AI in Marketing – Weekly Round-up – Jan 27th 2026

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Table of Contents

• ChatGPT Enters the Advertising Arena with US Ad Tests
• Google Gemini Prioritises Robust AI Over Ads
• The Rise of Agentic Commerce: Opportunities, Risks and Ethical Demands
• Organic Search Proves Resilient Amidst AI Shifts, Demanding New SEO Approaches
• TikTok Boosts E-commerce with New AI-Powered Shop Tools and Marketing Trends
• AI for Content Creation: Training LLMs on Brand Voice and Smarter Prompting
• Amazon and Brands Expand AI Integration in Retail Operations and Customer Experience
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

ChatGPT Enters the Advertising Arena with US Ad Tests

Source: searchenginejournal.comOpenAI has announced that ChatGPT will begin testing ads for its Free and ChatGPT Go users in the United States. These advertisements will appear clearly labelled below AI responses and will adhere to strict guidelines, avoiding sensitive topics such as physical health, mental health, and politics. Crucially, user conversations about ads will remain private and won’t be shared with advertisers, and user data will not be sold. This move marks a significant shift in ChatGPT’s monetisation strategy, opening up a potentially vast new advertising channel.For marketing leaders, this presents an intriguing new frontier for reach and engagement. While still in its early stages, the prospect of advertising directly within conversational AI environments offers unparalleled targeting potential, particularly for products and services relevant to a user’s current query. Agencies should immediately begin exploring how to integrate this new channel into client strategies, focusing on highly contextual and value-driven ad content that complements the AI’s response rather than interrupting it. Tactical practitioners will need to understand the platform’s content restrictions and ad formats to craft effective campaigns, ensuring messages are concise, relevant, and clearly distinguishable from AI-generated information.The introduction of ads on ChatGPT will undoubtedly influence user behaviour and potentially drive demand for prompt-based ad placements. CMOs should task their teams with monitoring early test results and consumer sentiment towards these ads. Understanding which ad formats and messaging resonate best within a conversational interface will be key. This also presents an opportunity for brands to be early adopters, gaining valuable insights and potentially a first-mover advantage in this evolving advertising space.

Google Gemini Prioritises Robust AI Over Ads

Source: searchengineland.comIn a contrasting announcement to ChatGPT’s ad tests, Google has reiterated its commitment to keeping Gemini, its flagship AI assistant, ad-free for the foreseeable future. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, emphasised that the company’s immediate focus is on developing a more powerful and capable AI assistant, rather than monetising it through advertisements. This stance highlights a clear divergence in strategy between major AI developers, with Google prioritising user experience and utility within its conversational AI offering.For marketing leaders, this decision from Google signals that AI tools will not universally become new ad placements. Instead, the value derived from Gemini will be in its ability to enhance existing Google products and services, driving user engagement within the broader Google ecosystem where ads are already present. Strategic decision-makers should see this as a reinforcement of Google’s long-term vision: AI as an enabler of discovery and decision-making that ultimately feeds into other monetised channels like Google Search and Shopping. Agencies should therefore continue to optimise for visibility within Google’s established ad platforms, understanding that Gemini’s improvements will likely refine audience targeting and intent signals indirectly.Tactically, this means marketers should double down on optimising their presence across Google Search, Performance Max, and other ad-supported properties, ensuring content is discoverable and answers potential user queries that Gemini might surface. The focus remains on strong SEO fundamentals and quality ad creative. While Gemini itself won’t carry ads, its enhanced capabilities will make it more adept at understanding complex user needs, leading to more refined search queries and, by extension, more valuable ad impressions elsewhere in Google’s network.

The Rise of Agentic Commerce: Opportunities, Risks and Ethical Demands

Source: emarketer.comAgentic commerce, where AI agents act on behalf of consumers, is rapidly moving from concept to reality, bringing both immense opportunities and significant ethical considerations for marketers. A recent eMarketer study revealed that 71% of marketers believe strong ethical and privacy standards are essential for AI agents. Furthermore, 53% are optimising content for conversational AI and reimagining the path to purchase as AI agents take over discovery and selection. This shift means that 29% of consumers are already making purchases based solely on AI-generated responses, underscoring the profound impact these agents will have on brand interaction.For CMOs and agency leaders, the strategic implication is clear: the future of e-commerce is increasingly agent-driven. Brands must prepare for a landscape where their products are discovered and even purchased through AI intermediaries, often without direct human interaction on their own websites. This necessitates investing in robust data governance, ensuring brand information is accurate and accessible to AI models, and actively participating in developing ethical AI frameworks. The risk of losing data and direct customer relationships to external AI platforms is significant, so establishing trust and transparency in AI interactions is paramount.At a tactical level, marketers need to ensure their product data feeds are meticulously detailed and structured to be easily interpreted by AI agents. This includes comprehensive product descriptions, high-quality images, and structured data markup that clearly communicates product attributes, availability, and pricing. Developing a “brand voice” for AI agents, as highlighted by other reports, will be crucial for maintaining brand consistency. Agencies should advise clients on how to optimise their online presence for agentic discovery, moving beyond traditional keyword SEO to “Generative Engine Optimisation” (GEO) that focuses on being cited accurately and favorably by AI models.

