ChatGPT Adds Programmatic Partners, Google’s AI Search Makes Less Money, and Perion Sells for $420M

Why setup errors turn into makegoods, and how to stop them at the source.

Tatari brought its Forward conference back to The Glasshouse in NYC on Oct. 29, featuring Scott Galloway, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and LightShed's Rich Greenfield.

The big announcement was Tatari Max, a machine-learning optimization engine designed to match TV ads with the right audiences across premium publishers, including Paramount, Peacock, and Disney. Unlike Google's Performance Max, Tatari Max can optimize across publishers and direct buys.

Early results look promising. Rhoback reported a 32% increase in purchases during a Hulu test, while Tatari claims an average 19% improvement across campaigns.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Tatari Co-Founder and CEO Philip Inghelbrecht on the AdTechGod Podcast, where we discussed AI, direct publisher relationships, and why CTV might not need more intermediaries. Listen to the interview here.

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A company once valued at over $1 billion is now being acquired for $420 million. That's the bigger story behind Affle's acquisition of Perion.

Affle gets access to Perion's CTV, retail media, digital out-of-home capabilities, and established brand and agency relationships, complementing its mobile performance advertising business. CEO Tal Jacobson stays, and all 500 Perion employees are expected to remain.

I think this is another example of how much ad tech valuations have changed. Perion has real technology, customers, and relationships, yet the public markets haven't rewarded it.

With more consolidation likely ahead, I'm curious which companies will command billion-dollar valuations in the future, and whether remaining publicly traded still makes sense for smaller ad tech players.

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Alphabet reported a strong Q3, with revenue reaching $127.6 billion, up 25%, and search queries growing at their fastest pace in five years. But there’s a problem. Google is getting more searches while its AI-powered experience is proving harder to monetize.

Search revenue grew 12% to $63.35 billion, but Google acknowledged that AI Mode generates less revenue than traditional search. Investors weren't thrilled, sending shares down roughly 12.6% and wiping out nearly $500 billion in market value.

Meanwhile, Google Network revenue barely grew at 1.4%, while traffic acquisition costs increased around 10%. That's not exactly encouraging for publishers.

Google is expanding AI Mode ads into 10 additional countries, betting that monetization will improve. The bigger question is whether AI search can eventually generate the same advertising economics that made Google so dominant in the first place.

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Apple is introducing Audio Intelligence to the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, including features that can capture the last 15 seconds of a conversation and summarize discussions into bullet points.

Apple says privacy is built into the experience, with opt-in recording, audible alerts, automatic deletion, and secure processing. But I'm not sure that addresses the bigger concern.

It's one thing to opt in to having your own conversations analyzed. It's another when the people around you haven't agreed to it.

For advertisers, this introduces another potential AI-powered consumer touchpoint, although Apple hasn't announced any advertising capabilities tied to these features. The bigger question is whether consumers will become comfortable with devices that can capture and analyze conversations happening around them.

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OpenAI is reportedly bringing more programmatic partners into ChatGPT, with Magnite and PubMatic signing deals to monetize available ad inventory, according to The Information. They join LiveRamp, Criteo, StackAdapt, and Amazon Ads as OpenAI expands its advertising relationships.

It's an interesting move, especially for a platform with direct access to user intent and conversational context. The opportunity for advertisers is significant, but the bigger question is how much control OpenAI will ultimately give these partners.

We've seen this before. Platforms open up to third parties to accelerate monetization, then gradually bring more of the technology and economics in-house.

Will ChatGPT be different, or are we watching the early stages of another walled garden?

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Why setup errors turn into makegoods, and how to stop them at the source.