloud gaming have yet to deliver the scale Microsoft had hoped for. Microsoft is also weighing other options, such as creating a joint venture with other partners, which would make the gaming business easier to sell, according to the report.
Brands
- Adidas has been caught out by an unlikely World Cup shortage: the letter ‘V’. The company has temporarily run out of the character for online Germany kit customisations, meaning shirts for players such as Havertz, Undav and Pavlović can’t be ordered online. Fortunately, physical stores still appear to have a full alphabet in stock.
- Coca-Cola has been announced as the Headline Partner of the Special Olympics GB National Summer Games, which is set to take place in Birmingham from 27-30 August. The Games will bring together more than 1,200 athletes with intellectual disabilities from across England, Scotland and Wales. A national campaign will roll out from July featuring athletes from the team and spotlighting their journey to the Games.
Consumers
- AI is increasingly becoming a substitute for traditional expertise, according to new research from VCCP. The agency found 58% of Britons have used AI for tasks typically handled by professionals, spanning health, education and financial planning, while more than half now trust peers, AI tools and platforms like YouTube over traditional institutions and authorities.
