AD PERSONALISATION
‘Brands need to be loved by humans and read by agents’: BCG’s Lauren Wiener on AI’s impact on marketing
The growing influence of AI and LLMs on purchase decisions is significant across various consumer touchpoints. Brands are now required to optimize content for both human and AI consumption to compete effectively. Marketing leaders are rethinking traditional media-budget allocation strategies in response to these changes. Personalisation and an integrated approach to agentic marketing are emerging as critical priorities for brands moving forward.
Samsung One UI 9 driving report: Galaxy AI gets smarter, notification overload gets easier to manage, and camera gains new tricks; check all changes
Samsung One UI 9 driving report (Google Trends): Samsung One UI 9 brings new Galaxy AI features, camera upgrades and expanded customisation options to some Galaxy smartphones. The update introduces tools such as Call Brief, My FanCam and Now Nudge, alongside smarter notifications, improved Samsung DeX features and enhanced low-light photography and video recording controls.
Is your phone reading your mind? How do you see ads for things you were thinking about just minutes ago
An ad appears for something you recently discussed, and your phone suddenly feels suspicious. Digital tracking can explain some of these moments. Psychology helps explain why certain matches feel unforgettable.
Liev Schreiber's New York triplex comes with a rooftop chicken coop, raspberry garden, vintage interiors and custom bedroom
Actor Liev Schreiber’s New York City triplex includes historic architecture, vintage furnishings and personalised interiors with an unusual rooftop garden with five chickens and raspberry bushes. Situated in the NoHo neighbourhood, the home has evolved from a one-bedroom bachelor pad into a family home shared with his wife, Taylor Neisen, and their children.
VCs clip all love & cash on agentic AI
As personal AI agents transform the consumer internet, Indian VCs are shifting the focus from attention-grabbing apps to intent-driven assistants, writes Himanshi Lohchab. From AI financial advisers, health companions to personal concierges, investors are betting that the next generation of consumer businesses will be built around intent, personalisation and delegation, rather than attention and app engagement.
E-commerce firms turn to AI to solve for Bharat during festive sales
From spotting trends before they become popular and predicting what consumers are likely to buy to personalising recommendations – AI is doing a bulk of the work behind the scenes.
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GFF 2026: BharatPe launches agentic AI assistant for merchants, connects to over 60 live systems
BharatPe has launched an agentic AI assistant for merchants, which can perform actions across many live systems. This new assistant understands merchant needs and interaction history to provide better support. The company also introduced Credit Coach, an AI tool offering personalised credit health insights.
OpenAI says Indian advertisers to get direct access to ChatGPT Ads as ad business hits $1 billion ARR
OpenAI said self-service access to ChatGPT Ads will begin in India later on Monday, along with Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The expansion will allow businesses in India, including small and medium-sized companies and startups, to directly use OpenAI's advertising platform to reach ChatGPT users.
Winners of the ET Startup Awards 2026; Groww vs Zerodha
Groww won the top prize at the 12th edition of the Economic Times Startup Awards. The list of other winners, and more, in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Meta's social media settlement leaves its money machine unscathed
While the headline figure is among the largest ever settlements paid by a technology company, it is unlikely to strain a business that earned more than $60 billion last year. The settlement left untouched the personalised feeds and ad targeting that underpin its profits.
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Ads in India, over 50 brands to go live this week
OpenAI will soon display advertisements to logged-in adult users on its ChatGPT free and Go plans. This initiative aims to provide brands a new avenue for reaching consumers actively researching products. Users on premium plans will continue to enjoy an ad-free experience, while over fifty brands are expected to participate.
Tata Play partners Spotify to offer four-month Premium trial
Tata Play and Spotify have partnered to offer a complimentary music trial. Eligible Tata Play Binge subscribers can receive four months of Spotify Premium. This collaboration aims to expand music offerings and customer reach for both companies. The service provides ad-free listening and access to millions of songs. This partnership complements Tata Play's existing television and OTT aggregation services.
Google blocks over 483 million bad ads, suspends 1.7 million accounts in India in 2025
Google took strong action against bad ads in India during 2025. The company blocked over 483 million ads and suspended 1.7 million advertiser accounts. Globally, more than 8.3 billion ads were removed. Google's AI, Gemini, significantly improved its ability to detect and stop deceptive advertising in real-time. This technology helped process user reports four times faster than the previous year.
