Ksenia LebedevaJanuary 2026 completed the transformation of digital advertising: AI stopped being an assistant and became the main player.
Google is building an ecosystem where purchases happen inside AI conversations without leaving the site. Meta has fully handed control to the Andromeda algorithm—creative now controls targeting, not the other way around. TikTok is transforming from an entertainment platform into a full-cycle marketing system with measurement at every stage of the funnel.
Breaking down key updates from each platform.
TikTok Ads: From Entertainment to Awareness
TikTok is moving from a simple advertising platform to a full-fledged marketing ecosystem with AI automation, detailed analytics, and built-in content creation tools. The focus is on converting attention into concrete business results at every stage of the funnel.
Smart+ Updates
- Creative Auto-Select — the system scans your existing ad materials and content from suitable creators in TikTok One, automatically suggesting top creatives for campaign objectives.
- Preview of all creative combinations directly in Ads Manager — advertisers see how each possible creative combination will look before launch.
- Enhanced efficiency tools — duplication, drafts, automated rules, and bulk editing are now available for Smart+.
Why this matters: Smart+ reduces manual labor and errors, accelerates campaign launch and scaling while maintaining your control.
Streaming Ads
TikTok launched a specialized format for streaming services. Streaming Ads run on Smart+ and show highly engaged users personalized content from your library.
TikTok Market Scope
- Separate funnels for TikTok Shop and website — now you can see the path to purchases inside TikTok and on external sites separately, getting a complete picture of conversions.
- IP-level analytics for entertainment brands — funnel tracking for each movie or show: from awareness to ticket purchases.
- Expanded industry analytics — shows audience behavior and user migration between brands within a category in greater depth.
Mid-funnel Enhancement: From Clicks to Intent
- Brand Consideration objective now balances consideration cost and 6-second view, helping find higher-quality, more engaged audiences in the mid-funnel.
- Traffic with consideration signals — optimization for consideration cost and new customer cost is now available, targeting users who haven't purchased from your brand in the last 180 days.
Google Ads: The AI Era and New Touchpoints
Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)
Open standard for agentic commerce—purchases complete directly in AI Mode (Google Search and Gemini) without site navigation. Google Pay and PayPal support, Merchant Center integration through new attributes: FAQ, bundle compatibility, product alternatives.
Business Agent
Brand AI assistant built into Google Search. Answers product questions in the brand's voice, suggests upsells and cross-sells. Integrates with Performance Max as an extension.
Direct Offers
AI-personalized offers for high-intent users. The system automatically shows exclusive discounts (e.g., 20% off) at the moment of decision. Configured through Merchant Center attributes.
Demand Gen Updates
- Shoppable CTV Purchases directly from Connected TV through Demand Gen campaigns. Viewers see products in YouTube TV videos and can buy without switching screens. Demand Gen with TV screens enabled shows an average of +7% conversions at the same ROI.
- Attributed Branded Searches New metric in Demand Gen showing the volume of branded searches on Google and YouTube generated by the campaign. Helps quantify upper-funnel impact on demand.
- Travel Feeds Dynamic videos with real-time prices, ratings, and hotel availability from Hotel Center feed. Relevance updates in real time.
Personalized Advertising Policy Update
Clarification of existing rules without introducing new restrictions. Published January 6. Does not affect current campaign settings.
Google is consistently shortening the path from query to purchase.
Advertiser advice: update Merchant Center, test Shoppable CTV for ecommerce and Direct Offers for high-margin products, work with feeds, and recognize that AI locations (Search, Gemini, YouTube) are becoming key conversion points.
Meta Ads: Full AI Automation
Meta is transforming into a creative discovery engine. Winners are those who feed the system diverse concepts and give the algorithm freedom to learn. Attempts to micromanage campaigns manually now only harm results.
Andromeda Algorithm
Meta now controls targeting based on creative, not the other way around. The system works 100x faster and processes 10,000x more ad variations in parallel.
Key change: creative diversity matters more than volume—the algorithm rewards radically different concepts, not variations of one hook.
Advantage+ by Default
When creating a new campaign, Ads Manager automatically enables Advantage+ (budget, audience, placements). Manual opt-out is possible but not recommended.
Business AI Breakdown
New reporting metric shows which conversions were achieved through AI tools: Advantage+ creative, automatic text/format optimization, delivery optimization.
Helps understand the real contribution of automation to campaign results. Not yet available in all accounts.
Conversion Count Breakdown
New breakdown in Ads Manager: "First conversion" and "All other conversions" in one attribution setting. Helps analyze whether Meta focuses on attracting new converters when optimizing for first conversions. Available at campaign, ad set, and ad level.
Ads Come to Threads
After a long period without monetization, Meta begins global rollout of ads in Threads, expanding advertising opportunities beyond Instagram and Facebook.
Telegram: Stability Without Surprises
In January, the platform did not introduce product updates for advertising.
Aitarget Group News
Telegram Insider – Channel Search Made Easier
- We expanded the base channel table and added additional metrics. Channel posts go through an AI model to determine channel category, audience age, financial status, and professions. Search now works not only by topics but also by audience type.
- Additional filters for segmentation appeared
We are in a new reality of digital advertising. AI controls targeting, data determines visibility, creative diversity beats volume. Advertisers who continue to micromanage campaigns manually are losing the race. Those who feed algorithms the right signals are winning.
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