OpenAI has quietly turned on a conversion tracking pixel for select ChatGPT advertisers, giving LLM ad buyers their first real attribution signal beyond impressions and clicks. The move puts OpenAI on the same structural path Meta and Google walked a decade ago, with all the measurement trade-offs that came with it.
The Trade Desk is restructuring how it compensates identity partners in its Identity Alliance, shifting from volume-based payments to an incrementality model that rewards unique signal contribution. The move reshapes the economics of cross-device identity resolution and arrives amid broader tensions with major agency holding companies over transparency.
The IAB's annual State of Data report surveyed 400+ buy-side leaders and found that up to 75% believe attribution, incrementality, and MMM fall short on rigor, timeliness, and trust. The industry body estimates AI-driven measurement improvements could unlock $26.3 billion in reallocated media spend.
Criteo is the first ad tech company to integrate with OpenAI's ChatGPT advertising pilot, bringing commerce media into conversational AI. Early data shows 1.5x higher conversion rates from AI-referred traffic, but advertisers face a $60 CPM channel with no conversion tracking or attribution.
New industry data shows 53% of marketers now use media mix modeling and 67% plan to increase investment - while multi-touch attribution faces an existential crisis from signal loss. Here's where MMM fits in the modern measurement stack, what's driving the shift, and what still needs fixing.
Backed by 33 companies including Google, Meta, Amazon Ads, and Unilever, Project Eidos is the industry's most ambitious attempt to fix fragmented measurement. The accompanying State of Data 2026 report finds 60-75% of advanced measurement users say current tools fall short.
Only 15% of marketers rate their retail media measurement as effective, yet brands actively measuring incrementality report 54% reductions in wasted spend. With Albertsons launching in-store incrementality and advertisers averaging six RMNs, the gap between measurement leaders and laggards is widening fast.
Albertsons is the first major retailer to offer causal incrementality measurement for in-store digital media. A Mondelez beta campaign delivered a $2.41 iROAS and 14% sales lift. The network plans to expand to 800 additional stores in 2026.
Updated standards expand beyond traditional retail media to cover quick commerce, introduce a refined measurement funnel, and include the industry's first incrementality measurement guidelines for commerce media.