Digiday Daily

February 17, 2026

Weeks after unveiling ad plans, OpenAI is working to control the message. Part of that is working with brands to test and learn what’s working — and Target is at the front of the line. We checked in with their execs to see how that’s going.

TOP STORY

Marketing on Platforms

‘An influential seat at the table’: Why Target’s retail media business Roundel is one of the first to test ChatGPT ads

Roundel’s svp Matt Drzewicki talked about what they expect from the pilot.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

The discussion around brand safety and suitability has matured. The industry is now entering a new phase, where brands expect more control, more extensibility into walled gardens and closer accountability to outcomes. Partner insights from Channel Factory.
Fragmentation is no longer an edge case in TV — it’s the operating environment. And marketing strategies have to be built with that reality in mind. Here’s how that might play out during the World Cup. Partner insights from Nexxen.
Weather impacts what people try, buy and how they feel. This powers targeting to predict the moments when weather shifts a consumer’s mindset toward purchase, driving sales and long-term growth. Learn more in this video. Partner insights from The Weather Company.

MEDIA & PLATFORMS

Marketing on Platforms

‘Being very careful’: Weeks after unveiling ad plans, OpenAI works to control the message

A month into its ad strategy, OpenAI tries to balance growth and trust.

Generative AI

AdCP vs. IAB Tech Lab: Inside programmatic advertising’s agentic AI standards showdown

Ad Context Protocol and IAB Tech Lab’s Agentic Roadmap offer two competing approaches for updating ad tech for AI agents. Can they coexist?

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PADSQUAD

How marketers are recentering ad quality and relevance

Now that campaigns can accommodate mid-flight changes — adjusting visual sequences, calls to action or tone based on audience engagement — advertisers can treat creative as a dynamic asset, not a fixed deliverable.

Member exclusive

Ad Tech Briefing: A mid-term report card

Despite earnings increases, stock prices are down demonstrating how the public markets are a cruel place.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM EXPERIAN

How marketers are interpreting context in real time

Context takes many forms, often operating beneath the surface of consumer activity. Marketers are increasingly using technology to interpret these micro-signals, enhancing predictive accuracy and creative alignment.

MARKETING

Subscriptions