ChatGPT Free and Go users in US start seeing ads; CEO Sam Altman promises unbiased responses
OpenAI is testing advertising on ChatGPT in the United States for Free and Go users; Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education tiers will not see ads. CEO Sam Altman said ads do not influence answers and are labelled sponsored. Ads are matched to topic, previous chats and relevant past ad interactions.
Meta to offer choices on personal Facebook and Instagram ads, EU says
Meta has committed to give Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union a choice when it comes to personalised ads, in line with the EU's Digital Markets Act, the European Commission said on Monday.
European Union fines Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million in separate digital cases
The commission, which is the EU's executive arm, also fined Meta Platforms 200 million euros because it forced Facebook and Instagram users to choose between seeing personalised ads or paying to avoid them.
How smart televisions are reshaping content consumption and marketing strategies in India
Connected TV (CTV) adoption in urban India is reshaping content consumption, driving family-focused programming and interactive ads. Streaming platforms like ZEE5 and Amazon Prime are prioritising shared experiences, while brands expand CTV investments. Live sports and AI-enhanced viewing further boost CTV’s growth in home entertainment.
Indian ad market to expand 7% to Rs 1,64,137 crore in 2025: GroupM
India's advertising market is expected to grow by 7% in 2025, reaching Rs 1,64,137 crore. Digital ad spend will lead this growth, projected to rise by 11.5%. Key sectors contributing 60% of total ad spend, such as SME, realty, and BFSI, are anticipated to increase their budgets by 10%.
Meta begins testing ads on Threads in the US and Japan; aims for personalised ad experience
Meta Platforms will begin testing ads on Threads with select brands in the US and Japan. This initiative targets over 300 million monthly active users. Image ads will be placed in the home feed during early testing. Businesses can extend current Meta ad campaigns to Threads. Meta also plans to test AI-driven inventory filters for ad sensitivity control.
AI startup Fibr raises $1.8 million in a funding round led by Accel
Fibr, an AI-powered personalisation platform, raises $1.8 million in funding round led by Accel. Fibr will use the funds for enhancing its AI personalisation platform, expanding its customer base, and hiring talent including engineers, product marketers and sales and go-to-market (GTM) experts, top officials said.
Viacom18 bolsters its tech leadership team with three key hires
Viacom18 has appointed three key figures to its technology leadership team in an effort to enhance its OTT platform, JioCinema. This significant move includes naming Bharath Ram as Chief Product Officer and Ad Tech Platform Lead. Bharath Ram will be reporting to Kiran Mani, CEO, Digital, Viacom18.
66% of Indian consumers prefer to pay less in exchange for watching ads: Survey
The survey highlights evolving consumer preferences towards ad-supported streaming services in India, emphasizing the significance of tailored and relevant ad experiences. As consumers gravitate towards personalized ads and mobile streaming platforms, there is a growing need for streaming media companies to adapt their advertising strategies to meet changing consumer demands.
Meta introduces ad-free plans for Instagram, Facebook in Europe
The monthly subscription plans will cost €9.99 ($10.58) for web users, while iOS and Android users will have to shell out €12.99 a month.
How to safeguard privacy in the era of personalised ads
As personalized digital advertising becomes the norm, users are often unaware of the extent of personal data collected and shared by advertisers, leading to potential privacy breaches and manipulation. To address this, individuals should be mindful of their privacy settings, use ad-blockers and VPNs, limit location sharing and be selective with app downloads.
Deleting Google search data gets easier
On a day when Apple CEO Tim Cook pitched for greater privacy of user data with a GDPR (Europe’s new data law) like framework, Google rolled out new tools that will give users more control over their search history.
Mediatech startups using machine learning to create personalised news feeds for users
From InShorts introducing quizzes to Dailyhunt's personalised news feed, they aim to increase end users' monthly time spent on the app.
Amagi launches OTT ad insertion platform for live sports and news feeds
The platform uses a patented content watermarking technology, which will enable TV networks to dynamically insert ads on the server side.
Smartphone ads can put users' personal data at risk: study
Personal information of smartphone users is at risk due to in-app advertising that can leak potentially sensitive user information between ad networks and mobile apps.
Here’s how to stop Twitter from tracking you!
We show you how to turn off the ad tracking on web and mobile devices.
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