Abby Versaggi, Assistant Programmatic Media Buyer

I recently attended Scope3’s inaugural Landscape conference in New York City, where I had the opportunity to explore not only Scope3’s new and potentially game-changing ad tech but also the key challenges facing our industry—brand safety, supply chain optimization, sustainability, and the evolving role of AI. Here are some of the top takeaways from the conference:

The key themes of the day were safety, sustainability, and growth, with a strong focus on implementation. If a new technology can’t be demonstrated, used, deployed, and mastered, it won’t be adopted effectively—making proper execution essential for industry-wide change.

The Challenges of Brand Safety in Programmatic Advertising 

Current brand safety tools have fallen short, and the industry—particularly in programmatic advertising—continues to struggle with transparency.

Sustainability, media quality, and brand safety are all interconnected. A lack of innovation has made it difficult for advertisers to access URL- or page-level data, creating significant challenges in transparency. 

AI-Powered Solutions for Brand Safety

Recognizing the need for a better approach to brand safety, Scope3 announced an AI-powered brand safety and suitability product. This new tool gives advertisers greater control over the content their ads appear on while reducing unnecessary content blocking.

We know AI uses a lot of energy to make decisions. So does the current digital advertising ecosystem, especially programmatic. The differences are:

1. We have the chance to develop AI systems with sustainability in mind, unlike how the programmatic ecosystem was developed. 
2. AI can also replace and streamline tech, as it is more forgiving of inconsistent data due to its ability to learn and model.

For example, blocklists and category filters have traditionally flagged keywords on a page without considering their context, often leading to the blocking of safe content. Scope3’s AI-powered brand safety agent addresses this by analyzing the full context of any piece of online content, ensuring that decisions align with a brand’s exact requirements. Advertisers can also provide feedback to refine the model over time.

Low-quality and Made-for-Advertising (MFA) sites host excessive low-value content and drive inefficient ad spend. With custom AI agents, advertisers can avoid bidding on these sites; therefore, reducing unnecessary energy consumption and wasted ad dollars. 

Custom AI Models For Greater Transparency

This new ad tech allows brands to build their own models based on their business goals, and criteria for brand suitability. It can be integrated into Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) to offer a more comprehensive view beyond just a site name. 

Additionally, it explains to advertisers and publishers why content was blocked and allows them to adjust parameters as needed. This helps solve the black box problem that many AIs face by making data-driven decisions more observable and understandable. 

AI’s Role in Sustainable Programmatic Advertising

If we don’t address the inefficiencies in programmatic advertising, we risk wasting millions of tons of carbon. AI has the opportunity to add to these emissions or counteract these inefficiencies. Scope3 has developed a way to do the latter, ensuring sustainable evolution of the programmatic landscape.

Steve Connelly argues that while AI is a valuable asset in marketing and advertising, it should complement rather than replace human creativity and emotion in strategy. AI enhances capabilities and benefits clients, but it cannot fully replicate the intuitive and emotional elements crucial for building strong brand connections and customer loyalty. Integrating AI with human intuition and experience maximizes its effectiveness, preserving the essential human touch needed to foster meaningful customer relationships.

Read more here.

The advertising industry in 2025 is rapidly transforming. From AI-driven personalization, to shifting consumer dynamics and unprecedented cultural fragmentation, brands are facing both monumental challenges and unparalleled opportunities.

In this AdAge feature, Steve Connelly shares his predictions for the industry this year. He foresees a backlash against superficial AI, leading to the reduction of lazy, gimmicky AI marketing and a push toward more meaningful applications. We’ll also see a focus on AI’s true benefits in analytics, media and enhancing search, rather than empty, concept-less ads.

Check out all the 2025 predictions here.

Scott Freeman, SEO Manager
Anthony Quagliata, Paid Search Manager

Google’s AI Overview feature has drawn quite a reaction from the world of organic and paid search experts, but is it an innovative step forward, or is it simply Google trying to stay afloat in the fast-evolving AI race? As this feature continues to roll out across search results, many wonder if it’s a game changer or just hype.

