"OpenAI's executives are already debating whether to make the pilgrimage to Cannes Lions this year - a fitting metaphor for the company's broader ambitions. The festival is where the ad industry goes to celebrate its ability to turn creativity into influence. And OpenAI, for all its Silicon Valley roots, is increasingly angling for a seat at that table. That deliberation captures the tension of a relationship still being negotiated: tech's rising power testing how far it can step into marketing's most symbolic space."
"Google is now clearly fully dialed into building the infrastructure needed to monetize what happens when the internet becomes chat: Gemini embedded into search ads re-architected for conversational intent and the plumbing being laid for a world where queries look more like prompts than keywords. The head start OpenAI had in 2025 while Google's attention was diverted by two antitrust cases, is arguably gone."
OpenAI is positioning to enter advertising's cultural center and pursue influence within the marketing industry. The company still needs to hire an ads chief, finalize data-privacy approaches, and validate its commerce proposition before engaging advertisers widely. Google is rapidly building infrastructure to monetize conversational search, embedding Gemini into search ads and reshaping queries into prompt-like interactions. OpenAI's early advantage from 2025 has narrowed as Google refocuses after antitrust disruptions, making that lead temporary. Advertisers and publishers report limited engagement from OpenAI and face delays in cutting commercial deals.
Read at Digiday
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