Marketing Trends

A survey in May 2024 suggested that 5.04 billion people use social media around the world, which is about 62.3% of the population. That proportion increases to 70.1% when looking at just the United States; your target audience most likely spends some time on social media, so you need to be there as well. The Genius Monkey platform is designed to follow your ideal audience wherever online they go, including social media.

We talk a lot about evolving your advertising strategy at Genius Monkey, but what does that actually mean in practice? There are plenty of ways to get your message in front of an audience, but not all of them are worth your time or your budget. This week, we’re looking at four tactics we’d steer clear of, along with the approaches that actually drive results. Let’s get into it.

Google Pushes Search Results Even Further Down the Page Google isn’t slowing down on the AI front. The company is testing expanded AI features on its search results page that would give AI Overviews even more real estate, with follow-up options and extended summaries pushing the traditional blue links further down. Before you sound the alarm, let’s look at the numbers. Google reports approximately 1 billion monthly active users of its AI Mode, alongside about 13.

Today’s technology makes it easy to get a message out into the world. With virtually infinite ad inventory available, an advertiser can cheaply place an ad and start counting impressions almost immediately. But here’s the thing: not all marketing strategies are created equal, and the gap between a campaign that barely moves the needle and one that genuinely drives business can come down to a handful of fixable mistakes.

Introduction On April 25, 2026, an AI coding agent called Cursor deleted the entire production database of PocketOS, a software company serving car rental businesses. One routine task, one credential mismatch, one autonomous decision to “fix” the problem without asking anyone, and an entire company’s data was gone in nine seconds flat. If you work in advertising and your first reaction was “that’s a tech problem, not my problem,” we’d encourage you to think again.

They say the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. But when it comes to digital advertising, the best time is right now! The programmatic industry isn’t just growing, it’s becoming the default way the world buys and sells advertising. If your business isn’t running programmatic campaigns yet, you’re already behind the curve. Let’s walk through exactly why. The Numbers Have Never Been This Clear Global advertising revenue crossed the $1 trillion mark in 2025, with digital channels capturing nearly 69% of that total spend.

AI is everywhere in advertising right now, and audiences are starting to notice. Trust is taking a hit across the board, not because AI is inherently untrustworthy, but because nobody’s been clear about when and how it’s being used. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released its “AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework” to start fixing that. It gives advertisers an actual standard to follow, instead of guessing. In this week’s blog, we’re breaking down the state of AI in advertising and walking through the IAB’s framework: what it covers, what it skips, and what it means for advertisers running programmatic campaigns.

The day has finally come; the internet’s favorite chatbot is getting ads, and not a moment too soon. Competitors of ChatGPT have been experimenting with advertisements for a while, and it was only a matter of time before the biggest name in GenAI threw their hat in the ring. In this week’s blog from Genius Monkey, we’re looking into the details and possible motivations behind OpenAI’s advertising moves. With OpenAI in dire financial straits, will an influx of advertising dollars save the company?

It seems that every other article these days has something to do with AI. Many people see it as the doom of creativity; others see it as a boon to productivity. Whatever the opinion, it’s likely that AI is here to stay for some time. While we cannot ignore AI’s potential, Genius Monkey firmly believes that real humans remain the central power of effective advertising. Let’s talk about how the human touch is vital to digital marketing and sets the Genius Monkey platform apart from the crowd:

News from the NRF’s Big Show 2026 Google Announces Universal Commerce Protocol Google is taking a big step toward standardizing how AI Agents can interact with generative AI chatbots. Enter UCP – universal commerce protocol – a global protocol designed to talk to and welcome existing agent protocols. Developed in tandem with a number of big names in ecommerce like Etsy and Shopify, UCP should allow advertisers to more precisely personalize shopping suggestions delivered by Gemini.