What Exactly Is Google’s AI Overview?

In a nutshell, the AI Overview feature generates a succinct summary based on AI’s understanding of your search query. Instead of having users click through multiple search results, they are presented with a synthesized snapshot of relevant information at the very top of their search, theoretically offering faster and more accurate answers. Google touts it as a way to enhance user experience, making search more intuitive and less time-consuming.

How Often Is the AI Overview Showing Up in Search?

Many are curious how often they’ll encounter these AI Overviews, and research shows they now appear in 3.9% of trending news searches — a relatively small, but growing percentage. The potential for expansion is huge, though, as the feature is still being tested and improved. For example, some reports show that Google AI Overview results have been showing up in 80% of searches for high-profile news events, signaling that the tech giant is serious about this AI integration.

How Does This Impact SEO?

The real elephant in the room is how this new feature affects SEO. Will it boost traffic to your site or steal it away? The answer is complicated and murky. On one side, AI Overviews give users faster answers, potentially leading to lower click-through rates (CTR) for organic results. Some SEO experts are already sounding alarms, saying AI summaries could reduce visibility for traditional SEO and that organic results may be less prioritized. Initial tests have shown the AI Overview could lead to organic traffic decreases anywhere from 18-64% for some websites, especially for informational-type queries.

On the other hand, some SEOs see this as an opportunity. For example, content optimization for AI-driven summaries might become the next big thing, with SEO professionals looking to adjust their tactics. If AI Overviews are prioritizing concise, well-structured content, there’s room to optimize accordingly and stay relevant. With detailed analytics reporting, SEOs can gather relevant information on user behavior and engagement within the search engine results page itself. With that insight, SEOs can begin to hone their strategies and use the AI Overview to their advantage. 

How Does This Impact Paid Search?

Google’s AI Overview has already impacted paid search results in ways that are hard to ignore. As consumers have begun exploring this feature, there has been a significant rise in search traffic on Google. However, much like organic, a decline in paid search click-through rate has been observed since most people need to click through to ad listings rather than explore the summary the AI Overview provides. 

Another notable finding is a year-over-year rise in CPC (cost per click) as click volume has declined for advertisers. While CPC increases can also be linked to increased ad prices for companies to meet targets, it is hard to imagine they will come back down as Google continues to alter where ads show around the AI Overview. Considering they’ve talked about returning top placements above the Overview, it likely signals that CPC will continue to rise. Also, as recent as the beginning of October 2024, ads were introduced into AI Overview for mobile users and will likely become an increasingly competitive placement for competitors. 

What’s Next for AI in Search?

So, is this indeed the future of search? Google is banking on AI, but whether the feature is here to stay depends on how it adapts to user behavior. With 57% of users reporting positive experiences with AI in search results, the technology seems to be resonating with many. But at the same time, only 23% of users say they fully trust AI-generated results, leaving a lot of room for growth — and skepticism.

At the end of the day, Google’s AI Overview feature has the potential to reshape how we search and how marketing professionals do their jobs, but it’s still too early to tell if it will revolutionize the experience or simply be a flash in the pan. As AI continues to evolve, monitoring how these changes impact SEO, paid search, user trust, and the broader digital landscape is crucial.

Later, a leader in social media management and influencer marketing, has launched its latest offering: an advanced social listening tool. This new product integrates the company’s efficient social media management solution with AI-powered social listening capabilities, providing  marketers with actionable social intelligence data to enhance content strategy, measure campaign effectiveness, and monitor brand health. This release marks the beginning of several upcoming announcements from Later.

Neal Malone, PR & Social Media Management Supervisor and a beta partner for Later’s social listening tool, shared his thoughts on the release. “Later’s social listening tool makes it quick and easy to monitor what people are saying about our brands. The toolset is focused on showcasing the most relevant social data and leaves out a lot of the noise that often prevents you from getting clear, actionable insights.”

Read more here.

