News and Notes from Debra Aho Williamson

Don't Expect Ads in Meta AI in 2025
Mark Zuckerberg made it very clear in META’S Q4 2024 earnings conference call.

Meta's Q4 2024: AI, Ads and Ambitions
Meta reports quarterly earnings on January 29, 2025. Here's what I'm expecting.

IAB Study Reveals: Industry Lags in Developing Protocols for Marketing AI Initiatives
About 40% of media buyers are using AI for planning or activation. But only half of them have protocols to mandate human review of the output or to guard brand safety.

Search isn’t the only thing ChatGPT is disrupting
In just 5 minutes, Nordstrom and Sephora lost a sale and a new beauty brand went from zero awareness to landing a new customer. Here’s how.

Perplexity’s CEO talks up AI agent advertising
Pay attention to what Perplexity’ CEO says about agentic advertising.


Consumers, AI and the Power of Trust
The more consumers use AI, the more they trust it. And marketers can play an important role in building that trust.

New research: The AI Ad Gap
Advertisers are eager to harness the power of AI for ad creation. Gen Z and Millennial consumers are far less convinced.

I asked ChatGPT what ChatGPT ads will look like. Here’s what I learned.
2025 will be the year when ads come to ChatGPT and other AI experiences. This is what they might look like.

Agencies seem underwhelmed by Perplexity ads
I'm still perplexed by Perplexity's ad rollout strategy.

No, consumers don’t make up 75% of OpenAI’s revenue
When OpenAI says “consumers” make up ¾ of its revenue, what does that actually mean? In this video post, I break it down.

Sonata Insights is 6 months old!
Woo hoo! Here’s what I’ve learned in my first 6 months as a solopreneur analyst, researcher and advisor. Also: exciting international travel news for 2025, and a yearend gift for all of my supporters!

Perplexity’s ad strategy perplexes me
Perplexity revealed a bit more about its fledgling ad business at Advertising Week New York this week. I'm going to go out there and say this: It's taking a risky approach.

RMNs and creators are a power duo: New white paper!
Retail media can help marketers solve a thorny influencer marketing problem: understanding the impact on sales. And creators have the ability to liven up stale product pages, leading to more engagement and a better shopping experience. And yet .... retailers and brands haven't fully come together on this opportunity. Budget challenges, siloes and other issues keep standing in the way.

AI for creative generation and campaign optimization: New white paper!
While nearly all marketers are using AI in some way during the creative process, no one is ready to let machines take over. Having humans not only involved but responsible for checking the AI’s work is essential.

AI search isn’t yet the disruptive nemesis it’s been portrayed to be
Yes, AI is transforming search. And no, it's not happening as quickly as everyone thinks it is. Here's why I believe that.

Consumers, AI and the power of connection
Yes, AI can make marketing more efficient, but if your consumers are moving in a new direction, all the internal cost-savings in the world won’t matter if you can’t meet them where they are. Read my opinion column on P&G Signal 360.

Will Apple bring AI to the masses?
Apple Intelligence will likely cause a big uptick in the number of people using AI. And they may not even know they're using it.

Will consumer AI platforms feel the Oprah effect?
Next week's Oprah Winfrey show about AI could do a LOT to change the average person's impressions of AI. Watch my video that went viral on LinkedIn.

Talking AI with MediaPost
I chatted with MediaPost’s editor in chief Joe Mandese about why it’s important to pay attention to consumer AI behaviors, and what marketers should know. Fun fact: Joe and I worked together when I was a copy editor at Ad Age way back when.