As AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity become integral to how users search, discover, and engage with content, traditional web analytics tools are facing a critical blind spot. Recognizing this shift, Similarweb, a global leader in digital intelligence, has announced a major innovation: AI Chatbot Traffic is now tracked as a distinct referral source, offering digital professionals a vital new lens on content performance.

This new feature marks a significant leap in web analytics, allowing marketers and SEO teams to understand and capitalize on the growing influence of AI chatbot referrals in shaping online traffic patterns.

A Game-Changing Feature for Modern Analytics

With the rollout of the AI Chatbot Traffic screen, users can now:

• Identify traffic volumes specifically coming from AI chatbots

• See which platforms (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity) link most frequently to their content

• Pinpoint the exact pages receiving the most AI-generated traffic

• Discover the top prompts used in AI tools that lead users to their site

"The digital landscape is undergoing a profound transformation with the rise of AI-driven search," said Or Offer, CEO of Similarweb. "Our AI Chatbot Referral Traffic monitoring empowers businesses to navigate this new terrain by providing unparalleled insights into how AI interactions drive web traffic."

AI as a New Channel in the Digital Marketing Mix

Much like knowing which keywords power traditional SEO, understanding which AI prompts lead to traffic allows marketers to fine-tune content strategy for an evolving search paradigm. AI chatbots are no longer just tools for interaction—they're becoming search engines in their own right, influencing how users discover and evaluate information online.

By integrating AI chatbot data into its platform, Similarweb enhances visibility across:

• 200+ million websites

• 4 million mobile apps

• 7 billion search keywords

• And now, traffic patterns from AI chat interfaces

This empowers users to future-proof their strategies, especially as Generative AI redefines the rules of digital visibility.

Competitive Edge Through AI Visibility

With AI chatbot referrals poised to become one of the most influential channels in digital marketing, the new feature offers actionable insights that help businesses:

• Optimize content for AI discoverability

• Track prompt-level attribution for deeper audience understanding

• Benchmark performance against competitors also receiving AI-driven traffic

• Adapt strategies in real time to capture a greater share of AI-referred users

Similarweb’s launch of AI Chatbot Traffic analysis solidifies its position at the forefront of digital intelligence innovation. As generative AI shifts consumer behavior, this new capability ensures marketers and businesses aren’t left behind—they're empowered to lead in a world where AI is becoming the new front door to the internet.

In the race to stay digitally relevant, seeing where your traffic comes from is only the beginning—knowing why and how AI drives it is the new frontier.

MCM, a recognized leader in digital media and expert-led content innovation, has announced the launch of its Video On Demand (VOD) Network and Podcast Network in 2025. These new platforms mark a significant expansion of MCM’s media ecosystem, delivering engaging, high-value content focused on Business Coaching, Personal Development, Health, Parenting, and other growth-centric categories.

This initiative builds on MCM’s established reputation for expert-driven storytelling and strategic content distribution, reinforcing its position as a pioneer in the digital content space.

Expanding Access Across Digital and Traditional Channels

The VOD Network will be available across major digital platforms and traditional TV, leveraging a multi-channel distribution model designed to reach audiences wherever they consume content. In parallel, the Podcast Network will deliver the same level of quality and insight in an accessible audio format—perfect for on-the-go learning and engagement.

“The launch of our Video On Demand and Podcast Networks is an exciting step forward for MCM, ” said Elliott Pittman, CEO and Founder of MCM. “We are committed to expanding our reach and providing even greater opportunities for our partners. By combining high-quality content with broad distribution, we’re creating a platform that allows thought leaders, experts, and brands to connect with audiences on a whole new level.”

Content Focus: Expert-Led, Audience-Driven

MCM’s upcoming platforms will feature programming across a range of personal and professional development themes, including:

• Business Coaching – leadership, entrepreneurship, and strategy

• Health & Wellness – mental health, fitness, and holistic care

• Parenting & Family – child development, education, and parenting guidance

• Personal Growth – mindset, motivation, and productivity

This content will be a blend of original in-house productions and partnerships with external creators, ensuring a diverse, engaging lineup that caters to evolving audience interests.

