June 19, 2026  |  SIGN UP

Jim Cooper
DIGIDAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On the eve of Cannes Lions 2026, where generative AI will be the centerpiece of most conversations, brand marketers are poised to cross a Rubicon in the south of France next week: crossing over from curious AI tinkerers to active participants and developers.

Case in point, as we report this morning, cosmetic giant L'Oréal announced a new partnership with OpenAI to super charge product discovery and its CreAItech production system. L'Oréal’s chief digital and marketing officer Asmita Dubey spoke with our Sam Brandley during the VivaTech conference in Paris this week about the company’s AI ambitions for its marketing and cutting-edge beauty products. “We believe we can be more demanding of AI,” she said.

That brand-based demand for more from agents is a clear signal that AI is now not only spurred on by the pace of technology and commerce, but increasingly the speed of culture.

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THE BUSINESS OF AI

L’Oréal accelerates generative AI content engine with fresh OpenAI deal

The beauty company made the announcement as its chief digital and marketing officer Asmita Dubey prepared to take the stage at Paris tech conference VivaTech on June 19. Executives from LVMH, Google and Renault also appeared at the conference.

MARKETING ON PLATFORMS

OpenAI expands ads manager to U.K., adds CPC

The move makes the U.K. the fifth market with access to the self-serve platform, joining the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The mechanics are the same as they are in the U.S., with general availability for advertisers in approved categories whose ads pass policy review.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM ADJUST

How mobile gaming companies keep performance intact while migrating measurement systems

With changes to measurement frameworks happening at a record pace, migrating infrastructure is both logistically complex and operationally sensitive.

EVOLVING AGENCIES

‘Humans at the helm, agents in the loop’: WPP is testing a buyer agent for video, but it’s bigger bet is on governance

WPP. alongside the launch of its Buyer Agent for Video yesterday (June 18), unveiled a coalition of premium media owners including Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Fox as well as standards bodies IAB Tech Lab and Prebid.org.

A MESSAGE FROM PIANO

Publishers' top application of AI is optimizing ad sales

According to a recent Digiday and Piano survey, the majority of publishers (84%) are currently using or actively piloting AI tools for ad sales or ad operations, including proposal generation and campaign management.

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THE BUSINESS  OF AI

Stagwell enhances its AI-powered tools on the media side

Stagwell has launched The Media Machine, a media-side extension of The Machine, Digiday has learned. The Media Machine is essentially the challenger holding company’s equivalent of an operating system, powered and empowered by AI. 

THE BUSINESS OF AI

As AI scrutiny grows, DUDE Wipes points to supply chain savings and productivity gains

DUDE Wipes has AI tools across the company, reducing man hours in supply chain tasks — providing employees with regular AI trainings and Claude accounts and revamping how the company hires to be less dependent on agencies.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM 3C VENTURES

How vocabulary convergence leads marketers to pay for unnecessary capabilities

Agency platforms increasingly rely on the same language, like AI-powered, agentic and end-to-end; yet, without any industry-standard definitions, making meaningful comparisons is difficult for marketers evaluating potential platforms.

PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PIANO