Hey there! I’m excited to share some insights into a groundbreaking partnership between Profound and Partnerize. It’s all about using AI to turn visibility into verified revenue. Trust me, this is a game-changer for any brand eager to scale up their AI investments smartly.
AI Search is evolving at lightning speed, and as brands, we need to do more than just monitor our AI visibility. The key is figuring out how to measure its value effectively. Those who master this will be the ones leading the pack in scaling their spending efficiently.
Partnerize’s powerful payment infrastructure, which already handles billions in partner transactions, gives us a robust platform to ensure these measurements translate into real financial gains. Imagine being able to track and verify revenue directly tied to AI visibility—sounds like a win, right?
In today’s ever-evolving landscape, brand-agency partnerships look vastly different than they did just a few years ago, and this evolution will only continue to expand by 2026.
I’ve noticed that internal marketing teams have become more sophisticated, digital channels are increasingly specialized, and the role of agencies shifts away from a one-size-fits-all approach.
Interestingly, the companies reaping the most benefits from agency relationships aren’t necessarily the biggest spenders.
Instead, those that succeed are clear about their specific needs and objectives.
Achieving clarity starts with understanding the true role an agency should play in your organization.
Too often, partnerships fail because expectations and responsibilities weren’t clearly aligned from the beginning.
When this foundational understanding is lacking, even the most robust execution can fall short.
Having worked with thousands of businesses across industries and growth stages, I’ve consistently observed that agency success falls into two distinct partnership models. These models are primarily influenced by company size and internal marketing maturity.
Model 1: Execution-first Partnerships for Large Companies
If your company sees over $50 million in annual online revenue, chances are you already have a capable internal marketing team.
Strategy and planning remain in-house, so what you need from an agency is deep platform expertise and exceptional execution.
At this stage, agencies function as specialist operators that activate roadmaps, optimize channel performance, and bring advanced technical knowledge that’s inefficient to replicate internally.
When performance dips, a powerful agency partner doesn’t default to tweaking tactics.
Instead, they help uncover whether the issue stems from execution, market conditions, or a strategic misstep, offering data to guide corrective measures.
Model 2: Integrated Growth Partners for Small to Mid-Size Companies
For companies under $50 million in annual revenue, the agency dynamic shifts.
Internal teams might be lean or still cultivating core digital expertise.
In these situations, agencies do more than execute; they shape your entire growth strategy.
An ideal agency acts as an extension of your marketing team, guiding platform selection, crafting cross-channel strategies, and more.
For growing businesses, this integration provides access to senior-level expertise, balancing speed, strategy, and financial constraints effectively.
Finding the Right Agency Partner
I’ve seen many companies approach agency selection improperly.
Ditch the RFPs
Large companies often rely on the request for proposal (RFP) process, which tends to favor vendors skilled in documentation over performance-driven results.
Instead, I recommend using your professional network. If you’re in charge of a large marketing department, you likely know several professionals who can provide referrals to standout agencies.
Smaller businesses should seek advice from peers about reliable vendors, then check reviews to confirm their findings.
While no agency is perfect and all will have some unhappy clients, patterns of negative reviews are a solid indicator to avoid those agencies.
Request an Audit
Upon narrowing down potential partners, I suggest asking for an audit of your current marketing setup.
Most digital marketing agencies conduct these audits for free, offering honest and constructive feedback.
Depending on your company’s size, audits might vary, with larger firms focusing on specific platforms and smaller ones requiring full-funnel evaluations.
This information helps evaluate how the partnership will integrate with existing processes, paving the way for effective collaboration.
The selection process inherently includes finding partners that mesh well with your internal processes—critical to long-term success.
Setting Achievable Goals
After selecting an agency partner, the next step is defining coherent goals aligned with your business objectives.
Unfortunately, I’ve observed that many leaders set goals disconnected from their business aims, straining the agency relationship from the get-go.
A robust agency questions your goals pre-contract, urging you to adjust expectations realistic to your context and aspirations.
Your chosen partner should grasp your business’s economics and help ensure marketing goals are aligned with broader business objectives.
Maintaining a Productive Partnership
Once everything is underway, you must keep your agency accountable, which involves regular reviews and tracking progress against initial audit benchmarks.
Contract Length
Large enterprises often sign 12-month contracts for stability, but smaller firms might benefit from a more flexible three-month commitment that auto-renews.
In cases where everything seems perpetually smooth, consider that growth might be stagnating, as healthy conflict is a sign of challenge and progress.
Ongoing Accountability
Regularly reviewing opportunities against your agency’s initial audit findings not only keeps progress on track but also provides vital context for adapting strategies.
Context is key, especially if your industry’s dynamics affect your agency’s work—awareness of broader market trends is crucial for realistic appraisal.
Innovation and Testing
Your agency should consistently suggest fresh ideas, especially for smaller businesses, while larger companies should fund dedicated innovation budgets.
Effective agency partnerships without innovation risk falling behind competitors more willing to explore uncharted avenues.
Ultimately, understanding what’s upcoming and strategically positioning your business will keep you competitive.
When to Make an Agency Change
Occasionally, a brand-agency partnership doesn’t thrive. Trust your instincts if you feel things could improve or something is amiss.
Your Business Isn’t Growing
Marketing should focus on acquiring new-to-brand customers. If growth stalls while your industry maintains, it’s time to reassess your agency’s role.
