If this week proved anything, it’s that no platform’s place is guaranteed. With Google facing a difficult court decision, Perplexity threatening to replace Gemini on mobile, Meta claiming the top spot in marketing, and digital audio gaining traction, the fight for attention – and ad dollars – is only getting harder.
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1. Google Faces Pivotal Moment in Antitrust Battle
The most important case in recent years has just moved into the remedy phase, and the DOJ’s proposed penalties against Google are anything but light: splitting off Chrome and Android, ending revenue deals with Apple, and sharing search data with rivals.
All these follow a ruling that Google spent billions to make its search engine the default on web browsers, Android devices, even iPhones. In fact, according to court documents, Google paid Apple a whopping $20 billion in 2022 to be the built-in engine on Safari.
While the Justice Department argues these measures are necessary to prevent Google from controlling “much of the internet for the next decade,” Google – unsurprisingly – disagrees. The tech giant is preparing an appeal, claiming that these remedies would harm users, raise device costs, and compromise security.
In other words, we can expect this legal battle to drag on for several more years.
What this means for you:
The Google antitrust case could have a serious impact on your online presence. If they lose their default search status on iPhones and browsers, the way people find things online would start to change – and, all of a sudden, that carefully crafted SEO strategy might no longer work the same way it used to.
It’s a good time to revisit your platform mix and not rely too heavily on any one of them. If you haven’t done this yet, start building up your presence on other search engines like Bing or explore other direct traffic sources like newsletters.
The good news is this case will likely take years to resolve, so you don’t need to panic and overhaul everything overnight. Still, it’s smart to slowly stop putting all your eggs in Google’s basket.
2. Perplexity AI Quietly Enters the Smartphone Market
From offering to buy TikTok and alter its algorithm to making moves on the smartphone turf, the people at Perplexity AI are clearly not interested in playing it safe – or small.
The startup is said to be finalising a deal with Motorola to preload its AI assistant on upcoming Razr phones (including a custom interface for the new Razr foldables). They’re also in early talks with Samsung for a similar agreement – as well as discussions about additional funding that could double Perplexity’s valuation to a hefty $18 billion. That’s no easy feat, considering Samsung’s deep ties with Google, which currently provides the default search and AI backbone for its devices.
For a two-year-old company, these deals represent Perplexity AI’s big win against established players: Google Gemini and ChatGPT. If these come to fruition, the startup might go from underdog to household name in no time.
What this means for you:
As new players like Perplexity start moving into the smartphone space (which once belonged exclusively to Google), it’s time to start experimenting with how your content performs across different AI platforms.
Most of your audience may still ask Google for answers today, but tomorrow, they might be asking Perplexity on their Motorola or Samsung phone instead. Hence, it’s essential to test how Perplexity pulls and presents information from different data sources.
3. Meta Tops 2025 Marketing Platforms
Meta for Business has been crowned 2025’s top social media advertising platform by Expert Consumers. This award could only be attributed to its strong mix of AI-powered targeting, expansive reach across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, and a data-focused approach to campaign optimisation.
With automated features that handle everything from budget allocation to creative testing, it’s easy to reach relevant audiences across Meta’s vast ecosystem.
Whether you love Meta or hate it, this is a recognition that is not really surprising. As many marketers already know, Meta still runs the show when it comes to social ads.
What this means for you:
Definitely keep Meta paid ads in your social media strategies, especially if you’re looking to reach more people and improve efficiency without having to micromanage every detail. Since its automation tools are doing a lot of the heavy lifting now, you can spend less time on tweaking settings and focus more on refining your content and creatives.
4. Marketers Tune In to Digital Audio’s Potential
In other news, digital audio has silently graduated from background noise to a full-fledged performance channel that can scale, optimise, and deliver measurable results.
According to eMarketer, in 2024, digital audio ad spend in the US has reached $7.12 billion – marking a 6.8% increase from the year before. This is largely thanks to programmatic advances like dynamic ad insertion, AI-driven bidding, and real-time optimisation that lets marketers instantly personalise messaging.
As cookies fade away, audio ads can be used to reach listeners without violating privacy boundaries, working through contextual targeting based on listeners’ moods, locations, and even weather conditions. The result is a smart, effective – and oddly intimate – way to connect with your audience.
What this means for you:
Audio ads may prove that the most powerful messages aren’t seen but heard. They are easy to produce, test, and optimise in real time; plus, they do not invade your customers’ privacy. But the sweet spot here is contextual targeting: matching your content to a listener’s actual situation to deliver something timely and relevant.
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