In June 2026, we analyzed 1,140 ChatGPT recommendations across five pet care categories to compile the EMARKETER AI Visibility Index.

"If nobody sees it, it doesn't exist," said David Van Veen, managing director of beauty branding agency MSLK, summing up what may become the defining challenge for beauty brands in the AI era. As consumers lean on ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews to narrow their options, brands get fewer chances to make an impression. AI doesn't return pages of search results. It surfaces a handful of recommendations, favoring brands that appear most consistently across trusted sources on the web.

"AI can be extremely powerful, but it can also be problematic if you start with that technology," Nick Craig, head of go-to-market at Rokt mParticle, said on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers." "Start with the use cases, start with the value, then let AI take hold as the enabler to reach it." Downstream AI tools, from creative generation to campaign orchestration, are becoming commoditized and crowded as marketing platforms rush to add AI capabilities. The real competitive advantage lies not in having AI, but in the quality and comprehensiveness of the customer data that trains these AI agents.

GenAI user penetration is high across Asia-Pacific, but every country has its nuances. Government policy, local AI ecosystems, demographics, and digital infrastructure are creating distinct paths to adoption in China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

Marketers create more content with AI, but sameness abounds: Strong signal data and model training are needed to differentiate AI creative.

Consumer spending will come under greater pressure during the 2026 holiday season, slowing retail and ecommerce sales growth compared with the rest of the year.

In June 2026, we analyzed 4,010 ChatGPT recommendations across 13 categories in the tech hardware and devices industry to compile the AI Visibility Index.

For brands selling products with long purchase cycles, like mattresses, cars, or appliances, the marketing challenge isn't just winning the sale. It's staying in consumers' minds for years before they're ready to buy.

Gen Z is embracing AI, but trust in the technology still lags. Even as the tool increasingly shapes work and life habits, traditional search remains the go-to for Gen Z purchase decisions.

Brands need clean AI records: Midjourney’s studio disputes show why prompts, vendors, and asset clearance need a defensible trail.

Retail brands are discovering that securing visibility in AI-generated responses is just the first step in a far more complex challenge. According to new research from Bluefish tracking nearly 200 brands across nine verticals, the brands appearing most frequently in AI answers are often not the ones being described most favorably, a fundamental shift from traditional search marketing.

AI, sports partnerships, BNPL, Gen Alpha, and digital asset infrastructure will be top of mind for payment providers in H2 2026.

Omnicom secures Adidas: Omnicom is set to win Adidas’ $512M global media account as data, AI, commerce, and scale outweigh media buying alone.

AI is adding a new layer to brand discovery before buyers reach a website. As citations and synthesized answers gain importance, marketers face pressure to invest despite shaky measurement and evolving best practices.

Media consumption is climbing again after years of slower growth, thanks partly to genAI. New forecasts reveal how AI, streaming video, live sports, and converged TV are reshaping how US adults spend their time—and driving more screen time in the process.

For years, retail media potential seemed limitless as growth skyrocketed while retail media networks launched one after the other. Today, retail media is entering a fundamentally different growth phase. During an afternoon eventat Cannes produced by EMARKETER and Sensor Tower, our analyst Sarah Marzano described an industry transitioning from expansion at all costs to a greater focus on efficiency, differentiation, and measurable outcomes.

TikTok puts AI in charge: Symphony Agent turns trend spotting, creator sourcing, and ad creation into a faster, AI-led workflow.

Consumers are increasingly using AI chat to explore purchases before they ever reach a search engine. Those conversations are creating a new layer of intent signals that marketers have only begun to tap into.

There’s no hard and fast rule for when to invest in new technologies, said David Cost, Chief Digital Officer at Rainbow Shops on a recent “Reimagining Retail” episode.

ChatGPT remains one of the web's most-visited destinations, but AI users are becoming increasingly platform-agnostic. New traffic patterns reveal how competitors are attracting a growing share of attention.