AI News and Commentary from Debra Aho Williamson

3 AI marketing tactics that are actually working
Smart uses of AI by Dotdash Meredith, Havas and Perplexity are helping marketers, brands and agencies make smarter connections.

A peek at how Newton Research, Publicis and Rembrand are reshaping AI marketing
AI isn’t just optimizing marketing—it’s reshaping how multiple tasks gets done.

Four quick takes on Perplexity’s Comet browser
My quick take on Perplexity’s upcoming Comet browser and what it might mean for agentic advertising.

Those AI-related ads on the Super Bowl? Mostly duds.
Piotr Bombol and I broke down all the AI ads from this year’s Super Bowl - and why they didn’t perform as well as they could have.

The Sonata Insights difference : How Debra Aho Williamson works with clients
Here’s how Sonata Insights provides expert research and advisory services to clients, focusing on AI consumer behavior and the transformative impact of AI on marketing.

OpenAI’s Super Bowl ad fumble
Here’s what OpenAI could have done differently in its Super Bowl ad to convince more consumers to try ChatGPT.

Introducing agentic advertising—ads that target AI agents, not humans
Soon, consumers will not even need to go to an AI platform to do what they do today. Instead, they will have an AI agent perform a task on their behalf, and the results will be delivered to them.

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.