Is your marketing strategy surviving 2026?

Welcome back, readers!

2026 isn’t slowing down and neither is marketing. The shifts are real, the noise is loud, and the gap between teams that adapt and teams that don't is widening fast.

So we’re cutting through the noise and focusing on what actually matters.

In this edition, we’re diving into:

• The stories leading the charge in the marketing world right now.

• Two playbook worth bookmarking before Q2.

• A big moment from our team that we're pretty excited about.

Let’s get into it!

Three biggest story in marketing right now:

✦  Williams-Sonoma became the first brand to run ads inside ChatGPT. 

They're not waiting to see how AI shopping plays out, they're helping write the rules. As part of OpenAI's ad pilot, their products now show up mid-conversation, right when someone's deciding what to buy.

✦ LinkedIn watched AI search quietly kill 60% of their B2B traffic then blew up their own playbook.

Rankings stayed stable. Clicks didn't. So they stopped measuring traffic entirely and rebuilt their strategy around one question: are we showing up inside AI answers?

If LinkedIn had to make that call, your content team probably needs to have that conversation too..

✦ Google started placing shopping ads directly inside AI Mode conversations.

Not beside the search results. Inside the answer itself. With 75 million daily users on AI Mode, Google just changed where the purchase decision actually happens and most ad strategies haven't caught up yet.

Two marketing playbook worth bookmarking :

#1: HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing Report:

Over 1,500 marketers shared their insights. One stat that stood out: 61% say this is the biggest shift in 20 years. What’s really helpful?

The data on where budgets are headed, which channels are still working, and how the best teams are getting it right.
Definitely worth an hour of your weekend.

#2: AdCellerant’s 2026 Digital Marketing Playbook:

Not another trends deck. This one's built from thousands of real campaigns, so when it says something's working, it's not a prediction, it's a pattern. Covers AI, CTV, retail media, and how to actually measure impact in 2026.

If you're building Q2 plans right now, this is the one to have open next to your budget sheet.

One win from our side:

Our CEO & Co-Founder Ankur went live on CNBC-TV18 this week — a million people watching, one clear message: the website is the last place in your marketing stack that hasn't evolved. That's exactly what we're building.

Tune in :)