Organic Search Proves Resilient Amidst AI Shifts, Demanding New SEO Approaches

Source: searchengineland.comRecent data is putting to rest some of the more dire predictions about the death of organic search. A Similarweb report indicates that organic search traffic is down by a modest 2.5% year-over-year, significantly less than the 25-60% declines some experts had feared. While AI Overviews did impact organic traffic, they currently appear in only about 30% of search results, primarily for informational queries. Overall search engine traffic actually saw a slight increase of 0.4% in 2025, with Google traffic up 0.8%, demonstrating the enduring power of traditional search alongside emerging AI capabilities.For marketing leaders, this is a clear signal that SEO remains a cornerstone of digital strategy, but its focus needs to evolve. The slight dip in organic traffic, coupled with the influence of AI Overviews, reinforces the need for a sophisticated, adaptive approach. Rather than abandoning SEO, CMOs should direct investment into “AI-first” SEO strategies that account for how AI models process and present information. This means moving beyond simple keyword matching to understanding semantic intent, building topical authority, and ensuring content is optimised for both human readers and AI summarisation tools.Practically, SEO practitioners must deepen their understanding of how generative AI summarises content and identifies sources. This involves ensuring content is structured logically, offers clear and concise answers to common questions, and incorporates strong E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals. Investing in schema markup, high-quality multimedia content (like videos), and strong internal linking will help content stand out. The shift from “searching to delegating” means that marketers need to make their content so comprehensive and trustworthy that AI agents choose to cite it, even if the user never clicks through to the original page.

TikTok Boosts E-commerce with New AI-Powered Shop Tools and Marketing Trends

Source: socialmediatoday.comTikTok is significantly enhancing its e-commerce capabilities for merchants, introducing new AI-powered tools designed to streamline content creation and improve sales. Key additions include an AI Fashion Video Maker to simplify the production of shoppable videos, AI Dubbing for automatic script creation based on product details, and an advanced Customer Relationship Management tool aimed at boosting sales, loyalty, and retention. These tools underscore TikTok’s aggressive push into the e-commerce space, building on the platform’s already rapid growth in sales and user engagement.For brand managers and e-commerce leaders, this represents a crucial opportunity to leverage TikTok’s immense reach and influence. The platform’s commitment to AI-powered creation and customer management can reduce the barriers to entry and operational costs for running effective e-commerce campaigns. Integrating these tools allows brands to create engaging, culturally relevant content at scale, capitalising on TikTok’s unique ability to drive discovery and impulsive purchases. Strategic considerations should include allocating resources to develop a robust TikTok Shop presence and experimenting with the new AI tools to quickly adapt and optimise content for the platform’s fast-evolving trends.Tactical marketers will find value in exploring these new features to enhance their content strategies. The AI Fashion Video Maker and AI Dubbing can dramatically speed up content production, allowing for more frequent and localised product showcases. The CRM tool offers a pathway to better understand and nurture customer relationships directly within the app, fostering repeat business. Furthermore, TikTok’s shared 2026 marketing trends—”Reali-Tea” (authentic stories), “Curiosity Detours” (unexpected content), and “Emotional ROI” (tapping into emotions)—provide a roadmap for crafting compelling narratives that resonate with the platform’s highly engaged audience.

AI for Content Creation: Training LLMs on Brand Voice and Smarter Prompting

Source: searchengineland.comThe imperative for marketers to control AI outputs has led to significant developments in training in-house Large Language Models (LLMs) on specific brand voices and employing smarter prompting techniques. As Search Engine Land highlights, guiding LLMs to write in a consistent brand voice is becoming essential for maintaining brand integrity and authenticity across AI-generated content. Additionally, new approaches like “rubric-based prompting” are emerging to reduce AI hallucinations and ensure accuracy in content workflows, improving the reliability of AI tools for search and content tasks.For marketing leaders and agency professionals, this represents a strategic imperative to invest in proprietary AI training and advanced prompting methodologies. Relying solely on generic LLMs risks diluting brand identity and producing inconsistent messaging. CMOs should prioritise developing clear brand style guides for AI, creating datasets of approved branded content, and implementing internal guidelines for AI content generation. This ensures that even as AI scales content production, the brand’s unique tone and values remain intact. Agencies can differentiate themselves by offering specialised services in AI brand voice training and advanced prompt engineering, helping clients navigate this complex landscape.From a tactical perspective, content creators and copywriters need to evolve their skills to become expert “prompt engineers.” This involves not just writing effective prompts but also understanding how to build “rubrics” or sets of rules that guide the AI’s output, minimising errors and ensuring brand alignment. Experimenting with tools that allow for fine-tuning LLMs on specific brand datasets will be crucial. The rise of new AI tools for content creation, such as Nodu AI for video campaigns, Outfit.fm for fashion imagery, and SuperHumanizer for making AI text sound human, further underscores the need for continuous learning and adaptation within content teams to leverage these innovations effectively.