Colin Hetherington, Managing Director of ZOO Digital, spoke with Silicon Republic about the changing world of digital advertising, his company’s expansion to the US and the changes AI will bring to the sector. With two decades of experience in the space, Colin has watched the industry grow from its humble beginnings of banner advertisements to the powerful entity it is today. He shares that AI and machine learning will play a more significant role in the future of digital advertising, as companies and consumers alike have taken a greater interest in this technology over the past year. 

Read more

This year, businesses and individuals alike have embraced artificial intelligence with unprecedented enthusiasm and adoption rates. Generative AI has become more accessible with the rise of programs like ChatGPT, leading to more widescale adoption. 

However, this has also brought forward the inherent tensions that come along with an increasingly AI-driven world. Questions have been raised about the need for regulation around AI in film and television, and similar concerns apply to the ad industry, for both the people doing the creative work and the brands they’re doing it for.

In this month’s Amp spotlight, AdAge polled industry leaders on how this technology can be regulated as we move into an increasingly AI-driven advertising landscape. Chief Strategy Officer, Scott Madden, shares how humans play a pivotal role in evolving AI tools toward greater DE&I. 

Read the full story here.

Image source 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic in the healthcare industry, with headlines and discussions focusing on its impact across the care continuum. However, missing from these conversations is how patients and consumers view and understand it. Michele Hart-Henry, Managing Director of Connelly Partners Health, and Mary McMahon, Group Strategy Director and Lead for Connelly Partners Health in Ireland, explain how patients generally accept AI in their care and in some instances, actually prefer it. 

Read more here.

Michele Hart-Henry, Managing Director, Connelly Partners Health

Are We Ready for the Future?

The headlines from the most recent global healthcare meetings, such as the annual Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting or The MedTech Forum, are notable in their focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and its application across the care continuum. These events and others like them feature presentations on AI developments, new collaborations built around AI tools, and partnerships among health technology companies introducing new uses of AI in care settings. 

However, any conversation about how patients and consumers understand and view AI in healthcare is missing from the headlines and articles. 

Back to the Future?

AI is already in use in multiple healthcare arenas. Algorithms help predict the onset or potential severity of disease, read and interpret radiology studies, screen for complications from diseases like diabetes and assist in the drug development process, just to name a few typical applications. However, the conversations are now expanding to include generative AI.

As described by TechTarget, Generative AI is “a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data. The recent buzz around generative AI has been driven by the simplicity of new user interfaces for creating high-quality text, graphics and videos in a matter of seconds.” 

Seeking to learn more, we recently went to ChaptGPT4 and asked: “How do patients feel about AI in healthcare”? The answer generated via this technology:

“The use of AI in healthcare is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field, so there is no single answer to how patients feel about it. However, research suggests that patients generally have a positive attitude towards AI use in healthcare, especially when it comes to improving the accuracy and speed of diagnosis, treatment, and disease prevention.” 

Based on this answer, generated using AI, all is well in healthcare, and patients generally accept artificial intelligence in their care. But is that really the case? Do we, as healthcare consumers and patients, know enough or understand how AI is useful in our care? You may be surprised by some of the results.

AI Can Do Anything You Can Do Better?

One recent study published by the notable journal JAMA Internal Medicine reported that patients and consumers actually preferred the responses from a generative AI chatbot to those generated by physicians. Researchers used questions posted on a social network and used generative AI to create new answers to those 195 questions. They then compared the chatbot answers to the ones provided by physicians using a team of licensed healthcare professionals to choose “which response was better” and judge both “the quality of the information provided” and “the empathy or bedside manner provided.” In nearly all cases, the evaluators preferred the generative AI answers, rating them as higher in quality and significantly higher in empathy. 

If generative AI is rated more empathetic and thorough than physicians in answering questions, are healthcare consumers more likely to view its use favorably? Not if it’s a replacement for actual providers, according to a study published in The Lancet Digital Health. In a review of more than twenty studies from eight countries, researchers found the acceptability of AI in care settings was more likely if it was used as a support tool rather than a substitute for providers. In many reviewed studies, participants envisioned AI as a second opinion or a means to simplify notes or instructions provided by their caregivers. However, participants indicated concern about depersonalization, lack of privacy and loss of provider control in health decision-making. 

