Digiday Daily

January 27, 2026

Ads in ChatGPT might be good for OpenAI’s business, but it’s not necessarily a good move for their users. So far, it’s been unsponsored, unbothered and untouched by the internet’s usual commercial fingerprints. Consumers stand to recognize the shift immediately.

TOP STORY

Marketing on Platforms

As ChatGPT’s growth slows, ads look like the next risky move

While launching an ad business might be good for the AI platform’s bottom line, it could cause some users to jump ship as a result.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

When marketers treat the holidays as the start of their next cycle — not the end of the last one — they don’t just deliver revenue, they build resilience. Partner insights from Intuit Mailchimp.
The discussion around brand safety and suitability has matured. The industry is now entering a new phase, where brands expect more control, more extensibility into walled gardens and closer accountability to outcomes. Partner insights from Channel Factory.
As AI evolves from automation to autonomy, marketers are rethinking how campaigns run and how marketing organizations operate. Virgin Money is using AI-driven audience optimization so its agency team can focus on strategic tasks — all while reaping the rewards of improved performance as noted by its agency partner, mFuse. Partner insights from Quantcast.

MEDIA & PLATFORMS

Cloudflare’s Human Native acquisition signals a new content economy for publishers

While the ink is pretty fresh on the acquisition, announced on Jan. 15, several media experts and publishers regard it as a signal for how Cloudflare plans to help build an infrastructure for the AI content economy.

Business of TV

Programmatic advertising on TV is set to increase this year

Comcast said programmatic ad spend on TV s trending up, as access widens and old borders between CTV, streaming and linear dissolve.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM BROWSI

Why ad quality should be based on signals beyond viewable and human

If you ask someone in ad tech what makes an ad quality, they’ll likely give the answer: viewable and human. But these barely scratch the surface, and there are signals that tell a fuller story.

See how it works

The Creator Economy

Digiday staffers tackle the creator vs. influencer divide

Creator vs. influencer: Digiday staffers debate the difference, and why it matters to marketers on this episode of the Digiday Podcast.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PADSQUAD

Why advertisers are recentering creative in a precision-driven industry

Rather than launching a back-to-school campaign with a single message, delivering experiences for different segments, like budget-focused families and first-time school parents, is more effective. Each experience reflects the same strategy but is tailored to specific motivations.