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Agentic AI, an advanced form of AI combining machine learning, LLMs, and automation, is set to revolutionize retail banking by creating intelligent digital employees. The Financial Brand predicts it will act as a "financial GPS on steroids," offering personalized, proactive financial support by understanding full customer context and anticipating life changes. This could significantly enhance customer experience, particularly appealing to Gen Z's preference for self-service. However, our take suggests a potential cost: job displacement in banking. The ideal scenario involves banks adopting Agentic AI while retaining customer-facing staff, balancing efficiency and personalization with the essential human touch.

The auto industry is undergoing dramatic changes as advances in tech, consumer preferences, and retail strategies shift the market. The latest data reveals trends in ad spending and how shoppers research and buy cars.

The news: Apple鈥檚 highly anticipated AI enhancements, particularly for Siri, remain unfinished. During WWDC 2025, SVP Craig Federighi confirmed delays, stating Apple needs 鈥渕ore time to reach a high-quality bar.鈥� No major voice assistant upgrades were announced. Apple鈥檚 most relevant AI move wasn鈥檛 a product鈥攊t was a warning: Ahead of its event, Apple published a research paper arguing that top models like OpenAI鈥檚 GPT-4o, Anthropic鈥檚 Claude 3.7, and Google鈥檚 Gemini don鈥檛 truly 鈥渞eason.鈥� Instead, they create an 鈥渋llusion of thinking.鈥� Our take: Apple is hedging its AI bets by being cautious with core offerings like Siri while quietly enabling developers with on-device LLMs and privacy-first tools. Instead of overpromising, Apple is pointing out potential problems with the latest AI models while exercising restraint.

The news: Cannes Lions 2025 kicks off June 16, with media companies and platforms turning the festival into a proving ground for brand innovation. Spotify is merging live acts like Cardi B with audiobook tastings and celebrity panels, while Canva hosts CMO roundtables alongside design influencers. Google, Uber, and Influential are anchoring talks on TV, sports, and creator-driven engagement鈥攚ith yacht-side podcasts and fundraising activations adding a new layer of purpose. Our take: This year鈥檚 Cannes isn鈥檛 about opulence鈥攊t鈥檚 about ownership. Brands that bring substance, not just spectacle, will emerge with more than headlines鈥攖hey鈥檒l leave with lasting partnerships and fresh strategic playbooks.

The news: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) plans to split into two separate public companies by 2026, one focused on streaming and studios and the other on global cable networks, the company announced. Its streaming company will include HBO Max and WBD鈥檚 movie properties, while the global networks company will include TNT Sports, Discovery, and CNN. Our take: WBD鈥檚 move emphasizes that sticking with a one-size-fits-all model is no longer viable given traditional TV declines and the rise of streaming. Managing decline while pursuing growth requires two fundamentally different playbooks.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how Americans鈥� feelings towards AI have changed this year, the gaps in concern between AI experts and the general public, and the best ways to get started with AI. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Analyst Grace Harmon, and Senior Vice President of Media Content and Strategy Henry Powderly. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

A large majority of US consumers are somewhat (26%), very (32%), or extremely (34%) concerned about AI spreading misinformation, according to an August 2024 survey from the Pew Research Center.

Even though most retail dollars are spent in physical stores, experts say retail media dollars have been slow to meet those consumers

The news: Meta is in talks to invest upwards of $10 billion in Scale AI, a data labeling startup. The deal would be Meta鈥檚 biggest ever external AI investment and could help it position its Llama large language model (LLM) as an industry standard, per Bloomberg. Scale AI has already partnered with Meta to develop Defense Llama, an LLM designed for military use that鈥檚 built on Llama 3, and also works with Meta competitors like Microsoft and OpenAI. Our take: Meta鈥檚 massive investment could draw antitrust scrutiny in an era of acqui-hires. The outcome of active probes in Big Tech partnerships could influence regulatory action, especially if this investment contains any exclusivity that limits model training resources for other companies.

The news: Generative AI (genAI) has become standard across US enterprises鈥�95% of companies report using it to some extent, up from 83% a year ago, per Bain & Co鈥攂ut wider enterprise adoption is hitting roadblocks. A lack of robust governance and the need for continuous security validation are getting in the way. Our take: To escape limbo, enterprises must shift from experimentation to disciplined execution. That means building AI governance into the foundation鈥攏ot as an afterthought. Security, transparency, and trust must be embedded into every AI deployment. Businesses shouldn鈥檛 just see AI as a plug-and-play solution without vetting it and aligning it with desired outcomes. For marketers, campaigns built on shaky AI foundations risk brand reputation, compliance failures, and consumer mistrust.

The US-China trade war drives Shein to diversify its sourcing: Shein and Reliance Retail plan to start international sales of India-made Shein-branded clothes within six to 12 months.

