Welcome to the first, inaugural, and monumental edition of something you never thought you needed: Marketecture's AI Brief.

"[Expletive]," you say to yourself. "Another AI newsletter?"

And you have every right to think that. Because I read newsletters too, and I can't tell you how many stories I read about how Claude 4.676767-theta just outperformed Gemini 3.14159265 in the Industrial Association of America's Pluribus Exam. Or how [insert ad tech company here] rebranded with a .ai domain name because now they've crammed more AI into more nooks and crannies. 

Guess what: none of that helps you do your job better.

The stories we'll cover here include updates from brands and agencies about how marketers are using AI, or platform updates (like the Instacart story below) that could change how brands reach and transact with their customers. 

And, yes, you'll get some weekly perspective from me, your curator and editor. If we haven't met yet, I'm Marketecture Media's Chief Community Officer who has the pleasure of running AI Marketers Guild and Serial Marketers. I've seen many facets of this industry through perches at eMarketer, Dentsu, Publicis, Mediaocean, and elsewhere, and after penning columns in too many trades to count for years, I finally published my first book this year — The Non-Obvious Guide to Using AI for Marketing. I'll give you some candid takes on what's new and what's coming. 

That’s enough. This newsletter isn't about me. It isn't exactly about you (sorry, but I hope to get to know you better). It's about how marketing, media, and our jobs are changing, and AI -- like it or not -- is a big part of that.

Thanks for joining us on this journey. We all love feedback at Marketecture, and I will read and respond to all comments, so feel free to write back with your thoughts and ideas.

— David Berkowitz, Chief Community Officer, Marketecture Media

Who: Brand CMOs, Creative Agencies, Beverage & Spirits Marketers, Sponsorship & Sports Marketers

What: Svedka vodka is planning its first-ever Super Bowl spot, and the creative will be produced primarily with AI, including a reconstruction of its retired “Fembot” mascot. The brand is working with AI studio Silverside to build and animate the character, with executives stressing that the process is closer to intensive animation than a cheap shortcut.

Why it matters: A mainstream liquor brand taking an AI-heavy concept to the Super Bowl raises the stakes on how far marketers can push synthetic creative in the most scrutinized media moment of the year. Expect less backlash to this one; it first debuted its bot in 2005, when it wasn’t even the Year of Mobile yet.

(Variety)

Who: CPG Brands, Retail Media Buyers, E-commerce Leads

What: Instacart has announced a deeper integration with OpenAI to power agentic shopping experiences. The partnership focuses on enabling ChatGPT and other AI agents to not just recommend recipes, but to build complete grocery baskets and execute purchases directly from conversational prompts without the user needing to leave the chat interface. You can prompt it to fill a cart with bouillabaisse ingredients — even if you can’t spell the the dish right.

Why it matters: The "zero-click" commerce future is arriving fast. Brands need to ensure their products are discoverable by AI agents, as the primary shopper for your category might soon be a bot acting on a human's behalf.

(OpenAI)

Who: CPG CMOs, Marketing Ops, Agency Heads

What: The snacking giant behind Oreo and Cadbury has moved from piloting to full-scale deployment of "AIDA” (AI-driven advertising), a proprietary generative AI platform. The $40 million investment aims to cut production costs by up to 50% while enabling hyper-personalized content generation across its global brand portfolio. Expect future campaigns to be Mega Stuf’ed with AI.

Why it matters: This sets another baseline for enterprise CPG marketing. Leading brands aren't just renting AI tools anymore; they are building owned infrastructure to protect their data and speed up creative output. While some companies struggle to get team-wide ChatGPT or Gemini licenses, others are forging more ambitious paths.

(The Silicon Review)

Liking AI Brief? The Refresh is a weekly recap of all the most important advertising news, written by AdTechGod.

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