In this week’s digital news, Meta will soon use data from user interactions with its AI tools to target ads on Facebook and Instagram. Spotify competes directly with Amazon Music for subscribers and ad dollars, but now Spotify is teaming up with a different division of the ecommerce giant in an effort to amp up programmatic advertising revenue.
Cloudflare’s new Content Signals limit AI use of your content via robots.txt. However, it’s unclear whether Google or others will comply. New analysis confirms a significant overlap between content cited in Google’s AI Overviews and the websites that already occupy the top organic search results.
83% of buyers say purchasing software has gotten easier with bigger budgets and market consolidation.
Meta will soon use data from user interactions with its AI tools to target ads on Facebook and Instagram. The global policy change, effective 16 December, excludes the UK, EU and South Korea due to privacy laws. Data from Meta AI chats, Ray-Ban smart glasses and other AI products will inform ad targeting, with no opt out option. Meta says sensitive topics won’t influence ads. Over a billion people use Meta AI monthly, providing rich data for its advertising business. The update highlights how Big Tech monetises “free” AI tools, though Meta says it has no immediate plans to include ads within its AI products.
Spotify and Amazon Ads have announced a global partnership allowing advertisers using Amazon’s demand side platform (DSP) to buy Spotify’s audio and video ad inventory programmatically. The collaboration, launching in nine countries including the UK and US, gives ad buyers access to Spotify’s 696 million monthly users with enhanced targeting and measurement tools. The move expands Amazon’s DSP partnerships, which already include Netflix and Disney, and strengthens Spotify’s programmatic ad strategy following the launch of its own Ad Exchange. Both companies say the deal will boost advertiser flexibility and scale in the growing digital audio market, with more regions added in 2026.
Cloudflare has introduced Content Signals, a new policy designed to grant publishers greater control over how their proprietary web content is utilised by AI systems. This feature allows website owners to employ new directives within the standard robots.txt file to specify whether their data may be used for: traditional search indexing, AI-generated answers (like Google’s AI Overviews), or AI model training.
The core SEO implication of this development is its potential to directly combat the erosion of organic traffic caused by generative AI features, which often provide summary answers without requiring a click to the source. However, the efficacy of Content Signals remains contingent upon compliance from major AI search providers, as these directives are not legally binding, necessitating a wait-and-see approach from the publishing industry.
New analysis confirms a significant overlap between content cited in Google’s AI Overviews (AIO) and the websites that already occupy the top organic search results. A study by BrightEdge found that, on average. 54% of AIO source citations correspond to pages that rank well in traditional search.
For sensitive “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) topics, such as Healthcare and Education, the overlap soared to 75%. This robust correlation underscores that Google’s systems for generating AI answers rely heavily on established E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) signals from top-ranking sites.
Conversely, the overlap for the retail sector was significantly lower at just 23%. This finding suggests that for commercial and transactional queries. The AI’s selection process deviates from conventional organic signals. Likely prioritising product-specific data or other sources less aligned with traditional content SEO.
83% of buyers say purchasing software has gotten easier with bigger budgets and market consolidation, but closing deals is still difficult due to eroding trust. 58% of buyers now start research with AI tools, and most evaluate four or more vendors. The biggest gaps vendors face are delivering credible, relevant proof. 67% of buyers have ruled out a vendor because the evidence felt untrustworthy. Younger buyers prefer live references and authentic stories over case studies.
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Protein has moved from a fitness niche to a mainstream focus. It’s driven largely by diet-conscious Gen Z and millennials. Many are actively trying to increase intake, starting trends like a cottage cheese comeback. Brands are responding with a wide range of products. From frozen cod to GLP-1–friendly options, while introducing new flavours, partnerships, and campaigns that make protein both healthy and appealing.
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