Strategic Partnerships and Scalable Growth

MCM is actively collaborating with strategic partners to support the rollout and long-term growth of these platforms. These partnerships will be instrumental in bringing fresh content, new distribution opportunities, and promotional capabilities to the forefront.

The 2025 rollout will serve as the launchpad for a larger 2026 expansion, which will include:

• New distribution channels (including OTT and mobile apps)

• More diverse content verticals and global contributors

• Enhanced monetization and promotional tools for creators and partners

MCM’s VOD and Podcast Networks are designed to empower creators and thought leaders while offering audiences meaningful, on-demand content across multiple formats and platforms. As the digital media landscape evolves, MCM is stepping confidently into the future—bringing its community of experts, audiences, and strategic partners along for the ride.

With this move, MCM is not just launching platforms—it’s building ecosystems for knowledge, growth, and impact.

Calsoft, a leading digital engineering services provider, has partnered with StreamNative, a key player in real-time messaging and streaming, to help enterprises overcome operational and performance challenges associated with Apache Kafka and Pulsar workloads. This collaboration brings a new level of scalability and cost-efficiency to large-scale data streaming deployments—paving the way for Gen AI, IoT, and real-time analytics initiatives.

With the exponential growth of data and the increasing demands of AI-driven applications, businesses are seeking smarter ways to integrate streaming and lakehouse infrastructures. Calsoft and StreamNative are answering that call.

Live Webinar: Industry Challenges and Real Solutions

To explore the benefits of this partnership and gain data-backed insights into cloud-native streaming strategies, Calsoft and StreamNative experts will co-host a live webinar on April 9. The session will uncover:

• Key industry pain points in scaling Kafka and Pulsar workloads

• Comparative benchmarking of StreamNative Cloud vs AWS MSK

• Practical ways to reduce inter-zone network costs and storage overhead

• Strategies to ensure real-time Gen AI applications access clean, high-quality data

• Best practices for building cloud-native streaming pipelines with leaderless architecture

Benchmarking Insights: StreamNative Cloud vs AWS MSK

To validate the performance and cost implications, Calsoft’s engineering team conducted a comprehensive benchmarking study across:

• Maximum throughput

• Latency under peak loads

• Fault tolerance and recovery times

These results empower enterprises to make data-informed decisions when choosing a real-time streaming platform—especially for mission-critical applications where performance and reliability are non-negotiable.

Enabling the Gen AI Era: Real-Time Data Meets Lakehouse

In today’s AI-driven landscape, Gen AI models demand timely, trusted data inputs. A modern data infrastructure that tightly integrates streaming with lakehouse storage allows enterprises to:

• Eliminate complex ETL pipelines

• Run both real-time and batch analytics effortlessly

• Optimize infrastructure spend

• Feed Gen AI engines with fresh, high-quality data

This partnership supports cloud-native modernization, helping businesses transition from monolithic streaming systems to scalable, cost-effective solutions without compromising data integrity or latency.

Voices from the Leadership

“At Calsoft, we have seen real-time data streaming deliver real business value—when backed by the right infrastructure. Our partnership with StreamNative has reinforced this, allowing us to deliver robust Kafka-compatible solutions that genuinely scale, streamline costs, and support our customers’ cloud-native visions.”

— Vipin Shankar, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Calsoft Inc.

“We are excited to partner with Calsoft to deliver an end-to-end Kafka-compatible solution that simplifies real-time data streaming and drives significant cost savings for customers operating at scale.”

— Sijie Guo, Co-Founder & CEO, StreamNative

As enterprises ramp up investments in Gen AI, IoT, and real-time decision-making, robust streaming infrastructures will play a pivotal role. The Calsoft–StreamNative collaboration offers a clear path toward optimized performance, cost savings, and accelerated innovation.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from the experts—join the webinar on April 9 to explore how your organization can unlock the full potential of real-time data streaming.