One application of AI as a supplement to providers is the recent collaboration between Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI and Epic’s EHR platform. In this use case, the generative AI will fill in missing information in patient records but could also suggest diagnoses and be used to predict disease outcomes based on analysis of historical data. According to the companies’ joint announcement, the integration “is meant to increase provider’s productivity, reduce administrative burden and improve care by giving clinicians more time to spend with their patients.”

Proceed With Caution

Last month, The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a call for what it refers to as the “safe and ethical application of AI” for health, citing concerns that “precipitous adoption of untested systems could lead to errors by health-care workers, cause harm to patients, erode trust in AI and thereby undermine (or delay) the potential long-term benefits and uses of such technologies around the world.”  

But as developments like the partnership between Azure OpenAI and Epic become more mainstream, how will they affect consumers and healthcare consumerism? According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 60% of Americans indicated discomfort with providers relying on AI in their own healthcare. Among the primary drivers of this view is disbelief that using AI will improve health outcomes, with only 38% of those surveyed saying that using AI to diagnose disease and recommend treatments would lead to better health outcomes, 33% saying it would lead to worse outcomes and 27% saying it won’t make much difference.

Interestingly, in that same Pew survey, of those who indicated concern about health equity, 51% of respondents said that AI could help improve bias and unfair treatment if it was used to diagnose disease and recommend treatments for patients. And survey respondents also believe that AI use in healthcare could reduce medical mistakes.

Pew survey respondents also indicated concern with the impact of AI use on the personal connection between a provider and a patient. With increased consumer involvement in a patient-centered healthcare model, patients might question clinicians’ decisions and want to be informed whether the decisions are based on AI recommendations. 

In Ireland, a country championing AI and its benefits to the economy, the government is building a coordinated approach to help drive public trust, including creating “an AI ambassador to promote awareness among the public and businesses of the potential that AI offers, serving as a champion of AI as a positive force for the economy and society, and emphasizing an ethical approach.”

Irish acceptance of AI in all facets of its economy, including healthcare, is driven by the country’s early identification of deep tech, like AI, as drivers in economic growth. But, as in the US, there are recently reported concerns about privacy, misuse, degrading of relationships and potential medical errors due to using AI in patient care.

Brand and Broader Implications

When discussing AI in the context of health brands, it’s important to be transparent and clear about what AI is, how it is used and how it can benefit health organizations, providers and consumers. Doing so requires: 

1. Defining AI: Begin by explaining what AI is and how it works in simple, accessible language. It’s important to avoid jargon and technical terms that may confuse audiences.
2. Focusing on Benefits: Highlight the benefits that AI can bring, such as improved diagnosis, more accurate treatment planning, and better outcomes. It’s important to emphasize that AI is a tool that can help provide better care rather than a replacement for humans, clinicians or experts.
3. Addressing Concerns: Acknowledge concerns about AI, such as fears of job loss or privacy concerns. Be transparent about how AI is used and what data is being collected and used.
4. Being Honest: It’s important to be honest about the limitations of AI and its potential benefits. AI is not a magic bullet that can solve all healthcare problems; acknowledging this is important.
5. Providing Examples or Success Stories: Use real-world examples to illustrate how AI is used in healthcare and makes a difference for organizations and patients. This can help your audiences understand the potential of AI and how it can benefit them.

Overall, health brands should strive to be transparent, honest and informative about AI. Especially since the Pew survey suggests that three-quarters of Americans question the pace of adoption of AI in healthcare, fearing that the system is moving too fast before fully understanding the implications and usefulness of this technology. 

This article is co-authored by Michele Hart-Henry, Global Managing Director of Connelly Partners Health and Mary McMahon, Group Strategy Director and Lead for Connelly Partners Health in Ireland.