In partnership with

LinkedIn Takes First Step Toward Creator Monetization 🦶 Google Tests Serving Ads In Third Party Chatbots 🤖 Google To Show Who Actually Pays For Ads 🥸

Also: What OpenAI's Restructuring Plan Means For Its Corporate Future

Get Your Free ChatGPT Productivity Bundle

Mindstream brings you 5 essential resources to master ChatGPT at work. This free bundle includes decision flowcharts, prompt templates, and our 2025 guide to AI productivity.

Our team of AI experts has packaged the most actionable ChatGPT hacks that are actually working for top marketers and founders. Save hours each week with these proven workflows.

It's completely free when you subscribe to our daily AI newsletter.

Subscribe to get instant access

🗞 Marketing News

LinkedIn Takes First Step Toward Creator Monetization [3 min read]

LinkedIn is rebranding and expanding its "Wire" program to "BrandLink," allowing brands to place video ads alongside both premium publisher and selected influencer content, marking the platform's first step toward creator monetization. The program begins with a small group of high-profile creators including Steven Bartlett and Gary Vaynerchuk who will receive a cut of the ad revenue, with plans to eventually expand to more creators. Video consumption is growing significantly on LinkedIn, with viewing time up 36% year-over-year, while brands using BrandLink have experienced impressive results including 130% higher video completion rates and 23% higher view rates compared to standard video ads.

Google Tests Serving Ads In Third-Party Chatbots [2 min read]

Google has expanded its AdSense for Search program to include serving ads within third-party chatbots and conversational AI interfaces, moving beyond traditional placement in search results and websites. Before making this feature broadly available in early 2025, Google conducted limited experimental testing with select publishers, including AI startups iAsk and Liner. Google frames this expansion as mutually beneficial, generating additional revenue for publishers while helping businesses reach new audiences through conversational AI experiences, which have become increasingly important sources of information for consumers seeking products and services.

Google To Show Who Actually Pays For Ads In New Transparency Update [5 min read]

Google is updating its Ads Transparency policy to display more information about who actually pays for advertisements, with a two-phase implementation beginning in May 2025 showing payment profile names as payer names, followed by June 2025 updates allowing advertisers to edit their displayed payer names. These changes establish clearer distinctions between the parties creating advertisements and the entities funding them, building upon Google's existing transparency initiatives. The update creates urgent considerations for advertising agencies, particularly requiring those currently incorrectly verified as direct advertisers to reset their verification and re-verify as agencies before May 31, 2025.

🤖 AI

What OpenAI's Restructuring Plan Means For Its Corporate Future [4 min read]

OpenAI is pursuing a new restructuring plan that converts its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation while maintaining nonprofit control, following regulatory discussions with state attorneys general. This creates a limited path to a potential IPO but raises significant questions about what shareholders would actually own, since the nonprofit would retain control of the company's core intellectual property and technology. Throughout this transition, OpenAI faces multidirectional pressure from regulatory scrutiny, major investors like Microsoft seeking return on their billions, and legal challenges from Elon Musk who claims the company has abandoned its original nonprofit mission to develop AGI for humanity's benefit.

Apple Looks to Add AI Search To Safari In Potential Blow To Google [2 min read]

Apple is exploring the integration of AI-powered search engines into Safari, with executive Eddy Cue revealing that searches on the browser declined for the first time last month as users increasingly turn to AI alternatives. The move threatens Google's coveted position as Safari's default search engine, for which it currently pays Apple approximately $20 billion annually, representing about 36% of Google's search advertising revenue through Safari. While Cue indicated that Apple plans to add AI search providers like OpenAI, Perplexity AI, and Anthropic as future Safari search options, the market reacted strongly with Alphabet shares dropping 7.3% (wiping approximately $150 billion in value), compared to Apple's more modest 1.1% dip.

🧠 Hacks & Tactics

SEO Aspects Of Content Syndication [4 min read]

Content syndication can boost visibility by sharing articles on platforms like Medium, Substack, and LinkedIn. However, it presents SEO challenges, as Google may prioritize syndicated content over the original, even with the use of rel= "canonical" tags. To make syndication more SEO-friendly, it's advisable to choose platforms that allow canonical tags, use internal links, and create varied versions of the content, though this doesn't guarantee Google's recognition of the original source.

How To Mine Customer Reviews And Ratings To Improve Marketing And Products [7 min read]

Customer reviews and ratings are a valuable resource for gaining insights into consumer preferences and identifying areas for improvement in products and marketing strategies. Companies like Tylenol, Estée Lauder, and Scünci have successfully used customer feedback to make product adjustments and refine their messaging, leading to better consumer satisfaction and increased sales. By starting with manual review analysis or using AI-powered tools, businesses can effectively incorporate these insights to enhance their offerings and maintain a competitive edge.

