Another big day in marketing this Wednesday!

ChatGPT’s leaked engagement data shows how little traffic AI actually sends, Pinterest says over half of shoppers can’t describe what they want, and Instagram now supports Dolby Vision, so iPhone HDR videos finally look the way creators intended.

Plenty more to discover inside. let’s dive in…

Instagram now properly supports Dolby Vision and ambient viewing environment, meaning HDR videos shot on iPhones finally display with accurate brightness, contrast, and color. Meta rebuilt its video pipeline with Dolby and FFmpeg to preserve this metadata end-to-end, fixed load-time regressions by compressing it, and saw higher watch time in testing, especially in low-light viewing. Why it matters (POV): this upgrade makes Reels look noticeably better for creators and viewers, giving Instagram a real visual edge at a time when every platform is fighting for attention, and sets the foundation for Dolby Vision to roll out across Meta’s entire ecosystem.

Topic Chats, a new public chat space where users can discuss major events and shared interests, while still keeping their profiles private and unsearchable. The feature uses LLM-powered moderation, strict community rules, and reporting tools to maintain safety, and it will surface relevant Spotlight videos to enrich each discussion. Friends can see which Topic Chats each other have joined, helping conversations spread organically. Why it matters (POV): This marks a major shift for Snapchat, which has long been built around private sharing, and it signals the platform’s push to compete more directly with TikTok and X by giving users a safer place for public conversation without compromising the app’s core privacy-first identity.

Visual search beats keywords, as 52% of shoppers can’t describe what they want. Pinterest’s new UK study finds a major flaw in keyword-driven search: 52% of consumers can’t accurately describe what they want using text, pushing one-in-three shoppers toward visual discovery platforms instead. Pinterest is leaning hard into this behavior shift with upgraded catalog tools, AI-powered Performance+ automation, and new ad formats like Top of Search, where early testers like Wayfair saw a 237% CTR lift. Advertisers uploading full catalogs see 3.8x higher ROAS, proving that discovery on Pinterest comes from visual variety, not keyword precision. Why it matters (POV): Pinterest’s visual-first model is becoming a powerful alternative for brands trying to influence early purchase intent before people ever type a query.

Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) finally connects the missing link between your ad clicks and the real sales that happen later, whether that’s a contract signed days after a form fill, an in-store purchase, or a deal closed after a sales call. By capturing unique click IDs like GCLID (Google) or MSCLKID (Microsoft) and syncing outcomes from your CRM, POS, or manual uploads, advertisers can see which campaigns actually generate revenue, not just leads. Why it matters (POV): Without OCT, you’re optimizing for cheap form fills instead of profitable customers. Feeding offline sales data back into Google or Microsoft Ads dramatically improves smart bidding and cuts wasted spend.

The Content Protection tool for Facebook Reels that automatically scans Facebook and Instagram for full or partial reuploads of your original videos, alerts you when a match is found, and lets you track, block, or release those reposts directly from your Professional Dashboard. The system builds on Meta’s Rights Manager tech and applies to both new and older Reels, with safeguards to prevent creators from abusing the feature. Why it matters (POV): For creators who constantly lose reach, credit, or income to repost accounts, this is a real step toward ownership and attribution, especially as Meta pushes harder to reward originality across its apps.

A leaked internal OpenAI file reveals hundreds of thousands of impressions generate almost no clicks, with most URLs seeing CTR as low as 0%, 0.01%, or 0.1%, and even the top-performing page barely reaches 1.68% CTR despite 610k+ impressions. The data breaks down impressions and clicks across ChatGPT’s surfaces (main response, sidebar, citations, navigation) and shows that the highest-visibility placement, the main answer, produces the weakest engagement, while citations and sidebars perform slightly better with 6–10% CTR. Why it matters (POV): AI impressions don’t translate enough to real clicks, and relying on LLM “exposure” won’t drive meaningful site traffic or conversions anytime soon. It’s important for marketers to find the balance between SEO and AI search engines.

The new Gemini 3 is already powering AI Mode in Search with real-time generative layouts, interactive visuals, and deeper multimodal reasoning-think complex scientific explanations that the model can turn into dynamic, on-the-fly simulations. Beyond Search, Gemini 3 is rolling out across the Gemini app, Gemini API, Antigravity, Vertex AI, and enterprise products, bringing stronger agentic abilities, better reasoning, and one-shot “vibe coding” to developers and businesses. Why it matters (POV): Gemini 3 isn’t just another model; it’s the engine shaping the future of Google Search and the broader Google ecosystem, meaning marketers will need to understand how this new AI-powered search experience affects visibility, ranking, user behavior, and ad performance.

Gap’s new holiday campaign doubles down on music as cultural fuel, swapping Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” for a soulful rendition by Sienna Spiro, continuing the brand’s comeback streak. After years of decline, Gap has rebuilt relevance not through cheap stunts, but through high-craft creative, artist collaborations, nostalgia, and precision planning, like its “Better in Denim” campaign with Katseye that hit 400M+ views and sparked what Dickson called a “cultural takeover.” Why it matters (POV): Gap is proving that long-term creativity beats short-lived viral tactics, showing brands that cultural relevance is what actually builds affinity, elevates perception, and drives real revenue in a crowded landscape.

— Sam C.