Need to Know News - January 7th, 2026
In this week's Need to Know News edition:
🤖 Reddit's new "Max" campaigns slashed Brooks Running's CPC by 37%... AI-powered "black box opener" reveals audiences you never knew existed.
🤖 U.S. holiday e-commerce hit $257.8 billion as AI-powered shopping surged... traffic from generative AI tools exploded 693% year-over-year.
🤖 LinkedIn's AI Ad Variants generate multiple creative versions from one headline... creative production time drops by 80% with a single input.
And a whole lot more!
Reddit's New Max Campaigns Cut Ad Costs 17% with AI Automation
Reddit is betting on AI to predict the value of every ad impression. Its new Max Campaigns tool, now in beta, automates targeting, creative selection, and budget allocation in real time. And early results look promising. Brooks Running tested it for 21 days and saw cost per click drop 37% without making a single manual change.
Across 600 alpha testers, cost per acquisition fell 17% on average. Reddit is also rolling out Top Audience Personas, which clusters users into groups like new parents or ambitious home cooks so advertisers can see who's actually engaging.
Holiday E-Commerce Hits $257.8 Billion as AI Shopping Traffic Jumps 693%
dobe Analytics reports that shoppers spent $257.8 billion online during the 2025 holiday season, up 6.8% from last year. But the real story is how they found what they were looking for.
Traffic from AI-powered shopping assistants exploded by 693% year-over-year, a sign that consumers are getting comfortable letting bots guide their purchases. Mobile kept climbing too, hitting 56.4% of all transactions and peaking at 66.5% on Christmas Day.
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OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health
More than 230 million people globally ask ChatGPT health questions every week. Now OpenAI is giving them a dedicated space to do it. ChatGPT Health connects to Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers, and medical records through a partnership with b.well.
That means users can ask about lab results, prep for doctor visits, or figure out which insurance plan makes sense based on their care history. OpenAI worked with more than 260 physicians across 60 countries to build it, and health conversations stay completely isolated from regular chats.
Walmart Rolls Out AI Advertising Assistant "Marty" for Brands
Walmart introduced Marty as an AI super agent last July, and now it's becoming an advertising assistant. Brands can use plain-language chat to build campaigns, troubleshoot problems, and get personalized recommendations.
So far, 97% of user queries have been unique, which suggests advertisers are treating it like a strategist rather than a search bar. Walmart is also placing ads inside Sparky, its AI shopping assistant. When customers ask for product recommendations, sponsored prompts now appear alongside organic results.
Yahoo DSP Adds AI Agents That Can Run Ad Campaigns Autonomously
Yahoo DSP announced at CES that AI agents can now execute campaign operations on their own. The system continuously monitors performance and, with advertiser approval, fixes problems directly. So when a line item underpaces, the agent diagnoses root causes across targeting, supply, and settings, then implements corrective actions.
Yahoo's "Yours, Mine, and Ours" framework also lets advertisers bring their own AI models and connect them to Yahoo's agents. MIQ's global chief strategy officer said tasks that used to take hours, like diagnosing under-delivery, now happen in seconds.
45% of Shoppers Now Use AI During Buying Decisions, IBM Study Finds
A new global study from IBM and the National Retail Federation found that 72% of consumers still shop in stores. But 45% are now using AI somewhere in their buying journey, whether that's researching products, interpreting reviews, or hunting for deals.
One in three want super apps that combine commerce with other services, and 29% want to buy directly through social platforms. "AI is not a magic wand," said LVMH's Head of Insights. "If you don't have the right data, it doesn't work."
Full Story
LinkedIn's Reserved Ads Lock in Top-of-Feed Placement for Brands
B2B marketers can now secure the first ad slot in LinkedIn's feed for days or weeks at a time, which means no more bidding against competitors for premium visibility.
Reserved Ads guarantee predictable impressions and high-attention placement for video, thought leader, or document formats. LinkedIn is also rolling out ad personalization that adjusts copy dynamically based on job title and company. According to McKinsey, 71% of consumers expect that kind of tailored messaging.
Accountants Using AI Close Books 7.5 Days Faster, Stanford Study Shows
Accounting often tops lists of most automatable jobs, but a new study from Stanford and MIT challenges the idea that AI will replace accountants.
Researchers tracked 79 small and mid-sized firms and found that those using AI closed books 7.5 days faster while spending 8.5% less time on routine back-office work. Quality didn't suffer either. Reporting granularity actually increased 12%, with more detailed expense categories appearing in financial statements.
The catch is that experience matters. Senior accountants saw the biggest gains because they knew when to override AI suggestions and when to trust them.
LMArena Hits $1.7B Valuation Four Months After First Revenue
LMArena just raised $150 million in a Series A led by Felicis and UC Investments, tripling its valuation to $1.7 billion in about seven months. The startup began as a UC Berkeley research project called Chatbot Arena, where users compare AI models head-to-head by typing prompts and picking a winner.
That crowdsourced approach now draws over 5 million monthly users across 150 countries, generating 60 million conversations per month. After launching its commercial AI Evaluations service in September, the company hit $30 million in annualized revenue by December.
Full Story
OpenAI's First Hardware Product Could Be an AI-Powered Pen
According to leaker Smart Pikachu, OpenAI's first consumer device could be an AI-powered pen developed with former Apple design chief Jony Ive. The pen reportedly transcribes handwritten notes directly to ChatGPT and lets users have voice conversations on the go.
Internally, it's codenamed "Gumdrop." Sam Altman has said the device should feel like a "cabin by a lake," which suggests something calmer than a smartphone that mostly works in the background. Manufacturing is expected at Foxconn in Vietnam rather than China, with a launch window somewhere between 2026 and 2027.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time!
The AI Marketers
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