Hey👋,
I'm Giacomo

AI bubble?

Maybe, but for now AI is pushing online ads revenue through the roof.

Quarter after quarter, all advertising giants keep growing ads revenue by double-digits.

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AI helps advertisers produce more assets for cheaper.

Plus, it drives better ads performance, with advanced audience matching etc.

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So advertisers spend more in ads, across more channels.

As simple as that.

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And more players are joining the game.

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Look at Reddit, Inc., growing ad revenue by 74% YoY.

Pinterest by 17%.

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Sure, Google and Meta are still the king and queen.

But the media landscape hasn't been so fragmented in years.

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There's enough business for everyone!

*source: Q3 2025 earnings reports, chart by ChatGPT.

I finalised my media budget file for 2026.
It became a beast I cannot handle anymore!
It went from just a few lines ten years ago, to hundreds today.

What happened?

The last decade saw the rising of the advertising duopoly, Google + Meta.

Their market share grew constantly and peaked in 2019 at over 50% of the US online advertising market.

So my media budget file was very simple.
Row 1: Google
Row 2: Meta
That's it.

But now the duopoly is cracking.
Their market share is back to ten years ago.

Hence, my budget file had to expand to new channels.
Hundreds of rows!

Row 1: Google Search
Row 2: Google Demand Gen
Row 3: Google something else...
....
Row 4: TikTok
Row 5: Snap
....
Row 50: Reddit
Row 51: Disney+
...

So who is stealing market share from the two giants?

Mostly Amazon.
But also TikTok, Walmart, Pinterest, streaming giants (Netflix, Disney+, etc)
And Spotify, Reddit, Snap, even Uber... the list goes on.
OpenAI will join the party soon.

The media landscape has never been so fragmented!
It is a new reality for "young" marketers like me (I'm still trying to adapt!

What this means in practice:

1. Specialisation is gone.
You cannot be just a "Google Ads Specialist." You have to be "full-stack".

2. Good luck with measurement.
Which one of these new ad networks delivers the best ROI?
Good luck answering that.

3. Streamline streamline.
I'm looking for a tool to connect the dots from all different ad networks. Haven't found it yet. Any recommendations?

Welcome to a new era of online marketing!

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Welcome to the agentic commerce!

Instacart is partnering with OpenAI to launch the first fully integrated grocery checkout inside ChatGPT.

"From meal inspiration to doorstep delivery without ever leaving the conversation."

The entire consumer journey, from discovery to final transaction, happens right there.

And the best part is that users don’t even need to mention Instacart. Conversations about food and recipes automatically trigger the purchase journey.

Imagine you ask: "Show me an apple pie recipe."

ChatGPT suggests the recipe. It lists the ingredients.
And it prompts you to buy them immediately via Instacart.

The definition of frictionless UX!

But...
What if you are an Instacart competitor?

How do you influence this purchase journey? How do you divert users to your platform instead?

These questions are at the core of the upcoming shift in online marketing!
From browsing to chatting;
From clicks and site visits, to mentions and product integration.

For now there are no clear answers.
Except striking a better deal with OpenAI, of course 😅

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Every day, I share insights into the new marketing in the age of AI, trying to help marketers and businesses leaders make sense of this revolution.

Everyone on LinkedIn: "Screw ChatGPT, I'm switching to Gemini."
Gemini: "Sorry, I'm at full capacity."

I guess LinkedIn people migrated all at once 😂

This is the first time I've seen such a message. Either on Gemini or ChatGPT.
And I’m on the paid plan for both.

Reality is I cannot choose one tool.
I need to constantly switch to ensure the best outcome for every specific task.

Whoever says one is better than the other is lying.

Spotify thinks I’m 82. I’m 36 😅

I nearly screamed at my screen, until the app clarified:
"Don't be upset, it's just a number."

Yes, exactly like the numbers we marketers use to make decisions every day!

Let me explain 👇

Why does the algorithm think I'm 82?
Because I spent this year listening to music from the 1950s.

