Digiday Daily

April 22, 2026

The platform that can figure out how to prove AI chatbots can drive an outcome will unlock a budget category that doesn’t exist yet. OpenAI just took big steps toward that threshold: turning on cost-per-click ads inside ChatGPT. And it is on the hunt for its first advertising marketing science leader.

TOP STORY

Marketing on Platforms

OpenAI turns on cost-per-click ads inside ChatGPT

The move come as the platform looks to hire its first Advertising Marketing Science Lead.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

According to research from Keen Decision Systems, only 10% of marketers incorporate prior knowledge into their forecasts, an indication that most start from scratch every time. Partner insights from Keen Decision Systems.
AI gives marketers speed. Landing pages that used to take weeks to build now take minutes. But people with disabilities stop buying from brands whose AI-built sites make it impossible to complete a purchase. Partner insights from AudioEye.
Combining CTV with purchase data allows marketers to optimize for business outcomes instead of viewership, particularly as streaming platforms introduce more shoppable formats. Partner insights from Circana.

MARKETING

The Business of AI

Marketing strategists search for a solution to AI’s all-too predictable outputs

Marketing strategists embracing tools are finding AI’s penchant for predictability puts a ceiling on their usefulness. But the search for a solution prompts questions over how much they should rely on the machines.

The Creator Economy

Vibes over metrics: Why more creators are holding IRL events to own their audience

IRL events are becoming increasingly important pillars of a content creator’s growth strategy; here’s why.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PATHLABS

How independent agencies are scaling in the age of AI

AI may be speeding up media buying, but it’s also exposing cracks in how agencies execute. As independent agencies hit operational limits, they’re turning to partners to scale without sacrificing client trust.

Subscriptions

How The Financial Times is betting on personality-led vodcasts as its next subscription lever

By pairing star journalists with a subject‑specific standalone YouTube channel, the publisher hopes to deepen parasocial relationships off‑platform and cultivate future subscribers.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM OPTABLE

Publishers that embrace agentic AI move faster and win more

The agentic era is moving quickly — from concept to live campaigns in record time. Publishers who are agent-ready gain a competitive edge with more RFPs, more direct business wins and higher CPMs.

FROM DIGIDAY+

Member exclusive

Future of TV Briefing: The ambitious and alarming proposal fix to TV and streaming's identity crisis

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement’s Identity Infrastructure 2.0 proposal that aims to address TV and streaming’s fractured identity picture — but at what cost to people’s privacy?

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM OPENX