September 17, 2026 | SIGN UP

Sara Jerde
DIGIDAY, MANAGING EDITOR

An agency’s bill for AI usage is getting more complicated — from agencies asking brands to take on some of the costs — to tech usage fees chasing after employee salaries in terms of agencies’ highest expenditures. Here’s a breakdown on what those bills are looking like right now.

Top stories

THE BUSINESS OF AI

Inside the complex anatomy of agency AI bills

From AI subscriptions to metered token usage, agencies are grappling with a more complicated cost structure and who pays.

MARKETING ON PLATFORMS

Perplexity is betting big on creators

AI companies face a tricky sell: to convince creators to advocate for a technology that many fear could threaten livelihoods.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM TRIPLELIFT

Live session: How publishers use first-party data to build sustainable revenue

Join this webinar on Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. ET to learn how the New York Post, Sports Illustrated and Tastemade use first-party data to build sustainable revenue streams across channels.

MANAGING THROUGH CRISIS

Marketers are using AI search concerns to argue for higher media budgets

Brands with long consideration journeys, like insurance and cars, are paying close attention to shifting search behaviors. They're using that concern to make their case for more media dollars.

A MESSAGE FROM ARC XP

Publishers partner with creators as news consumers gravitate to social media

Twenty-six percent of publishers are increasing their creator partnerships, according to a new Digiday and Arc XP survey. Creator relationships help publishers reach new audiences with organically placed content, unlocking new monetization opportunities.

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THE BUSINESS OF AI

Inside the scramble to measure a brand’s AI visibility

Marketers are catching on that AI doesn’t rank their brands, it decides whether it gets brought up at all. That shift is already reshaping how the industry works.

MARKETING ON PLATFORMS

OpenAI's next ChatGPT ad format: click to chat, not to site

The new format lets brands turn an ad click into a conversation with an AI agent inside ChatGPT, rather than sending users to their websites.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM SWAP

The brand guide to the state of agentic commerce

Shoppers are growing more comfortable relying on AI solutions to help them discover and even make purchases. At the center of brands’ emerging strategies to meet these users where they are: the agentic storefront.

Other things to know

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM GOOGLE

As agentic trading emerges, publishers rethink audience engagement and monetization

According to a 2026 marketer survey by Google and B