Carrier filtering is blocking legitimate SMS. The operators getting through are doing three things differently
Carrier filtering is blocking legitimate SMS. The operators getting through are doing three things differently

A business registers its number, writes a plain appointment reminder and sends it. The text never arrives. Nothing bounces back. Somewhere between the sender and the phone, a filter simply drops it. US carriers filter business text messaging for three …

ChatGPT now sends 95.1% of AI referral traffic to websites, BrightEdge says
ChatGPT now sends 95.1% of AI referral traffic to websites, BrightEdge says

ChatGPT sent 95.1% of the traffic that AI chatbots referred to websites in August, its highest share this year, according to new data from BrightEdge. The search marketing company said referral traffic from ChatGPT grew 101% between January and August….

AI shopping passes 50% of US consumers for the first time, NIQ says
AI shopping passes 50% of US consumers for the first time, NIQ says

Some 51% of US consumers used at least one AI tool to help them shop in the past month, according to new figures from NIQ. It is the first time the share has passed 50% in the market research firm’s Agentic Commerce Tracker. Use has grown steadily over…

California will fine creators $5,000 a post for hidden political ads
California will fine creators $5,000 a post for hidden political ads

“I was hearing from people in the campaign world that there’s this new strategy of paying political influencers to post content,” said Marc Berman, the California assemblyman. “Some were good about disclosure and others were a bit fast and loose.” His …

The state of the American advertiser
The state of the American advertiser

American advertisers are operating in a media environment with more channels, more data, and more technology than ever before. Yet for marketers, the central challenge is shifting. It is less about finding another place to advertise. It is more about u…

Pinterest launches Visual Search Ads at its advertiser summit
Pinterest launches Visual Search Ads at its advertiser summit

“Traditional search advertising has long relied on keywords, but in an AI-driven world, people are expressing themselves in much richer ways,” said Bill Ready, chief executive of Pinterest. The company announced Visual Search Ads on 17 September at Pin…

“A clearly labeled conversation”: OpenAI tests Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT
“A clearly labeled conversation”: OpenAI tests Sponsored Agents in ChatGPT

“Today, we’re introducing new AI-powered experiences to make ads more useful for people and advertising easier for businesses,” OpenAI said on 16 September. The biggest change is a test of Sponsored Agents. After clicking an ad in ChatGPT, a user can c…

Amazon lets its advertisers buy ads in ChatGPT in a pilot with OpenAI
Amazon lets its advertisers buy ads in ChatGPT in a pilot with OpenAI

Amazon will let advertisers buy ads in ChatGPT through its own advertising platform. Amazon Ads announced the partnership with OpenAI in a blog post on 10 September. Select US advertisers are already testing it in a pilot. Advertisers who plan and run …

Salesforce closes Fin and eyes $2bn Listen Labs, Business Insider reports
Salesforce closes Fin and eyes $2bn Listen Labs, Business Insider reports

Salesforce completed its acquisition of Fin on Thursday, bringing the customer service AI company formerly known as Intercom into its business. The same week, Business Insider’s Katie Roof and Ben Bergman reported that Salesforce has held talks to buy …

Clay raises $115m at a $7.1bn valuation, more than double its 2025 price
Clay raises $115m at a $7.1bn valuation, more than double its 2025 price

Clay has raised $115m in a Series D round that values the New York go-to-market software company at $7.1bn. Wellington Management led the round, the company said in its announcement on Wednesday. The New York Times broke the news, in a DealBook story b…