Contxtful Technologies, Inc., a pioneer in attention-based advertising technology, has announced the close of a $1.9 million funding round led by NJP Ventures. This latest investment is poised to accelerate the company’s mission of transforming digital advertising by putting consumer attention at the center of ad performance and inventory valuation.

The funds will be used to further enhance Contxtful’s proprietary Receptivity platform, grow its operations, and expand its presence across global digital markets.

Receptivity: Measuring the True Currency of Attention

Contxtful’s Receptivity platform uses advanced AI and machine learning to identify and curate the most valuable digital ad inventory by analyzing micro-patterns of user interaction. Rather than focusing solely on impressions or clicks, the platform zeroes in on receptive user behavior—a key signal of attention.

By doing so, Contxtful helps advertisers and publishers:

• Deliver ads to more attentive and engaged audiences

• Increase campaign performance and ROI

• Maintain user privacy without relying on invasive tracking technologies

As the industry moves beyond outdated targeting models and third-party cookies, Contxtful is positioning attention as the next-generation metric that will drive the future of digital media buying.

Receptivity Exchange: A New Marketplace for Attention

With this funding, Contxtful is accelerating the development of the Receptivity Exchange—a real-time marketplace that allows advertisers and publishers to transact on the currency of attention rather than outdated metrics.

"Our privacy-safe technology leverages machine learning to build attention segments that maximize results for our partners,” said David Jacobs, CEO of Contxtful. “This latest funding round will accelerate our growth and the buildout of the Receptivity Exchange.”

By enabling real-time bidding based on attentiveness rather than generic impressions, the Receptivity Exchange aims to redefine value in programmatic advertising.

Investor Confidence in a Changing Digital Ad Ecosystem

NJP Ventures, a long-time supporter of disruptive tech startups, led the round and expressed strong conviction in Contxtful’s vision.

"We're thrilled to continue our journey with Contxtful,” said Peter Lukens, Partner at NJP Ventures. “Their innovative approach to measuring and optimizing attention is a game-changer that can redefine how media is bought and sold.”

With growing concerns over ad fatigue, privacy regulations, and declining effectiveness of traditional targeting, investors are increasingly looking to attention-tech as the future of advertising measurement.

Contxtful’s latest funding round marks a significant milestone in the company’s growth and in the evolution of the digital advertising ecosystem. By focusing on AI-driven attention metrics and launching the Receptivity Exchange, Contxtful is creating new possibilities for performance-driven, privacy-first media strategies.

With the continued support of NJP Ventures and a rapidly expanding technology stack, Contxtful is poised to become a key player in the next generation of programmatic advertising.

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc., a leading adtech and martech platform, has launched The Generative AI Roadmap—the third eBook in its AI education series. Created by the DDH AI Council, the guide serves as a strategic tool to help businesses evolve from isolated AI experiments to enterprise-wide AI integration.

With tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot already woven into daily tasks, organizations often adopt AI without a structured plan. This roadmap provides clarity, strategy, and actionable steps for businesses at every stage of AI maturity.

Highlights from the Generative AI Roadmap

Why This Roadmap Matters

• Helps organizations transition from ad hoc AI usage to structured, strategic integration.

• Encourages responsible and high-impact adoption of generative AI technologies.

• Aims to reduce the gap between early adopters and hesitant organizations.

Framework for Enterprise AI Adoption

1. Crawl Stage

• Encourage grassroots experimentation.

• Set initial guidelines for data security and output accuracy.

• Begin risk mitigation efforts early.

2. Walk Stage

• Identify and implement high-impact AI use cases.

• Choose tools through formalized selection processes.

• Standardize implementation across teams.

3. Run Stage

• Scale AI use across departments.

• Establish ROI-focused goals and cross-functional collaboration.

• Begin implementing robust governance practices.

4. Fly Stage

• Fully embed AI into core operations.

