Google Traffic Plunges 40%, AI Predicts Campaigns, and the Super Bowl Sells Out

Newton Research has launched Unlimited Analytics, an agentic platform that uses causal modeling to predict campaign outcomes before advertisers commit their budgets. Users can ask questions in natural language, such as what would happen if 20% of social spending moved to programmatic, and specialized agents analyze granular audience, creative, bid, and geographic data to estimate the impact.

Horizon Media has tested the technology for roughly a year within Horizon Blu, reporting a 10% to 20% increase in return on ad spend. The platform also automates much of the data preparation that consumes analysts’ time, while helping build or improve media mix models using client-specific data. The bigger promise is not simply faster reporting. It is giving teams a clearer understanding of what worked, why it worked, and what they should do next.

Read AdExchanger

People Inc. saw Google Search traffic fall 40% year over year, yet its digital revenue grew 6%, advertising revenue remained flat, and open-market programmatic revenue increased. The publisher credits a mix of premium pricing and broader deals that combine website inventory with social, events, subscriptions, and licensing.

Google now accounts for 21% of People Inc.’s traffic, down from roughly two-thirds historically. CEO Neil Vogel says blocking Google remains an option if the economics eventually make sense, but the company is not there yet.

Neil was also a speaker at Marketecture Live and has some awesome views on the publishing world. You can watch his interview here.

Read VideoWeek

Spotify has surpassed 300 million paid subscribers, with premium revenue up 15% and monthly active users reaching 777 million. The opportunity in audio is clearly massive, especially as Spotify expands automated buying and AI-powered personalization. But ad-supported revenue grew just 1%, showing that audio still feels weak compared with CTV. The audience is there, but advertiser investment and urgency have yet to catch up.

Read Axios

Bestowed by: This could be you

New Jersey delayed registration until 2027, but its data broker law is already in effect. It applies to brokers as well as retailers, publishers, and platforms selling customer data. The sensitive data ban covers health, location, financial, biometric, and children’s data, with penalties reaching $50,000 per record. Companies need to review what they sell and how partners use it now.

Read AdExchanger

Disney has officially sold out its Super Bowl LXI ad inventory, attracting 58 brands across 34 categories, including nine first-time advertisers. The milestone follows a strong 2026-27 upfront, with total commitments rising by double digits and sports volume growing in the low teens.

Brands are also investing beyond traditional commercials through sponsorships, custom content, and Super Bowl week activations. Major tentpole events like the Super Bowl remain an incredible opportunity to reach a massive, active, and engaged audience. Even as Disney forecasts some softness in domestic streaming advertising, sports revenue grew 5% to $1.2 billion. Live sports continue to deliver the scale, attention, and cultural relevance advertisers want.

TheWrap

Marketecture Live: Come for the future of advertising, stay because someone cornered you to explain their new agentic solution.

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