So This Happened…7th May 2025
DOJ confirms it wants to break up Google’s ad business
ArsTechica
Why It Matters:
The DOJ’s confirmed push to break up Google's advertising technology business marks a watershed moment that Atonik highlighted when covering the conclusion of the liability phase a few weeks ago. Now with the remedy trial set for September 22, we're seeing the government's strategy crystallise around forcing Google to divest two crucial components of its advertising infrastructure:
the ad exchange (the marketplace where ad space is bought and sold)
the publisher ad server (the tools publishers use to manage their ad inventory).
This potential breakup is particularly significant because Google's advertising technology forms the backbone of content across the internet. Unlike the search remedies case, which primarily affects how consumers discover products and services, the ad tech case strikes at the heart of how digital content is funded. Publishers, retailers, and brands globally have built entire business models around Google's advertising ecosystem.
The impact would extend far beyond US borders. Retail media networks worldwide—from Tesco and Carrefour in Europe to Alibaba and JD.com in Asia - could see new opportunities to capture market share as advertisers seek alternatives to Google's integrated stack. These retailers' ability to connect advertising directly to transaction data gives them a performance edge that would become even more valuable in a more fragmented ecosystem. We could see an acceleration of their expansion into offsite channels like connected TV, social media, and open-web programmatic advertising.
The timing is especially notable as we're witnessing the rapid convergence of content, commerce, and advertising. CTV advertising is growing at nearly 20% annually, with retail media networks expanding their offerings into CTV environments. The integration of shoppable ad formats with first-party retail data is transforming how consumers discover and purchase products across channels.
If Google is forced to divest parts of its ad tech stack, it could create both challenges and opportunities for the global retail media landscape. On one hand, publishers might face short-term disruption in their strategies. On the other hand, a more competitive ad tech marketplace could accelerate innovation in areas like shoppable media formats, interactive advertising, and the integration of commerce functionality into content experiences.
For retail media networks that have been building their own advertising platforms as alternatives to the walled gardens, this represents a potential opportunity to capture market share. Companies like Walmart, Target, and Amazon in the US, alongside their global counterparts, have been expanding their advertising capabilities beyond their owned properties into the broader programmatic ecosystem, positioning themselves to potentially fill any void left by Google's restructuring.
The DOJ's case is being closely watched by regulators worldwide. A successful breakup in the US could inspire similar antitrust actions in Europe and Asia, further levelling the playing field for retail media networks globally. However, these networks must balance rapid expansion with transparency and advertiser trust to fully realize these potential gains.
Judge Brinkema seems unimpressed with Google's proposed lighter remedies, which include making a subset of ad data available and ending certain pricing schemes while implementing a court-appointed monitor. This suggests the court may be inclined toward the more substantial structural changes the DOJ is seeking. As this case progresses toward its September trial, brands, retailers, and publishers around the world should be carefully evaluating their advertising technology partnerships and preparing contingency plans for a potentially very different digital advertising landscape in 2026 and beyond.
Google Places Ads Inside Chatbot Conversations with AI Startups
Bloomberg
Why It Matters:
Google's expansion of AdSense to include ads within AI chatbot conversations, alongside OpenAI's recent push into shopping features, represents major developments in how AI is transforming commerce and content discovery, and this is why it matters:
These developments signal a fundamental shift in the digital commerce landscape - AI platforms are evolving from information utilities into commercial gateways. Google's approach maintains its traditional advertising model by embedding relevant ads into conversational contexts, while OpenAI is taking a more direct approach by building shopping capabilities directly into its platform.
As users increasingly turn to conversational AI platforms instead of traditional search engines, both Google and OpenAI are racing to commercialise these interactions - albeit through different approaches. Google is adapting its advertising model to maintain dominance in this new space, while OpenAI is building native shopping capabilities directly into its platform. Both moves acknowledge a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour: people are finding new entry points into the digital economy through conversational (or social media) interfaces rather than traditional keyword searches.
For advertisers and retailers, these developments open exciting new frontiers of opportunity. Google's contextual ads are designed to flow naturally within conversations, appearing after AI-generated responses or as sponsored follow-up questions. These can be triggered by nuanced conversational cues that reveal deeper consumer intent than traditional search queries. Meanwhile, OpenAI's shopping features position ChatGPT as a potential competitor to both search engines and retail platforms, allowing users to ask about products, receive recommendations based on specific criteria, and connect with merchants to complete purchases.
