Digiday Daily

July 24, 2026

Google’s Performance Max product has frustrated and bemused media buyers since its launch four years ago. In recent weeks, however, the tech giant has chosen to yield a little ground to marketers and buyers asking for more control.

TOP STORY

Marketing on Platforms

Google quietly gives ground on PMax controls

The search giant’s black-box ad product has confounded media buyers for years. Now, it’s passing them the reins – sort of.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

Register for this virtual event on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. ET for insights into how fast-moving, highly regulated industries — Crypto.com and OG — pulled off campaigns at speed, from brand launch to major sporting moments. Can’t make it? Register and we’ll send you the on-demand recording. Partner insights from Celtra.
Showcase the AI-powered campaigns, products and innovations transforming media, marketing and advertising through the Digiday AI Awards. Submit your entry for a chance to earn industry recognition and celebrate the teams leading the future of AI. Regular Deadline: Aug. 7.
Many purported paradigm shifts have come and gone. While most are simply old ideas with new packaging, there’s a genuine signal front and center that the industry has consistently underutilized: carrier data. Partner insights from Blis.

MARKETING

Member exclusive

Future of Marketing Briefing: The case for and against the death of the big brand ad

Marketing has a new favorite argument: is it still smarter to talk to a million people at once, or to find the thousand people they already trust?

Modern Retail

Kroger’s new CEO, a Walmart veteran, is focused on speed and execution

Foran joined Kroger in February after serving as CEO of Air New Zealand since 2020. Before that, he was president and CEO of Walmart U.S. for about six years.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM TALON.ONE

Guide: WTF is agentic commerce?

Agentic commerce differs from earlier forms of automated shopping in that AI agents don’t wait for human input to approve each step. They set a goal, evaluate options against structured criteria and execute on it.

ICYMI

The Business of AI

'Trust becomes the product': Marketers grapple with Google’s new suite of AI-powered ad agents

Google announced a new souped up suite of agentic ad tools backed by its LLM, Gemini.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM 3C VENTURES

How marketers are evaluating transparency promises with limited visibility

Transparency has become a universal platform claim, but unlike the challenges of transparency in media buying — which are understood — a new focus of understanding is required for newer AI-powered, end-to-end planning and buying platforms.

Marketing on Platforms

'It’s the worst execution I’ve seen': Confessions of a marketer on pulling every client off Google's PMax

While most marketers still plough their ad dollars into Google’s AI-powered advertising tool, one marketer explains why that isn’t always the best idea.