AI arms races, authenticity, and ad safety: 5 stories shaping creative tech right now

Welcome to CTRL+F Industry News: your weekly find function for the most important moves in marketing, ad tech, and creative automation.

We cut through the clutter and spotlight five standout stories: from AI-driven campaigns and platform power plays to how top companies are evolving their creative strategies. If it shifts how marketing teams work or win, we’re on it.

If you prefer to listen, we've got you covered. Or keep reading on.

Here’s what’s rising to the top this week.

1. Holiday 2025 is going “agentic”

Retail giants like Walmart, Etsy, and Shopify are integrating with ChatGPT to enable AI-powered product discovery and checkout. This marks a shift from traditional search and web stores to AI-native commerce experiences, where the prompt is the new homepage. (Adweek)

2. WPP drops $400M on Google AI

New WPP CEO Cindy Rose is wasting no time: the group just committed $400 million over five years to embed Google's AI (Gemini, Veo, Imagen) into its creative and media work. This gives WPP clients access to next-gen AI tools for hyper-personalized campaigns, while positioning WPP as a speed-focused player in an industry racing toward automation. (FT)

3. Publicis shows what real AI ROI looks like

Publicis is already reaping rewards from its AI push, with 80% of media spend now flowing through AI tools. Rather than AI replacing creatives, it's boosting synergy across planning, production, and optimization. Their proprietary stack (Marcel, CoreAI, Slingshot, and others) is positioning them as a model for scaled creative automation. (Digiday)

4. Agencies double down on human creativity

Despite the tech hype, agencies are reframing creativity as their moat. Advertising Week 2025 was filled with themes around authenticity, human storytelling, and creator-led work. Even OpenAI’s latest ad leaned into analog aesthetics — grounding the message in humanity, not machines. (Business Insider)

5. Meta loses brand safety accreditation

Meta has exited the Media Rating Council’s brand safety audit process, resulting in the loss of its accreditation. That means Instagram and Facebook feeds are no longer independently verified for brand safety, a red flag for risk-conscious marketers. Advertisers may need to push for new verification mechanisms or reevaluate spend. (Adweek)

Why it matters:

• AI is no longer a tool, it’s becoming infrastructure.
• The big players are either building or buying in fast.
• But tech alone isn’t enough, the real advantage might still be human.
• And trust, in platforms and tools, is more fluid than ever.