Amazon and Brands Expand AI Integration in Retail Operations and Customer Experience

Source: digitalcommerce360.comAI’s influence is deepening across retail operations and customer experiences, with major players like Amazon and luxury brands leading the charge. Amazon has added an AI assistant to One Medical, its healthcare subsidiary, signalling a move towards agentic AI in service delivery. Similarly, Brunello Cucinelli, the Italian luxury brand, has launched a new AI-powered e-commerce site, focusing on enhanced personalisation and customer journeys. These examples highlight a broader industry trend where AI is being deployed not just for back-end efficiency but to redefine front-end customer interaction and operational logistics, as also seen with Amazon’s upgraded Just Walk Out technology targeting pop-up retail.For marketing leaders in e-commerce and retail, these developments underscore the need for a holistic AI strategy that spans the entire customer lifecycle. Investing in AI-driven personalisation engines and intelligent customer service agents is no longer optional but a competitive necessity. CMOs should assess how AI can create more seamless, intuitive, and personalised shopping experiences, from product discovery to post-purchase support. This includes exploring how agentic AI can handle routine customer queries, provide tailored recommendations, and even manage logistics like in-store pickup or returns, freeing up human staff for more complex interactions.On the ground, marketing and operations teams should investigate AI tools that can enhance customer data analysis, automate inventory management, and optimise pricing in real-time, as highlighted by Feedvisor’s insights on pricing management software. The expansion of frictionless checkout technologies, such as Amazon’s Just Walk Out, demands that brands consider how physical and digital retail experiences converge. Marketers need to ensure their digital assets, from product information to customer service FAQs, are AI-ready, enabling seamless integration with conversational interfaces and intelligent assistants across various touchpoints. The goal is to build an agile, AI-powered infrastructure that delivers consistent brand experiences and adapts to evolving consumer expectations.

Key Takeaways

• Marketers must explore integrating advertisements within conversational AI environments like ChatGPT to harness direct engagement opportunities.
• Google’s ad-free commitment for Gemini emphasises prioritising user experience over monetisation; marketers should adapt strategies to leverage existing Google ad platforms.
• Optimising for agentic commerce requires brands to invest in data governance and transparent AI frameworks, ensuring their products are discoverable by AI agents.
• SEO strategies need to evolve to become AI-first, focusing on semantic intent and high-quality content suitable for generative AI outputs.
• Leveraging TikTok’s AI tools offers brands ways to create engaging e-commerce content rapidly; adapting to platform trends is vital for success.
• Training in-house LLMs on brand voice is essential to maintain consistency in AI-generated content, highlighting the importance of good prompt engineering.
• AI integration in retail by brands like Amazon necessitates a comprehensive strategy for enhancing customer interactions through AI-driven personalisation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will AI Mode affect my SEO strategy?

AI Mode is shifting how search engines process information, meaning that SEO strategies must now consider how AI models summarise content and user intent, rather than focusing solely on keywords and simple ranking factors.

What changes should I make to my Google Ads campaigns?

As platforms like ChatGPT introduce ads, consider how conversational ads can integrate into your campaigns. Focus on creating value-driven, contextually relevant ads to maximise engagement within these environments.

How do I optimise for AI Overviews?

To optimise for AI Overviews, ensure your content is structured logically, provides clear answers, and is rich in authoritative signals, allowing generative AI to easily reference and cite your content.

What strategies should I adopt for agentic commerce?

Invest in robust data governance and create detailed product data feeds that AI agents can interpret. Ensuring transparency and ethical standards in AI interactions is crucial to maintain customer trust.

How can TikTok’s new AI tools improve conversion rates?

By leveraging TikTok’s AI Fashion Video Maker and Dubbing tools, brands can quickly produce engaging content that resonates with users, thus driving impulsive purchases and increasing conversion rates in the platform’s dynamic environment.

Conclusion

The latest wave of AI developments clearly points to a marketing future defined by intelligent automation, hyper-personalisation, and dynamic customer engagement across fragmented digital landscapes. From conversational advertising in ChatGPT to AI-driven operational efficiencies in retail and nuanced SEO for generative AI, the message is consistent: AI is not merely a tool for optimisation; it is fundamentally reshaping how brands interact with consumers and how marketing is executed.Need help adapting your search strategy for AI-driven search? Contact the Anicca team for expert guidance on SEO and PPC in the AI era.