What makes these parallel developments particularly significant is how they represent different visions for AI-powered commerce. Google's model maintains some separation between information and transaction, with ads serving as bridges between the two. OpenAI's approach collapses this distinction, creating an integrated experience where product discovery, evaluation, and purchase happen within the same conversational flow.
As the lines between content discovery, commerce, and conversation continue to blur, we're seeing new commercial models emerge that are less interruptive and more integrated into natural information exchange.
For brands, these developments create both opportunities and challenges, offering new channels to reach consumers at moments of high intent while further fragmenting the digital landscape. The convergence of content, commerce, and conversation through AI is accelerating faster than anticipated, likely spurring rapid innovation in how products are presented and sold through conversational interfaces.
The key question remains: which approach will consumers prefer? Will they embrace AI as a shopping assistant that guides their purchase decisions, or will they view these commercial features as diluting what were once primarily information tools? The answer will shape not just the future of these platforms, but potentially the entire e-commerce ecosystem.
Amazon's Shop the Show Makes a Splash With Expansion on Prime Video
AdWeek
Why It Matters:
Is this the tipping point for shoppable TV that we've been waiting for?
Amazon's dramatic expansion of its "Shop the Show" feature in the past few days from just 10 titles to over 1,300 is a huge leap forward for shoppable TV.
Even more of a big deal? It doesn't disrupt the viewing experience with on-screen QR codes or interactive overlays. Instead, it creates a seamless second-screen experience through the Amazon Shopping app, aligning perfectly with existing consumer behaviour. Recent research shows that 71% of CTV users are "always" holding their phones while watching TV, so this approach is both intuitive and frictionless (the holy grail that we've been waiting for)
The feature's rapid growth, powered by AI for product discovery and evaluation, demonstrates the scalability of this commerce model. By including popular titles like Barbie, The Boys, Fallout, and even live sports content, Amazon is tapping into diverse fandoms and creating new monetisation opportunities across entertainment categories.
This is particularly important because it represents a strategic integration of Amazon's entertainment and e-commerce ecosystems. While other platforms like Roku and Walmart have pursued partnerships for shoppable TV, Amazon uniquely owns both the content and commerce platforms, creating a closed-loop attribution system that provides valuable first-party data.
For marketers and brands, this expansion signals new opportunities to reach consumers through contextually relevant moments that blur the line between entertainment and shopping. The feature's non-disruptive nature solves one of the primary challenges of shoppable TV - maintaining viewer engagement while facilitating commerce.
As we've seen in recent trends, the convergence of content, commerce, and technology is accelerating. Amazon's Shop the Show expansion demonstrates how AI can help scale commerce opportunities within entertainment, but also solves the key issue of how to remove the friction that has plagued shoppable TV, potentially setting a new standard for how streaming platforms approach shoppable content in the coming years.
Meta’s ChatGPT competitor shows how your friends use AI
The Verge
Why It Matters:
Meta's introduction of a social discovery feed for AI interactions represents an evolution in the content-commerce ecosystem.
Why does it matter? It creates an entirely new discovery vector for content and products. Just as TikTok's algorithm transformed how we discover entertainment, Meta's social AI feed has the potential to alter how consumers encounter products and services. Imagine seeing a friend generate shopping recommendations or product comparisons through AI, then being able to instantly engage with or build upon those results. The feed functions similarly to Instagram or Facebook's main feeds, but instead of photos or status updates, it displays AI interactions that friends have chosen to share publicly.
Here's how it works in practice - you tell us what you think of this experience:
When using Meta AI, users can choose to make specific interactions public on a prompt-by-prompt basis. For example, if someone generates a stunning AI image of a beach vacation, gets restaurant recommendations for a trip to Spain, or creates a custom workout plan, they can opt to share that specific interaction. These shared AI experiences then appear in their friends' Discover feeds, complete with the original prompt. Users can then engage with these shared AI interactions in multiple ways.
Beyond the standard social media actions of liking and commenting, users can "remix" the prompt - essentially building on their friend's idea with their own spin, creating a collaborative, iterative process around AI content that could drive discovery in entirely new ways.