SMB Marketing Strategies: Navigating Challenges [7 min read]

Small businesses are experiencing a crisis of confidence in their marketing strategies, driven by economic uncertainties and the relentless demands of running a business, leading them to seek more time, resources, and tools to improve performance. To address this, they are increasingly turning to marketing automation tools to handle repetitive tasks and implementing structured schedules to prioritize marketing activities amidst daily operations. SMBs are focusing on multi-channel marketing strategies to expand their customer base, using data analytics for personalized communication, and maintaining consistent branding across various platforms to drive sustainable growth and enhance market presence.

🔮 The Future

Most Of Your Marketing Spend Is Being Wasted [4 min read]

Businesses can maximize their marketing spend by first focusing on improving website conversion rates above the 3.68% global average through optimized forms and compelling offers. Following up with interested prospects using both digital methods (like pop-ups, email, and SMS) and offline techniques (such as direct mail retargeting) creates deeper, more lasting impressions that significantly boost trust and recall. Finally, implementing a CRM system with automated, personalized follow-up sequences across multiple channels can increase conversions by up to 300%, ensuring potential customers move smoothly through the buying journey rather than getting distracted like a dog spotting a squirrel. 

Zuckerberg's AI Ad Tool Sounds Like A Social Media Nightmare [3 min read]

Mark Zuckerberg plans to revolutionize advertising with an end-to-end AI tool that would automatically create and test thousands of ad variations based solely on business objectives and budgets. While potentially beneficial for businesses by simplifying their advertising operations, this system threatens to further degrade user experience on Meta platforms already cluttered with AI-generated content. The proposed automation raises significant concerns for the advertising industry, adding to ongoing ethical debates about AI's impact on creative fields where thousands of creators have already protested against similar developments.

Search Traffic Down 10%: What's Happening And Where It's Going [3 min read]

Traditional search traffic has declined 10% year-over-year as consumers increasingly fragment their search behavior across multiple platforms, with 83% using traditional engines but 73% turning to social media and Gen Z averaging 3.6 platforms before making purchase decisions. This shift is particularly evident among younger users who prefer platforms like TikTok and Instagram over Google when conducting local searches, seeking "real" experiences and validation from people rather than relying on a single platform. As a result, brands must adapt their strategies beyond traditional search optimization to maintain visibility across various platforms, including understanding how AI tools like ChatGPT rank and display content, which are becoming increasingly important channels for discovery.

👩‍🏫 Vocab

Digital Marketing: The promotion of products or services through digital channels, technologies, and platforms. It encompasses all marketing efforts that use electronic devices or the internet. Digital marketing allows businesses to reach and engage customers where they spend much of their time online.

Example: A local gym uses Facebook ads, email newsletters, and their website to attract new members and keep current ones engaged.

Web 3.0 Marketing: Marketing strategies adapted for the next generation of internet technology, focusing on decentralization and user ownership. It incorporates blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs into marketing approaches. Web 3.0 marketing emphasizes direct community engagement and digital asset ownership.

Example: A sneaker brand releases limited edition digital collectibles (NFTs) that give owners exclusive access to future product launches.

There’s a reason 400,000 professionals read this daily.

Join The AI Report, trusted by 400,000+ professionals at Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Get daily insights, tools, and strategies to master practical AI skills that drive results.

Sign up now for free and work smarter, not harder.

Turn AI into Your Income Engine

Ready to transform artificial intelligence from a buzzword into your personal revenue generator

HubSpot’s groundbreaking guide "200+ AI-Powered Income Ideas" is your gateway to financial innovation in the digital age.

Inside you'll discover:

• A curated collection of 200+ profitable opportunities spanning content creation, e-commerce, gaming, and emerging digital markets—each vetted for real-world potential

• Step-by-step implementation guides designed for beginners, making AI accessible regardless of your technical background

• Cutting-edge strategies aligned with current market trends, ensuring your ventures stay ahead of the curve

Download your guide today and unlock a future where artificial intelligence powers your success. Your next income stream is waiting.

Get Your Guide

That's it for this week! See you next week. 😎

Forwarded this email? Click here to subscribe. Don't want to miss out? Make sure to whitelist our email! 🥳😉

Something else you’d like to see here? Hit reply and let us know what you think. 🧠 Or smash a button on our feedback poll!

✌️ Team Marketing Machine

🗳️ Feedback Dept!

🥞 Stack

Tools we use to keep our business running.

Discord - find community with text, voice, and video chat. Join us!
Beehiiv - engage newsletter audiences and grow subscribers
Clickup - project management and team collaboration
WordPress - build websites and blogs
Elementor - drag-and-drop builder for WordPress
Buffer - streamline social media scheduling and analytics
ElevenLabs - convert text into realistic voiceover
Riverside - record high-quality audio and video remotely
Transistor - all-in-one podcast hosting platform
Zapier - automate tasks by connecting web apps
Claude - AI language model focused on safe and ethical text processing
Midjourney - generate images from text prompts using AI

*contains affiliate links - let us know if you have any questions or recommendations!