• Build a scalable ecosystem with global capabilities.

• Encourage ongoing innovation and AI-driven transformation.

Leadership Insights

Anu Pillai, CTO at DDH:

“The roadmap helps leaders move from isolated AI trials to enterprise-wide AI that’s governed, measured, and scalable.”

Christy Nolan, VP of Delivery Solutions:

“It’s about bringing AI out of the shadows and giving leadership the confidence to innovate responsibly.”

With this third installment in its AI education series, Direct Digital Holdings moves beyond agency-specific insights to empower all types of organizations. Whether you’re just beginning to explore generative AI or scaling its use enterprise-wide, The Generative AI Roadmap offers the clarity and strategic direction needed to evolve confidently in the AI era.

Infolinks, a premium ad marketplace known for its curated and sustainable ad placements, has announced a strategic partnership with Scope3 a platform focused on sustainability in media and advertising. This collaboration underscores Infolinks’ deep commitment to Green Media Products (GMP), blending campaign performance with environmental responsibility.

As the industry grapples with the climate impact of digital advertising, this partnership offers advertisers a clear, measurable path toward reducing emissions without sacrificing ROI.

Elements of the Infolinks-Scope3 Partnership

1. Green Media Products (GMP) Designed for Impact

• Infolinks delivers exclusive, high-quality ad placements directly from publishers.

• All ad units are Supply Path Optimized (SPO) and reside outside header bidding, minimizing resource-intensive processes.

• GMP offers a data-transparent approach, enabling advertisers to make informed sustainability decisions.

2. Leveraging Scope3’s Emissions Model

• Scope3’s data allows precise carbon emission measurement of each campaign.

• Advertisers can track and reduce their digital carbon footprint across Infolinks’ marketplace.

• The partnership simplifies sustainable media planning and empowers brands to adopt cleaner practices.

3. Real-World Adoption & Results

• Since early 2023, over 3,500 brands have used low-emission media packages via Infolinks.

• The partnership reflects the growing market demand for responsible advertising that doesn’t compromise performance.

4. Industry Leadership and Collaboration

• At Possible 2025, Infolinks will lead the session "Less Noise, More Green: Why Curation Drives Sustainability".
  Speakers include:

  • Bob Regular, CEO of Infolinks

  • Brian O’Kelley, CEO of Scope3

  • Elizabeth Donovan, SVP at Acxiom/Kinesso

  • Greg Joseph, VP at StackAdapt

• Focus: How curated supply paths reduce waste and improve ad performance.

Executive Perspectives

Bob Regular, CEO, Infolinks:

“Sustainability isn’t just a moral imperative—it’s a strategic edge. With Scope3, we help advertisers drive ROI while lowering emissions.”

Brian O’Kelley, CEO, Scope3:

“This partnership gives brands a real, accountable way to align advertising with sustainability.”

Jonathan Slavin, CBO, Infolinks:

“Our curated marketplace reduces unnecessary bid requests and intermediaries—cutting two major contributors to digital ad emissions.”

Infolinks and Scope3 are setting a new standard in digital advertising—one where sustainability and performance go hand-in-hand. Through this partnership, brands gain access to a cleaner, curated, and more efficient advertising ecosystem. With initiatives like SPO, GMP, and carbon measurement tools, the ad industry is on a path to becoming more environmentally responsible without compromising business goals.

Infolinks remains committed to innovation, transparency, and sustainability—leading the way in responsible advertising.

Qloo, a leader in AI-driven consumer preference prediction, has announced a significant expansion of its partnership with JCDecaux, one of the world’s largest out-of-home (OOH) advertising companies. This collaboration, which began in 2020, takes a major leap forward with the integration of Qloo’s Taste AI™ into JCDecaux’s proprietary Data Management Platform (DMP), Displayce.

This enhancement enables brands to plan digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaigns with unprecedented precision by leveraging hyper-local cultural insights.

Highlights of the Expanded Partnership

1. Direct Integration into JCDecaux's DMP

• Qloo’s Taste AI is now embedded into Displayce, JCDecaux’s DMP.

