Hey👋,
I'm Giacomo

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.

‍

Social media has been reducing referral traffic for years.

Long before ChatGPT exploded.

‍

The reason is simple:

their business model.

‍

Social media sell ads on a CPM basis.

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

‍

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

‍

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

They have zero incentive to let users leave.

‍

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.

‍

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

‍

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

This is blowing my mind 🤯

Did you know?
The Google PageRank algorithm takes its name from Larry Page, not from web "pages"!

In fact, the first iteration was tested on academic papers rather than web pages.

Of course it was a deliberate word play 😅.
Page and Brin intended to create a web search engine from the beginning.

But still, nice discovery to wrap up the week :)

Happy Friday everybody!

Bubble or not bubble? That is the question.

Bet you've heard about the AI bubble couple of times already 😂

I am not a finance expert, so I will avoid any technical analysis. But there is one thing we must keep in mind.

💡Do you think AI will still be here in 5 or 10 years?
Or will it vanish like the Metaverse and NFTs...

I think the answer is very simple:
Clearly, AI is here to stay.

It is transforming literally every aspect of business and our everyday lives. Teenagers are already becoming more accustomed to ChatGPT than to traditional browsing.

I would argue it is comparable to the internet in the 90s, which yes triggered a bubble, but also a HUGE industry in the coming decade.

I have no idea if a bubble will pop soon, but what I know for sure is that this technology will drive unprecedented profits in the coming decades.

How?

1. Enterprise efficiency.
Same or higher output at a lower cost. It is that simple.
With AI, a single employee can do the work of three.

2. Massive consumer adoption.
ChatGPT is used by 10% of the world's population and is still growing fast. Sure, they might be burning cash now, but rest assured: the time will come when they monetise this audience LIKE CRAZY.

3. Accelerated innovation.
AI drastically speeds up the pace of innovation. We will see revolutionary new products emerge from this cycle.
Just to name some: consumer robots and self-driving cars. 🚀

What else?

AI Overviews kill clicks. It’s a fact.

The interesting part is that this affects both organic and paid traffic.
Even more intriguing... CTRs decrease even for queries that don't trigger AIO.

This report by Seer Interactive is extremely telling.

The "zero-click" trend has been accelerated by AI Overviews and chatbots, but it existed long before them.

Google has been developing a "zero-click" strategy for at least the past decade. Think of Knowledge Panels, Google Business Profiles, FAQ snippets etc.

But also,
Google Hotels, Google Flights, and even Google Shopping.

They all aim to keep users on Google as long as possible, absorbing steps of the consumer journey that used to belong to publishers and merchants.

But the irony is clear.

Google disrupted the industry in the late 90s by inventing a clean, fast search engine built to send users to the best result as quickly as possible.

This was unlike Yahoo, for example, which aimed to keep users on-site to sell more display ad impressions.

The same now applies to social networks.
None of them want users to click away.

Today, the "death of clicks" has massive repercussions for digital marketing:
how can we track user journeys across platforms if they never click?

Sure, we could use impressions or view tracking, but let's be real. That has never truly worked.

So, what to do?

Measurement techniques like incrementality experiments and Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) are thriving because they don't rely on clicks.

But generally, we need to realise that:

clicks ≠ business

Digital marketing must steer away from clicks and tracking and refocus on "old-school" concepts like share of voice, brand awareness etc

and ultimately, surprise surprise, revenue!

It’s a mindset shift.
Not everybody likes it, but it is necessary.

The last few months have been intense.

Digital Marketplaces Association Conference
ETH AI Center AI+X Summit.
Analytics Summit.
University of St.Gallen guest talk.

I presented at some. I listened at others.

One key takeaway:
AI is reshaping marketing and online business big time.

And it is here to stay. This is not a fad.
Remember the Metaverse? Dead already.
NFTs? Thanks god they're gone.

But AI is different. It is a fundamental structural shift.

Here is why:

1️⃣ It created a new category of mainstream products.
ChatGPT and Gemini are now household apps.
It is no longer about AGI or who has the "best model." It is about the best product and billions of active users.

2️⃣ It is transforming enterprise products and processes.
The formula is simple: increase output while decreasing operational costs.
We see case studies everywhere. It's happening.

3️⃣ It is reshaping the consumer journey.
AI has changed how people interact with the internet.
From discovering brands to sourcing information, user behaviour always goes through an AI chatbot first.

Forget the "AI bubble" headlines or stock prices.

This is about rethinking the way we do business;
the rules of the game have changed.

Last week, I moderated a workshop at the Digital Marketplaces Association conference in Zurich.

The topic... You guessed it. AI. 😅

Actually, almost every session was about AI.

But unlike most events I’ve attended recently, the focus wasn't on efficiency or operational processes.

It was on something much more critical.

How AI chatbots are fundamentally reshaping people's behaviour online.

From search queries to questions.
From browsing to reading answers.
From clicks to mentions and direct traffic.

This has massive implications for digital marketing and online businesses in general.

No one is immune.

It was fascinating to discuss this with a group of like-minded business leaders.
We looked at the current situation, the risks, and most importantly the opportunities.

Here is the consensus:
- We are just at the beginning. But the shift is happening.
- The risks are real. But the opportunities are greater.
- There's no playbook! we'll still need to figure.

On the last point,
someone did ask me whether I could share a full guide on digital marketing in the age of AI.

Well, I wish it existed!

Exciting times ahead!