MEDIA PULSE - SEPTEMBER 2025

News and Insights

MEDIA PULSE - SEPTEMBER 2025

September 18, 2025

We're tracking three connected shifts around how we fundamentally think about media access. First, AI search has moved from experimental to essential, changing how people discover brands. Next, self-serve TV buying tools are democratizing access to a channel that's been "exclusive" for decades. But here's the twist: While more advertisers can access these channels than ever before, the platforms themselves are consolidating around fewer tech partners. It's a progression that changes everything about where your budgets go and how you buy media.

#1 AI search ads: The answer-first advertising era

For years, people asked Google everything from "what's my IP address?" and "best sneakers for a 5K?" to "what year is it?" and even "where am I?" Today that habit has shifted. People are chatting with their preferred GPT like it's an assistant. Some even treat it like a friend. Spend five minutes on Reddit, and you'll see countless threads about AI relationships, but that's another story.

The result is an answer-first experience, and those answers now include ads. It's not shocking. Paid search has always been essential to paid advertising. But the way this fundamentally changes brand discovery, creative requirements and quality traffic measurement is worth noting.

This isn't breaking news. But how it'll impact this holiday season is worth a moment (or a pulse, if you will).

The Pulse

• AI Overviews are everywhere: Google's AI Overviews now appear in almost 1 in 5 Google searches. Ads can appear above, below or inside AI Overviews, but you can't target or opt out.
• Copilot ads outperform: Ads on Copilot have CTRs that are 69% stronger, while ad relevance in Copilot beats traditional search by 25%.
• Perplexity joins the game: Perplexity is now running ads above commonly asked questions by showing a promoted article with a "Sponsored" label, signaling broader AI search monetization.

OUR TAKE

AI search ads are worth testing if you haven't yet.

The good news: Most campaigns are already eligible, so no extra setup is needed. But do prioritize optimizing for answers, not search results. Audit your ad copy: benefit first, price second, clear next step.

The challenging news: Measurement is messy since Google doesn't break out AI Overview performance separately, but there are workarounds. Learn what works now, while your competitors sit around waiting for cleaner reports.

#2 TV advertising's Facebook moment: Self-serve CTV arrives

Last month, we talked about CTV being a buyer's market, with CPMs down around 30% and supply outpacing demand. That affordability isn't just helping big advertisers test more inventory. It's actually cracking open TV advertising for everyone else.

For decades, you couldn't just "run a TV ad." You needed six-figure budgets, agency relationships and months of lead time. Today, that's changing fast, and it looks a lot like what happened to Facebook advertising circa 2010.

Roku's CFO put it perfectly: "No longer is it going to be about the top 200 advertisers. It's going to be about 100,000 advertisers. … You can use gen AI to [make] a very well-produced commercial." Meanwhile, Amazon is opening up the floodgates even more, as Prime Video ads now let customers "use their living-room remote to add a product to their cart" without leaving their couch.

The opportunity is expanding rapidly. The question is how to navigate it strategically.

The Pulse

• Self-serve goes mainstream: Roku launched Ads Manager exactly a year ago, claiming to democratize access to CTV for small and mid-size advertisers.
• Shoppable TV arrives: Amazon's Prime Video now offers "Add to Cart" buttons directly in streaming ads - connecting the dots between mainstream awareness channels and sales-driving tactics.
• AI lowers creative barriers: A Roku executive envisions AI-generated commercials making "very well-produced" ads accessible to any business.

OUR TAKE

These tools make CTV testing accessible to way more brands. Start small by testing on Roku's Ads Manager or similar platforms. Focus on learning first: Which audiences respond? What creative hooks work? How does performance compare to social? The self-serve tools handle the mechanics in a much more accessible way, but the real work still sits in the strategy: audience selection, creative optimization and measurement frameworks. TV advertising just got a lot more accessible, but it didn't get any simpler.

#3 Amazon's streaming takeover: Netflix joins the DSP fortress

OK, now we're really digging in. Self-serve tools are democratizing access to TV advertising, and CPMs are lower than ever. But what if I also told you that streaming platforms are consolidating around fewer tech partners? Well, I am frequently reminded by a very admired peer (IYKYK) that two things can be true at the same time. And in this case, CTV is getting both easier to buy and harder to buy.

Netflix just announced advertisers can buy its inventory through Amazon's DSP starting Q4, joining Roku and Disney in Amazon's growing partnership portfolio. This isn't about limiting advertiser access. Amazon's tools align perfectly with that democratization trend we just discussed. It's about streaming platforms picking sides in the adtech infrastructure wars.

The same market dynamics that made CTV more affordable and accessible are now pushing platforms toward fewer, more powerful buying systems. Each promises easier access, but through their own walled gardens.

The Pulse

• Amazon DSP is winning: A global auto brand shifted $80 million in CTV spend to Amazon in Q1, while The Trade Desk stock dropped 40% in August.
• Netflix joins the club: Amazon now has DSP deals with Netflix, Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Warner Bros.
• Multi-DSP reality: Netflix works with most major buying platforms, but the big partnerships signal where streaming platforms see their future.

OUR TAKE

These partnerships don't eliminate choice, but they do change the landscape. More advertisers can access CTV than ever before, but they're all funneling through fewer gatekeepers. Netflix just made it easier to buy its ads while also making the market more concentrated. CTV is expanding and consolidating at the same time - and that's why it's so crucial to navigate this moment correctly.

About the authors
Ashley Blais co-leads FINN Paid Media, our global team of experts who live and breathe today's fast-paced and fast-changing media landscape. The team delivers a full suite of services, including omnichannel planning and buying, performance media strategy and management, and comprehensive measurement, resulting in award-winning campaigns that drive client success.

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POSTED BY: Ashley Blais