• Advertisers can access taste-driven insights directly during campaign planning.

• Enables precise placement of ads in optimal DOOH locations based on cultural preferences.

2. Hyper-Localized Consumer Intelligence

• Qloo aggregates anonymized purchase data, user-submitted interests, and location intelligence.

• Produces taste heatmaps that reflect micro-neighborhood consumer affinities.

• Covers interests in entertainment, brands, travel, dining, and more.

3. Benefits for Advertisers

• Improves ad relevance by aligning creative and placement with real-world cultural context.

• Reduces overspending by avoiding low-ROI or overly crowded ad spaces.

• Helps uncover untapped audience pockets with strong taste alignment.

Executive Insights

James Alger, Co-Founder & COO of Qloo:

“True optimization in OOH advertising requires understanding what people actually care about at a micro level. Our Taste AI gives JCDecaux the cultural context to deliver high-performing, hyper-targeted DOOH campaigns around the globe.”

What Sets Qloo Apart

• Goes beyond demographics and foot traffic, using cultural preference AI.

• Understands consumer sentiment across 3B+ cultural entities like music, books, hotels, and brands.

• Allows advertisers to hyper-personalize messaging and enhance geolocation strategies for DOOH.

This partnership upgrade between Qloo and JCDecaux signals a transformative moment in outdoor advertising. By fusing cultural intelligence with geolocation data, advertisers can now deliver more meaningful, efficient, and impactful campaigns. With Qloo’s Taste AI integrated into Displayce, JCDecaux’s DOOH network becomes smarter, more relevant, and better equipped to meet modern audience expectations.

Integral Ad Science (IAS), a global leader in media measurement and optimization, has deepened its partnership with Reddit by expanding its Total Media Quality solution. This update brings Viewability and Invalid Traffic Measurement to advertisers on Reddit, reinforcing transparency, campaign effectiveness, and brand safety.

With Reddit’s 100,000+ active communities rooted in authentic discussions and shared interests, IAS equips advertisers with tools to measure campaign performance and validate user engagement at scale.

Enhancements of the IAS–Reddit Partnership

1. Total Media Quality for Reddit: What’s New?

• Includes Viewability and Invalid Traffic (IVT) Measurement

• Complements existing Brand Safety & Suitability insights

• Integrated with Reddit’s Feed, Conversations, and Takeover placements

2. Transparency & Trust

• Enables advertisers to confirm ad placement relevance and user authenticity

• Aligns with industry standards for content adjacency and brand safety

• Validates media spend with third-party, AI-backed metrics

3. Unified Reporting via IAS Signal

• Centralized dashboard to track:

  • Viewability performance

  • IVT metrics

  • Content-level Brand Suitability scores

• Delivers actionable insights for continuous campaign optimization

4. Best-in-Class AI Technology

• Uses Multimedia Technology to analyze:

  • Frame-by-frame image, audio, and text content

• Powers Reddit’s Limited Inventory filter

• Enhances content classification accuracy and automated moderation

5. Global Reach

• Measurement support for:

  • Web and in-app placements

  • Video and display formats

• Coverage across Reddit’s most dynamic ad experiences

Executive Commentary

Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS:

"IAS’s Total Media Quality for Reddit empowers brands with trusted third-party metrics. As Reddit continues growing as a top platform for conversation-driven engagement, our expanded capabilities offer deeper transparency and actionable data."

Jim Squires, EVP, Reddit:

“This partnership expansion with IAS emphasizes our commitment to advertiser trust. With Total Media Quality, we give brands the insight they need to make confident decisions and align with conversations that matter.”

As Reddit’s advertising ecosystem matures, the enhanced collaboration with IAS ensures marketers gain greater clarity, control, and confidence. With advanced measurement tools now fully integrated into Reddit’s ad ecosystem, brands can ensure their campaigns are effective, viewable, and aligned with safe, relevant content—at scale.