AI has the potential to unlock nearly $30 billion in productivity gains and media investment, but only if marketers address key measurement challenges first, writes Angelina Eng of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Most marketers rely on last-touch attribution and inconsistent data, leading to suboptimal channel investment. The IAB's Project Eidos will create standardized taxonomies and a unified measurement framework to enhance AI's effectiveness.

The intent-first strategy in Google Ads focuses on understanding user goals rather than specific keywords. This method encourages organizing campaigns by the intent behind searches, aligning creative and campaign design with users' objectives. It enhances resilience to changes in AI-driven advertising formats by emphasizing the reasons behind searches rather than just the search terms.

Marketers are increasingly turning to AI to address outdated measurement methods, including attribution analysis, marketing mix models and incrementality tests, which three-quarters of US buy-side leaders say are underperforming, per IAB's State of Data 2026 report. Marketers are using AI to deliver insights faster and more strategically, although trust remains a concern, with 50% of marketers anticipating accuracy or legal challenges.

TikTok Shop creators are shifting from chasing viral moments to building replicable systems, Glossy reports. This approach, along with product bundles and AI-powered video editing tools, is redefining influencer marketing. "If you have a longer-term partnership, that works better [to build] trust because you have creators who are using the products over a couple of weeks or sometimes a couple of months," Glossy reporter Zofia Zwieglinska says.

Meta is testing a standalone Vibes app in Brazil and Mexico, which offers users a dedicated platform to browse and create AI-generated videos. The move separates Vibes' AI video feed from the broader Meta AI app, aiming to provide a more immersive experience reminiscent of TikTok but with exclusively AI-created content. The rollout follows strong initial traction after Vibes debuted in the Meta AI app late last year.

Manscaped is celebrating its 10th anniversary with its first Super Bowl ad, a 30-second spot titled "Hair Ballad," created by Quality Meats. The ad features anthropomorphized hair clumps singing about their short-lived relationships with their owners and is part of Manscaped's "Mancare Your Everywhere" campaign, supported by social, creators and retail media.

Chevrolet is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the US with a campaign from Anomaly that revives its vintage "See the USA in your Chevrolet" jingle. The campaign features country singer Brooke Lee performing the jingle from a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2's tailgate, which was airlifted to Castleton Tower in Utah, a nod to similar stunts in 1964 and 1973.

YouTube TV's 60-second in-house Super Bowl spot features Jason and Kylie Kelce imagining a world of "Meh," which includes stars such as Gordon Ramsay, David Blaine and Olympian Sarah Hughes underperforming in their respective fields. The "Don't Settle for Meh" campaign encourages audiences to demand more from their live TV experience, positioning YouTube TV as a superior alternative to the status quo.

The 2026 IAB Outlook Study delivers market-wide and channel-level ad spend projections, plus insights into how media buyers are recalibrating growth strategies amid AI and agentic AI adoption, shifting consumer behavior, and more.

The As-Is Measurement Landscape in the Creator Economy examines where creator measurement stands today, what’s broken at scale, and what infrastructure upgrades are required to unlock the next wave of institutional spend.