But wait...
I don’t like old music.
My favourite music is 10 years old max.

I thought it was a bug.
Until I realised.

It’s the endless "smooth jazz" playlists I play in the background while cooking or doing chores!

I’m not particularly into jazz. Nor I know enough about it to choose the right artist or album.
I just want to relax while I’m at home.

So it dawned on me:

Behaviour ≠ Intent.

My behaviour: streaming 100 hours of 50s jazz.
My intent: white noise for cooking.

When marketers obsess over data, they often miss the context.
Numbers alone don't tell the full story.
Often, they even tell the wrong story! like in this case.

I’m now being targeted with ads for jazz gigs and ergonomic armchairs 😂
I am going to be a terrible ROI for those companies!

Rather, I should get ads for kitchenware. Cooking and chores was my "intent".

Data tells you what happened, but only context tells you why.

So,
trust the data, but don't switch off your brain. 🧠

Google released its Year in Search.
Look what comes on top!

Even DeepSeek is on 6th place.
No ChatGPT this year.

When your ad sales representative says "advertise with us to reach new users", they're bullshitting you.

On average, people use almost 7 social media platforms per month.

Forget about unique reach.

Reality is, you could reach almost everyone in your target audience by advertising solely on YouTube.

But would you?

Probably not, and here's why:

People use different platforms in different ways and at different moments.
The very same person might watch a long form video on YouTube and an hour later scroll on TikTok.

On YouTube, they are more focused and possibly more sensitive to your expensive branding ad.

On TikTok, they are more impulsive and possibly click on a product ad and purchase straight after.

In the age of AI, wide reach across platforms is essential.

But it's not about "unique reach".
It's about reaching the same users in different stages of their journeys.

"Adobe also found that shoppers who landed on a U.S. retail site from an AI service were 38% more likely to convert to a sale, versus coming from a non-AI traffic source." 🤯

Winners and losers of Black Friday 2026..
AI was definitely a winner!

https://lnkd.in/ea5BK2K4

Reminder that the "death of clicks" isn’t just about AI.

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Social media has been reducing referral traffic for years.

Long before ChatGPT exploded.

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The reason is simple:

their business model.

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Social media sell ads on a CPM basis.

"Cost Per Mille" or cost per thousand ad impressions.

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Unlike Google Search, which sells clicks, social platforms sell impressions.

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👉 If users leave the app, they can't show them ads.

They have zero incentive to let users leave.

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Take TikTok.

They have more than tripled their active users since 2020.

Yet, they are still categorised as "other" in Statcounter list of social media referrers.

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Essentially, the traffic TikTok sends to actual websites is insignificant!

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The perfect storm:

AI Chatbots + Walled Garden Social Media = The Death of Clicks.

"In the end, it's just about good money and decent work."

I keep hearing this.
Even from people who worked very hard to get where they are.

How did they get there,
without being passionate about what they do?

Are they lying?
Since I hear it more and more often, I have to assume they aren't.

But the thing is,
I cannot relate. At all.

Sure, the paycheck and name on the cv matter.
But what matters infinitely more is what I actually do, day after day.

I fell in love with digital marketing 10 years ago. I haven't fallen out of love since.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

AI is bringing new excitement to the game. Literally every day, there is something new that could disrupt how my whole industry works.

So no, for me it is not just about "good money and decent work".

It is about passion.
Passion = Work = Life.

I don't follow "normal" working hours. It is a continuum.
From the morning going to the office to the evening reading and posting here.
I don't feel a difference between the two "moments."
Nor I need "other" moments.

But there are downsides 😔

- I may take work issues more personally.
- I lack an objective view of my career path.
- I am less money-sensitive than peers.
- I may miss out on opportunities outside my field.
- I never take an actual break.

But hey...

When you encounter people who are genuinely passionate, you notice. Their performance and work quality is 10x.

In a world rapidly filling with AI slop, I believe work quality is the ultimate differentiator.

The only way to ensure that quality is by infusing passion into the process.

I don't see any other way.

#sundaythoughts