The feed is personalised based on your social graph and how you use Instagram and Facebook, since Meta pulls data from these platforms (in the US and Canada… for now!) to inform AI responses. This integration of first-party social data with AI creates uniquely personalised experiences that other AI assistants can't match.
The integration of social proof with AI capabilities is particularly powerful - we are seeing a big move towards this . By showcasing how friends and influencers use AI, Meta is addressing one of the key limitations of current retail media networks and shoppable content - authenticity and trust. According to VML's 2024 Future Shopper report, 19% of global shoppers consider friends their biggest influence when shopping, while 37% say ratings and reviews are the most important content when making purchase decisions.
Meta's approach offers a complementary alternative by prioritising social connections and shared experiences around AI and represents an important experiment in how AI might reshape our discovery and purchasing behaviours through trusted connections.
Roku to Acquire Streaming Service Frndly TV for $185 Million, Q1 Revenue Jumps 16%
Why It Matters:
Roku's $185 million acquisition of Frndly TV represents a strategic countermove in the rapidly evolving connected TV landscape, particularly in light of Walmart's completed $2.3 billion purchase of Vizio. This deal gives Roku immediate entry into the subscription-based live TV streaming market with a service offering 50+ channels including Hallmark, A&E, History, and Lifetime at a budget-friendly $6.99/month starting price.
The timing of this acquisition is not random. Just months after Walmart integrated Vizio's SmartCast operating system with its Walmart Connect retail media network, Roku is reinforcing its position in a market where retail data and entertainment are increasingly converging. While Roku maintains a substantial lead with 90 million streaming devices compared to Vizio's 19 million active accounts, Walmart's integration creates powerful new competitive dynamics in the retail media and CTV advertising space.
This acquisition illustrates the strategic chess match underway in connected content commerce:
Revenue diversification beyond advertising: As Sarah Monahan, Roku's co-head of enterprise ad sales, has emphasised, the company has been "focused on strengthening and deepening its existing partnerships with retailers through unique ad experiences." The addition of subscription revenue provides stability in an uncertain advertising environment.
Competitive positioning against retail media networks: With Walmart reportedly setting a $200,000 minimum spend requirement for Vizio platform advertisers, Roku's acquisition of Frndly TV creates a parallel strategy to maintain its appeal to advertisers. While Walmart brings unmatched retail data, Roku counters with scale and established streaming leadership.
First-party data strategies: Roku's previous partnerships with retailers like Walmart, DoorDash, Best Buy, and Instacart have focused on data sharing and shoppable advertisements. As industry analyst Andrew Lipsman notes, "It's a parallel strategy; at the end of the day, the basic assets are the same — it's really good cross-category, first-party retail data, powering ads across streaming TV inventory."
Interactive commerce innovations: Both companies are pushing beyond traditional video ads. Roku has expanded offerings like its marquee home screen ads and Roku City screensaver for retailers to create virtual showrooms and shopping experiences, while Walmart can now leverage Vizio's hardware to create seamless shopping journeys.
Entertainment as a retail strategy: This acquisition reinforces how retail and entertainment are converging. For Walmart, Vizio provides direct access to the living room; for Roku, Frndly TV offers an affordable entry point for consumers and a platform for commerce innovation.
The battle for connected commerce supremacy continues to intensify, with Walmart's retail media business growing 27% to $4.4 billion in 2024 (though still trailing Amazon's $56 billion ad revenue), while Roku's platform revenue reached $3.5 billion, up 18% year-over-year.
For brands and marketers, these strategic moves show the growing importance of developing comprehensive CTV strategies that leverage the full commerce potential of streaming environments. As the lines between content, retail, and technology continue to blur, we can expect more acquisitions and partnerships that create new pathways between entertainment and commerce, transforming how consumers discover and purchase products through their televisions.
TikTok beats Twitch to become the #2 most-watched streaming platform on the net–and says creators are making $10 mil a day
Why It Matters:
TikTok Live's ascendance to the #2 most-watched social streaming platform marks a watershed moment in how content, commerce, and community intersect in digital spaces. With 8.027 billion (!) watch hours in Q1 2025 (27% of total streaming viewership), TikTok has fundamentally altered the livestreaming landscape that Twitch once dominated.
