Crypto News: From Search to Sale: AI’s New Role in E-commerce 🛒

From Search to Sale: AI's New Role in E-commerce 🛒

Welcome to Katalys Connect - your weekly shortcut to the latest in performance marketing.

[Read time: 4 minutes]

What's in this issue? Each week we pack the latest trends, actionable insights, and industry breakthroughs into a quick read - ensuring you're not just keeping up, you're staying ahead. 

Monetization: Discover how publishers are leveraging AI tools, performance marketing strategies, and content licensing deals to unlock new revenue streams and drive ad growth.
Growth: Explore how Perplexity, TikTok, and Meta are creating innovative ad opportunities, from AI-driven creative tools to unique audience targeting and fresh ad channels.
The Future of Commerce: Uncover how TikTok, Amazon, and Perplexity are transforming e-commerce with shoppable content, budget-friendly platforms, and AI-powered shopping tools.

💡 Katalys Insights

Access Premium Holiday Placements • Katalys Marketplace offers exclusive paid placements including holiday gift guides from top publishers, helping brands boost visibility and drive sales during the busiest time of the year.

These gift guides are read by millions of holiday shoppers looking for the perfect gifts and offer a key opportunity to maximize brand impact this season.
Advertisers can explore hundreds of curated opportunities tailored to their unique campaign goals and connect with publishers ready to showcase their brand.

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💸 Monetization

OpenAI's $16M Content Deal • OpenAI partners with Dotdash Meredith for a $16M annual licensing agreement, with variable payments likely boosting the total, fueling AI training and ad innovation.

Dotdash Meredith has seen a rise in licensing revenue, averaging $29.75M in the two quarters since the deal, compared to $25.5M prior, signaling how content licensing can supplement other revenue streams like Apple News+.
Beyond content licensing, the partnership enhances Dotdash Meredith's D/Cipher contextual ad-targeting tool, contributing to three consecutive quarters of double-digit digital ad growth and showing how AI can enhance publisher strategies.

AI-Powered Publisher Strategies • Publishers are leveraging AI to streamline ad operations, enhance audience targeting, and develop privacy-conscious solutions, with tools like Hearst's Aura and BrandMatch leading the charge.

AI tools like TIME's Glean and Hearst's Aura empower teams with real-time insights, boost ad targeting precision, and integrate seamlessly with first-party data strategies, advancing monetization efforts.
Publishers navigate complex regulations by monitoring AI-driven algorithms for bias, ensuring transparency in ad targeting, and maintaining human oversight in AI-assisted content creation for compliance and trust.

Performance Marketing's Momentum • Nearly 50% of global advertisers plan to increase media budgets in 2025, prioritizing performance marketing for its measurable ROI, faster returns, and adaptability to digital-first strategies, creating new opportunities for affiliates.

As brands prioritize performance, affiliates who deliver high-quality leads and conversions are becoming indispensable, with partnerships valued for their ability to drive direct action and measurable results.
The challenge for brands lies in integrating short-term performance goals with long-term brand loyalty, where affiliates can bridge the gap by combining storytelling with data-driven strategies to enhance both engagement and conversion.

📈 Growth

Perplexity's Ad Experiment Begins • With 100 million weekly searches and a high-income, educated audience, Perplexity's new sponsored follow-up questions offer a unique advertising channel for brands seeking premium exposure.

Perplexity's users include 80% with undergraduate degrees and 65% in high-income professions, presenting an exclusive opportunity for advertisers like Whole Foods and Universal McCann to connect with decision-makers.
The ads support Perplexity's revenue-sharing program for publisher partners, addressing the limits of subscription-based funding while opening new pathways for brand engagement.

TikTok Taps Getty • TikTok integrates Getty Images into its AI-powered Symphony Creative Studio, enabling advertisers to create engaging, TikTok-first content with licensed visuals and AI avatars

The partnership offers brands seamless access to Getty's vast library of commercial-ready content, helping advertisers produce visually compelling and language-adapted campaigns tailored for TikTok's platform.
Advertisers can now generate multiple ad variations and experiment with AI avatars that "speak" about products, streamlining creative workflows while boosting engagement potential.

Ads Coming to Threads • Meta plans to launch ads on Threads in early 2025, tapping into its 275 million monthly users and offering brands a fresh alternative to X.

Starting in January, Meta will allow select advertisers to publish ads on Threads, with Instagram's ad team driving the initiative and refining its approach before a wider rollout.
Despite Threads' rapid rise, Meta has prioritized user value over monetization, introducing ads slowly while adding new features to strengthen the app's appeal and long-term revenue potential.

🚀 Future of Commerce

TikTok x LTK • TikTok's new integration with LTK enhances e-commerce by embedding shoppable links, streamlining purchases directly through creator recommendations.

This partnership boosts creators' earnings by linking their recommendations to affiliate commissions, giving influencers, especially in fashion, a more efficient monetization path.
The move solidifies TikTok's push into e-commerce, aligning with its goal to be both a cultural and shopping hub while reshaping how users discover and purchase products.

Amazon Haul is Here • Amazon launches Haul to challenge Temu and Shein with rock-bottom prices and U.S-exclusive perks, aiming to dominate the budget-conscious market.

Haul targets value-driven shoppers feeling the pinch of inflation by leveraging Amazon's trusted features, like product compliance checks and an A-to-Z Guarantee, while adopting a mobile-first grid design to streamline browsing and mimic rivals like Temu
While Temu and Shein grapple with regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe, Amazon emphasizes safety, authenticity, and easy returns via its vast logistics network, including 8,000 drop-off locations.

E-Commerce Meets AI Power • Perplexity takes a bold step into e-commerce with AI-powered shopping tools for Pro users, offering product recommendations, one-click checkout, and seamless integrations with Shopify.

There are currently no sponsored slots in its shopping results, as Perplexity emphasizes trust and transparency, appealing to consumers wary of biased search algorithms.
Perplexity's merchant program offers free API access for enhanced search capabilities on sellers' sites, positioning it as a key player against giants like Amazon and Google.

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