The great digital disruption: artificial intelligence shakes the foundations of the advertising industry

In today’s podcast, we dissect the reality of a digital sector that is fighting to maintain its model and its revenue.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a promise; it’s a reality. Some see it as a huge window of opportunity, while others view it as a veritable meteorite.

From this second perspective, technological disruption poses a threat to the structure and viability of agencies, media outlets, and brands in the digital ecosystem, as Horizont points out, based on their current structure. The sudden and accelerated arrival of AI hasn’t allowed for an orderly transition or gradual integration, but rather has created a chaotic flow that could jeopardize business models.

From «useful tools» to a disruption without anesthesia: The idea that artificial intelligence would only automate repetitive tasks is outdated. The current situation is more unsettling: a shockwave affecting the sector’s economic engine. It’s not about optimizing processes or gaining time to think more clearly, but about survival.

For publishers, the blow has a name: Zero Click. This phenomenon alludes to the traffic drought already being experienced by many websites. So-called AI Overviews directly answer users’ questions without requiring them to visit the original sources. In other words: content generates responses, but not traffic. Without clicks, there are no page views; without page views, there are no ad impressions; without impressions, there is no revenue or subscriptions to sustain newsrooms. The result is a vicious cycle that threatens to devalue journalistic content precisely when it is most needed.

In this context, the debate on digital sovereignty and the relevance of the Open Web model is reopened. At MarketingDirecto.com – MKD, we analyze these issues in today’s podcast.

Major tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and TikTok, as well as advertising holding companies, have announced thousands of layoffs in recent months. This confirms that even the giants are not guaranteed stability and that the entire industry will have to reorganize from the ground up to find the most viable and profitable formula.

Source: www.marketingdirecto.com