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idfree insider: The Browser Wars, AI Supertools & the Battle for Trust
- GDR
- Aug 29
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 10
August has brought a fresh wave of disruption to the digital advertising industry. From billion-dollar bids and AI-native browsers to the rise of YouTube as a podcasting powerhouse, the signals are clear: the landscape is shifting fast.
Here's what we're watching - and why it matters.
What If Perplexity Owned Chrome?
Our new white paper explores a seismic scenario: the world’s most-used browser, Chrome, in the hands of AI upstart Perplexity.
An unsolicited $34.5 billion offer. Ongoing antitrust cases. And a future where Google no longer controls the front door to digital advertising.
“This is more than a legal drama - it’s a potential unlocking of the entire programmatic ecosystem,” says Ulrik Larsen, Chief Data Officer at GDR.
Key questions we explore:
How would AI-native ownership reshape audience targeting?
Could Chrome become a privacy-first platform?
What does this mean for publishers, marketers, and Google?
Related reading: AI Browsers: Super-Assistant or Surveillance Sidekick?
In other news:
🎙️ Will YouTube Win 2025?
At Convening Leaders 2025, media analyst Scott Galloway made a bold claim: YouTube is becoming the dominant media platform of the year, thanks to its explosion in podcast distribution.
🤖 What Marketers Want from Meta’s AI Tools
Meta’s Superintelligence Group is making headlines - but not always for the right reasons. Tools like Advantage+ offer “set-it-and-forget-it” automation, but marketers are pushing back.
Why? Lack of transparency.
📱 TikTok’s FYP Changed Everything
TikTok’s “For You Page” didn’t just redefine social—it rewrote the rules of reach. Its algorithmic magic turned content discovery into a deeply personalised, behaviour-driven experience.
In this world, attention is engineered. And brands must learn to speak algorithm as fluently as they speak creative.
📩 Reach us anytime:
GDR - Where Performance Meets Principles
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