ChatGPT ads are underperforming. Why are brands staying?

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1. 

   24 Jun 2026 · 35 min

   Spotify rebuilds ad business around automation, AI to win bigger media budgets

   Spotify’s ad business is trying to evolve beyond audio. At this year's Cannes Lions, Digiday senior marketing reporter Kimeko McCoy catches up with Brian Berner, VP of advertising partnerships at Spotify, about automation, AI, video and Spotify’s push for bigger media budgets.

2. 

   16 Jun 2026 · 35 min

   What happens when brands AI clone their talent?

   Digital twins are helping brands scale content and talent deals. Marketers are still navigating the tradeoffs. On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, hosts Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson unpack the rise of digital twins, AI sprawl and authenticity.

3. 

   9 Jun 2026 · 31 min

   How automation and AI are rewriting the upfront marketplace

   The upfront marketplace has long been built on relationships and negotiation. Now, automation and AI are changing how deals get done.

4. 

   26 May 2026 · 37 min

   BuzzFeed, Vox and the end of the site traffic era

   Once valued in the billions, digital media giants like BuzzFeed and Vox Media are now selling assets and restructuring as the old traffic-driven publishing model breaks down. On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, Digiday senior media editor Jessica Davies and senior media reporter Sara Guaglione joins hosts Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson to unpack what the fall of billion-dollar valuations says about the future of digital media.

5. 

   19 May 2026 · 31 min

   Can retail media networks survive the shift to agentic commerce?

   If shoppers start turning to AI assistants instead of retailer websites, the foundation of the retail media business could begin to crack. That’s the tension at the center of agentic commerce. On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, hosts Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson explore how AI-powered shopping agents could reshape retail media networks, disrupt ad dollars and force retailers to rethink their role in the shopper journey.

6. 

   12 May 2026 · 37 min

   Why Duluth trusts AI agents with bidding, but not brand storytelling

   The programmatic world seems split: is AI the future of media buying, or just a tool requiring heavy supervision? Duluth Trading Company lands somewhere in the middle by leveraging agents for high-speed bidding while keeping a firm human hand on brand storytelling, Duluth’s Director of Marketing Ellie Uberto joins Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson live from the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit on May 6 - 8 in Palm Springs, Calif. to break down's Duluth's approach to agents in media.

7. 

   6 Oct 2026 · 43 min

   Which Golden Girl is WPP most like?

   Is Omnicom to the ad industry what The Brooklyn Nets are to basketball? Or maybe Omnicom is more like Blanche Devereaux of The Golden Girls. Depends on who you ask. On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, executive editor of news Seb Joseph and senior editor, media buying and planning Michael Burgi took a look at the current ad agency landscape, including Omnicom's IPG takeover, WPP's attempted comeback, Publicis dominance and Dentsu's comeup, through the lens of sports analogies and The Golden Girls.

8. 

   29 Sep 2026 · 29 min

   Can OpenAI build a $1 billion ad empire?

   OpenAI has billion-dollar goals for its ChatGPT ads by the end of this year. Just seven months after its initial launch, OpenAI’s ad business is running at a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate. By the end of the year, the tech company projects its ads business will rake in $.25 billion in ad revenue. That projection surges to $100 billion by 2030. The question is: Can OpenAI woo advertisers enough to make good on those ambitions?

9. 

   22 Sep 2026 · 26 min

   How Semafor is redefining the head of video role

   Semafor technically had had a head of video before Adam Banicki stepped into the role this summer. But the role has changed with Banicki’s appointment. Instead of being strictly a newsroom role, Banicki’s position spans the editorial and business sides of Semafor.“I feel like I have like a really fun job where I get to talk to Ben [Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor] every day about all the things that are going on in the newsroom, but then taking back a lot of that almost like programming to the commercial side and saying like, ’What can we do with this? How do we build out a…

10. 

    15 Sep 2026 · 23 min

    As more surfaces become ad inventory, the economics get complicated

    Ads are coming for smart refrigerator screens, car dashboards and AI search results. So what happens when everything becomes ad inventory? On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, hosts Tim Peterson and Kimeko McCoy dig into how far advertising can expand before the business of selling attention starts to break down.

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