The media ecosystem is becoming harder to navigate. Large platforms still offer scale, while the open web is fighting for transparency and control, and retail and commerce media are attracting budgets through first-party data and measurable sales outcomes. At the same time, AI is automating more of the buying process, traditional signals are weakening. Which models will dominate: platforms, the open web, or retail and commerce media? How is media buying changing as AI takes over more decisions, data becomes scarcer, and new inventory enters the market? And where are budgets actually flowing today – and why?
