Each day, New Digital Age gathers the most interesting marketing and ad tech news from around the world…
BIG TECH
Financial Times – Tim Bradshaw, 21st May 2026
Big Tech software era is over, says top investor James Anderson
British tech investor James Anderson has warned the curtain is falling on two decades of extraordinary growth among the top US software and internet stocks, as massive AI investments “implode” their cash flows to the lasting benefit of chipmakers such as Nvidia.
The Current – Ashwin Nagappa and Daniel Angus, 20th May 2026
Nearly everything we use online is owned by big tech. There’s a better way forward
Globally, users of digital media are increasingly locked into a handful of operating systems, app stores, and communication platforms. Most of us must choose between Apple, Windows, or Android. All of these are owned by American tech giants.
Performance Marketing World – Joe Arthur, 20th May 2026
Google launches ‘biggest upgrade to Search box in 25 years’
Google has announced a series of AI-powered upgrades for search at I/O 2026, headlined by an “intelligent Search box” aimed at better facilitating the use of AI tools within search.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Performance Marketing World – Joe Arthur, 20th May 2026
Social media forecast to claim nearly 50% of global ad revenue by 2030
Social media is forecast to generate almost half of global ad revenue by 2030, with the market expected to reach $640bn in value, according to Omdia’s Social Media Advertising Market Landscape 2026 report.
AI
Digiday – Krystal Scanlon, 21st May 2026
OpenAI gives ChatGPT ads a visual upgrade
OpenAI has spent months building the plumbing for ChatGPT ads. Now, it’s working on how they actually look.
EMARKETER – Gadjo Sevilla, 20th May 2026
TV AI race prioritizes performance, but interoperability gaps continue
Media companies are leaning on AI to make TV and streaming ads work more like digital ads on platforms such as Google, Meta, and Amazon—where advertisers can track performance, target audiences precisely, and optimize campaigns in real time.
Digiday – Kimeko McCoy, 21st May 2026
‘Trust becomes the product’: Marketers grapple with Google’s new suite of AI-powered ad agents
First comes innovation, then comes transparency. At least that seems to be Google’s approach as the tech behemoth enters its agentic era.
AdAge – Oren John, 20th May 2026
How AI is reshaping a $422 billion industry
In March 2026, Sequoia partner Julien Bek published a piece called “Services: The New Software”, arguing that the next trillion-dollar company won’t sell software alone, but outcomes powered by AI and delivered as a service. For every dollar enterprises spend on software, they spend six on services.
AGENCIES
Marketing Brew – Kristina Monllos, 20th May 2026
How do holding companies decide which agency brands to sunset?
As of last month, two more agency brands are gone after 180 and adam&eveDDB NY were subsumed by Lola USA, a new division of the Lola agency brand, as Omnicom continues to give its agency holdings a makeover.
HOLDCOS
Adweek – Kendra Barnett, 20th May 2026
Omnicom’s John Wren Made More Than Double All Other Advertising Holdco CEOs Combined in 2025
Omnicom CEO John Wren received a total compensation package worth $69.9 million in 2025, up from $21.7 million in 2024, according to data from regulatory filings provided to ADWEEK by executive intelligence firm Equilar.
Adweek – Mark Stenberg, 20th May 2026
James Murdoch to Acquire New York Magazine, Vox Media Podcast Network, and Vox
On Wednesday, the digital publisher announced that James Murdoch’s media and technology holding company, Lupa Systems, has agreed to acquire three of its divisions—New York Magazine, the Vox Media Podcast Network, and Vox—and is folding them into a new, independent company that will carry the Vox Media name.
PUBLISHER
Digiday – Sara Guaglione, 21st May 2026
Media Briefing: Publishers brace themselves for the zero-click era amid Google’s AI search overhaul
This week’s Media Briefing will examine why Google’s latest AI search overhaul may mark the moment publishers fully accept that search traffic as they once knew it is never coming back.