What makes this shift a particularly big deal isn't just the viewership numbers (although those numbers are huge) - it's how TikTok has reimagined the entire social streaming paradigm. Twitch may have pioneered interactive features like live chat, emotes, and community building primarily around gaming content, but TikTok has expanded the model to embrace a much broader content spectrum with features specifically designed for mobile-first consumption that appeals to a wider audience beyond gamers.
The democratisation of creator economics stands out as TikTok's most revolutionary achievement. The platform reports creators collectively earning $10 million daily, with over 80% going to accounts with fewer than 50,000 followers. This starkly contrasts with Twitch's ecosystem, where discoverability issues have created a top-heavy economy favouring established streamers. TikTok's algorithm-driven discovery has effectively solved the "how to get found" problem that has plagued new creators on other platforms.
TikTok's focus on diverse engagement tools - live gifts, dual cameras, real-time moderation, and multi-guest hosting - has also created a more dynamic and accessible environment than Twitch's primarily desktop-oriented experience. These features aren't just entertaining; they're driving monetisation through virtual gifts that viewers purchase and send during streams, creating a direct economic connection between creators and audiences.
And the big reason to take note: TikTok has seamlessly integrated commerce into its social streaming experience. While Twitch experimented with shopping extensions, TikTok has made commerce a core part of its platform DNA. Live shopping, product showcases, and impulse purchases flow naturally within the content experience, blurring the line between entertainment and shopping in ways that feel organic rather than forced.
For retailers and brands, this represents a new frontier where product discovery, endorsement, and purchasing happen simultaneously. Rather than separating content from commerce, TikTok has created a unified experience that transforms passive viewers into active consumers without disrupting the entertainment value.
Twitch now faces an existential challenge. To regain its position, it must expand beyond its gaming roots, improve its mobile experience, enhance its algorithm-based discovery, and reimagine how commerce integrates with its content. The question isn't whether Twitch can match TikTok's raw viewing numbers, but whether it can evolve its community-driven model to embrace a broader content mix while solving its persistent discoverability problems.
The broader implications extend well beyond these platforms. Social streaming is increasingly becoming the central hub where entertainment, community building, and commerce converge. The future belongs to platforms that can balance authentic creator-audience relationships with seamless shopping experiences, allowing audiences to shop at the point of inspiration and all within an environment that makes discovery and monetisation accessible to creators of all sizes - not just those who already have large followings.
WhatsApp’s new Netflix doc on F1 is a master class in turning advertising into entertainment
Why It Matters:
We're always on the lookout for new and interesting ways that content and commerce intersect, and WhatsApp's new Netflix documentary "The Seat" represents an interesting milestone in how brands can authentically integrate themselves into entertainment ecosystems. This isn't merely branded content - it's legitimately compelling storytelling that happens to feature a brand at its centre.
Why did this catch our eye? WhatsApp identified an authentic intersection between their product and a cultural moment. As Brooke Stites from Modern Arts notes, they didn't create "a story about WhatsApp" but rather found "a story involving WhatsApp" that already existed within culture. The Mercedes F1 team genuinely uses WhatsApp for critical communications - from engineering details to the high-stakes decision of selecting Lewis Hamilton's replacement.
This approach aligns perfectly with trends we're seeing around content and entertainment. Just as retailers are leveraging first-party data to create personalised shopping experiences, WhatsApp is using its organic integration into the Mercedes team workflow to showcase its value proposition around privacy and reliability.
The economics are equally compelling. According to the article, the production cost was comparable to creating a 60-second commercial, but without the additional media spend required to distribute it, instead tapping into Netflix's existing global reach. By creating content valuable enough for Netflix to acquire through normal channels, WhatsApp effectively bypassed traditional advertising constraints.
This represents the logical evolution of what we're seeing in the retail media and CTV space. The most successful shoppable TV initiatives are those that seamlessly integrate commerce into content (like TheTake's "Trending TV Shopping"), rather than interrupting it. Similarly, WhatsApp didn't interrupt Mercedes' story - they were already an integral part of it.
For brands considering their content commerce strategy, "The Seat" offers a valuable template: identify authentic intersections between your product and compelling cultural narratives, invest in quality production that prioritises storytelling over brand messaging, and focus on delivering genuine value to audiences rather than thinly disguised product demonstrations.
