New marketplaces, new labels, new feeds
Summer is over, but the tech and advertising world hasn’t paused. Let’s take a look:
LinkedIn launches its own Creator Marketplace, connecting brands and creators in a B2B context. At the same time, Google is making its smart bidding more predictable, and Facebook is testing a full-screen feed in TikTok style.
Find out more in this month’s Xtracts.
Get fully up to date with the August edition of Xtracts, your digital news overview.
LinkedIn launches Creator Marketplace
LinkedIn has launched Creator Marketplace, a new feature designed to make it easier for brands and creators to find each other and collaborate. The news came on June 10, 2026, and the marketplace sits directly inside LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager, under a new section called “Content and Assets.”
With Creator Marketplace, brands can search for approved creators based on topic and professional expertise and quickly assess their audience, results, and relevance. Once a brand has found the right creator, they can see contact details and reach out directly to arrange a collaboration. Pricing and other terms are agreed directly between the creator and the brand.
Access is currently invitation-only, and creators are selected based on expertise, content quality, and demand from advertisers. They stay in control of which collaborations they say yes to, and can highlight their best content to attract the right brands.
For marketers, the news is interesting because it moves influencer marketing into a professional B2B context – a field that has otherwise mostly been about consumer brands.
Source: Social Media Today
ChatGPT ads hit Japan and South Korea
OpenAI has now opened up ads in ChatGPT in both Japan and South Korea. This happened on July 9, 2026, and it’s the first time ChatGPT ads have been shown to users who don’t speak English as their primary language. At the same time, UK advertisers gained access to a self-serve version of OpenAI’s Ads Manager.
The ads have run as a pilot in the US since February 2026 and have since been rolled out to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The format is the same everywhere: a short, clearly labeled “sponsored” box appears beneath ChatGPT’s response when the topic of the conversation matches something an advertiser has paid to be shown against. Only users on the free and low-cost “Go” plans see the ads. Paying Plus, Pro, and Enterprise users are exempt.
Japan and South Korea are interesting test markets because ChatGPT is primarily used in Japanese and Korean there. That challenges the technology behind the ads, which is built to match ads with the content of a conversation – and until now, that logic has only been tested in English. In early July, ads accounted for just under 19 percent of all ChatGPT responses in Japan, while in the US and Canada the figure was already above 50 percent.
For marketers, the news is yet another sign that AI chatbots are quickly becoming a real advertising platform alongside Google and Meta.
Source: PPC Land
Google now labels AI-generated ads worldwide
As of July 9, 2026, users around the world can see whether an ad was created or edited using AI. This happens via a new feature in Google’s “My Ad Center” called “How this ad was made.” You’ll find it by clicking the three dots or the info icon on an ad in Google Search, YouTube, or Discover.
The labeling works differently depending on which tool the advertiser used. If the ad was made with Google’s own AI tools, Google adds the label automatically. If, on the other hand, the advertiser used another AI tool, such as Midjourney or Adobe Firefly, it’s up to the advertiser to disclose it themselves. Google does not check whether advertisers are actually doing so honestly.
The timing is no coincidence. Just over three weeks after the launch, on August 2, 2026, new transparency rules under the EU’s AI Act come into force. Those rules make it legally binding for companies to disclose when content has been created by AI – and Google’s new labeling falls right in line with that development.
For marketers, this means paying extra attention going forward to complying with the rules around AI labeling – both because Google is watching, and because the legislation is tightening.
Source: Search Engine Land
Google makes smart bidding more predictable
Google has announced a change to its automated bidding, expected to take effect on August 17, 2026. The change is designed to make CPA and ROAS targets more accurate and predictable – especially for campaigns that are budget-constrained.
The background is a well-known challenge: many advertisers have gotten used to setting their CPA or ROAS targets slightly higher than what they’re actually aiming for. They do this to make sure the system can still find conversions within the target.
Google began sending out notifications about the change to ad accounts around July 6, 2026. According to Search Engine Journal, that notice is especially important for teams working with budget-constrained campaigns – since it can reveal that their current CPA or ROAS target no longer matches the company’s actual figures or goals.
For marketers, the advice is simple: use the time now to review your targets in Google Ads before the change rolls out in August. That can save unnecessary volatility in campaigns once the new system goes live.
Source: Search Engine Journal
Facebook tests full-screen video in TikTok style
Meta has announced that it’s testing a completely new version of Facebook. The test was announced on July 24, 2026, by Tom Alison, who heads up Facebook at Meta. In the new version, the app opens directly into a full-screen video view, where the user is met with a stream of videos chosen by Facebook’s algorithm – instead of the classic feed with posts from friends and pages they follow.
The classic feed isn’t disappearing. It’s instead being moved to a separate tab, and users in the test can switch back to the familiar experience at any time.
The test is starting in select countries with high video consumption, and Meta has hinted that it’s considering bringing the feature to the US in 2027. Meta has not yet released images of the new view or said anything about how it will affect advertising, targeting, or monetization for content creators.
The change should be seen as another step in Meta’s push into short video, which the company says now generates $50 billion in annual revenue across its platforms. For marketers, it’s a sign that video remains the format winning the most attention – even on a platform like Facebook, which has historically been about text and images.
Source: PPC Land