The news: IT leaders are increasingly concerned about unauthorized employee use of AI and its risk to company security and compliance. 90% are concerned about 鈥渟hadow AI,鈥� or employees adopting AI tools without IT team approval, per Komprise鈥檚 IT Survey: AI, Data & Enterprise Risk. 13% of companies said genAI has harmed their finances, customers, or reputation鈥攑roof that AI鈥檚 risks aren鈥檛 just hypothetical. Our take: Companies should pair data management and protection of sensitive data with worker training. Giving employees access to tools they鈥檒l actually use and keeping them in the loop on AI plans could help prevent the use of unauthorized tools and data leaks, foster trust, and deter sabotage of genAI initiatives.

The news: A CBS investigation discovered hundreds of deepfake ads on Meta platforms promoting 鈥渘udify鈥� apps that create sexually explicit content based on images of real people. The analysis of Meta鈥檚 ad library found at minimum hundreds of deepfake ads across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Facebook Messenger, and Meta Audience Network. Our take: The rise of deepfakes on major platforms like Meta emphasizes AI鈥檚 potential to erode consumer trust and raise brand safety risks鈥攆orcing advertisers to navigate a growing gap between innovation and lagging safeguards.

The news: Walmart rolled out Sparky, its generative AI (genAI) assistant, to all Walmart app users this week鈥攁 preliminary step that puts it closer to achieving its agentic ambitions. Our take: By broadening Sparky鈥檚 capabilities, Walmart is trying to position itself not only as a shopping destination, but also as a place where consumers can go when they need everyday life advice or information鈥攕uch as how to fix a leaky faucet or help with event planning. Whether the retailer succeeds will depend on how well Sparky works, and whether it can convince shoppers to overcome their current skepticism of AI tools.

Back-to-school sales will decelerate this year: Mounting macroeconomic pressures are prompting retailers to kick off promotions earlier and encouraging consumers to buy now rather than later.

The news: Mark Read will exit as CEO of WPP at the end of 2025, concluding a three-decade run shaped by AI investment and structural overhauls. While Read launched tools like WPP Open and pushed to streamline operations, the company still posted a 1% organic revenue decline in 2024 and hit a four-year stock price low. Our take: Read鈥檚 departure marks a critical inflection point for WPP and the broader agency model. With 56.1% of agency leaders naming inefficiency as their top issue, the next CEO will need to go beyond tech implementation and deliver meaningful workflow clarity and cost discipline鈥攆ast.

The news: Starbucks is lowering prices in China for some drinks as the country鈥檚 relentless price wars force the struggling coffee chain to shift gears. Our take: Starbucks鈥� pricing actions are necessary to keep it competitive in a challenging market. But it is increasingly struggling to keep up with the likes of Luckin Coffee and Cotti, which are not only considerably cheaper but also better able to meet Chinese consumers鈥� rapidly shifting tastes. With conditions in the world鈥檚 second-largest economy unlikely to improve this year, Starbucks will have to find a way to become nimbler鈥攁nd more affordable鈥攖o keep within striking distance of its rivals.

US consumers will spend 8.6 hours daily with digital media in 2025. How they divide that time across devices is evolving as video content drives strong growth in connected TV usage.

The news: On Thursday, Nintendo released the Switch 2, 鈥嬧�媔ts first new console since the Nintendo Switch was launched in 2017. The handheld device comes with upgraded specs, social gaming features, and bundles with exclusive titles like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. It also includes GameChat, a feature that combines voice and video and lets up to 12 people chat while playing games. Our take: With a growing package of subscription perks and social hooks like GameChat, Nintendo may be taking a page from Apple鈥檚 playbook by turning its hardware into a recurring revenue engine. The Switch 2 could be a sticky ecosystem for Nintendo, even if the price goes up.

The news: Amazon鈥檚 Private Auction is quietly reshaping the CTV landscape by introducing more flexible buying on Prime Video. The format allows smaller advertisers and performance marketers to compete for inventory through open bidding, bypassing the need for costly guaranteed placements. As CPMs decline and the demand for agility rises, this move gives brands better control over pricing and access. Our take: While big brands may still favor premium guarantees, Amazon鈥檚 shift reflects broader momentum toward programmatic efficiency. By inviting direct-response buyers into the Prime Video ecosystem, Amazon is not just monetizing scale鈥攊t鈥檚 redefining what CTV access looks like in 2025.

The news: Quality control is a growing fear for advertisers as an Adweek investigation found ads from major brands appeared near offensive and inappropriate content. Ads from brands like Amazon and Verizon were found near sexual or racially offensive content on the Android short-form video app XShorts. Our take: Advertisers are increasingly faced with a digital landscape where programmatic ad buying lacks the quality control required to keep up with rapid innovation and demand for ad space鈥攑rompting renewed calls for transparency, verification, and human oversight in automated systems.