Your Agency Isn’t Pushing Innovation
If new ideas aren’t forthcoming or you’re not exploring novel methods to engage customers, seek an external audit to identify gaps.
Your Agency Can’t Explain Performance
An inability to contextualize performance suggests a knowledge gap in your sales funnel, where interconnected activities impact overall success.
For smaller businesses, agents should grasp comprehensive marketing operations and how various elements influence each other.
The Marketing Reality Check
Great marketing can’t compensate for a flawed business model. Successful growth stems from the synergy of good business, leadership, and agency collaboration.
If any component is lacking, marketing falls short of potential. Meaningful growth arises when agency roles align with specific business needs.
Agency selection is an ongoing journey involving ongoing dialogue, accountability, and refinement, even when this involves constructive disagreements.
I am excited to share how Profound and iQuanti have joined forces to elevate brands in the innovative landscape of AI Search. Our collaboration merges dynamic real-time Answer Engine insights with a powerful, actionable AI Search strategy.
Together, we empower enterprises to redefine category narratives and secure a competitive edge as AI redefines the beginning of the modern consumer journey.
When setting up my Performance Max (PMax) campaigns in Google Ads, I recently noticed something intriguing. Video assets from my Twitter (X) ad campaigns were popping up in the “Suggested” creatives section.
How it works:
The videos I found were seamlessly uploaded to a YouTube channel linked to my advertiser’s account.
A transparency message revealed the source of the data: “Videos from other ad platforms are sourced by third-party provider @Pathmatics (by Sensor Tower).”
Google prompts us to ensure we have the legal rights to use and distribute these videos through Google Ads.
What Google says: Google Ads Liaison, Ginny Marvin, has confirmed this feature is an experimental effort aimed at enabling advertisers like myself to easily incorporate our top-performing social video assets into Google Ads campaigns.
She clarified that this isn’t related to X (Twitter) ad inventory being made available on the Google Display Network.
Why we care. This experiment indicates Google Ads’ progress toward autonomously integrating assets across platforms. This could significantly decrease the time spent by reusing effective social campaign creatives. However, it does bring up concerns regarding data permissions, creative control, and transparency. These are aspects I’ll definitely be scrutinizing as automation in marketing deepens.
Between the lines:
This integration exemplifies Google’s increasing dependence on automation and partnerships to reduce creative barriers in PMax.
Involvement of Pathmatics points to the use of third-party intelligence in surfacing social ad assets, which raises new questions about data sourcing and control for advertisers like myself.
First seen. This update was first noticed by Performance Marketing Consultant Francesco Cifardi on LinkedIn.
The bottom line. Although this feature is still experimental, it showcases Google’s aspiration to make PMax not only automated but also highly asset-aware across various platforms.
I’ve recently discovered that Google has quietly enhanced their Shopping campaigns by introducing brand inclusion controls. This long-awaited feature offers us advertisers unparalleled control over the brands that appear in our shopping ads without needing complex workarounds.
How it works: Now, I can easily add or remove brand lists directly within the ad group targeting section of both Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns. This means I can specify exactly which brands to showcase or exclude, preview my setup, and apply changes seamlessly within the Google Ads interface.
Why we care. Previously, brand targeting tools were only available in Performance Max and AI Max, leaving those of us using Standard Shopping campaigns to juggle search query scripts or set up intricate campaigns to manage brand visibility. This update changes that, finally giving us direct control over brand appearances.
I find it eliminates the need for cumbersome scripts or overly complex campaign setups, simplifying brand visibility management. This improvement allows me to protect my budgets and target high-value brand traffic more precisely — a significant win for our advertising efficiency and control.
Between the lines. For those of us in retail and ecommerce, this update is a game-changer in Shopping campaign management. It enables us to safeguard brand-specific budgets, control exposure within competitive categories, and avoid wasting money on unwanted brand traffic — all done conveniently within Google Ads.
First seen. The update was initially noticed by Ryan Parks, Senior Search Director at Spark Foundry, who shared this valuable information on LinkedIn.
The bottom line. With these brand inclusion features now accessible for Standard Shopping campaigns, we gain the same level of control and efficiency as Google’s automated campaign types offer. It’s a quietly powerful upgrade that will undoubtedly enhance precision in retail advertising.
Microsoft is taking a big step towards enhancing advertising standards, and I feel it’s stirring up quite a conversation. They have announced that now all third-party publishers are required to use Microsoft Clarity, their free behavioral analytics tool, to continue receiving paid impressions and clicks through Microsoft Advertising. It’s an important change that affects us all.
The details:
What’s required: As publishers, we must install Microsoft Clarity and activate Consent Mode. This enables us to monitor and analyze how users interact on our sites while adhering to privacy regulations.
What it does: Clarity provides a window into user behavior, helping us see clicks, scrolls, and various engagement patterns. This insight allows us to make informed decisions to optimize our conversion rates — a crucial aspect for any publisher.
What changes: Now, only the ad traffic from pages that have Clarity activated will count towards billing. This ensures every paid impression aligns with Microsoft’s stringent editorial and safety standards.
Why we care. This move is all about improving transparency, user experience, and brand safety in the Microsoft Ads ecosystem. Pages not using Clarity will have their ad clicks and impressions filtered out as nonbillable. For us publishers, this means monetization is linked directly with compliance, urging us to implement these changes if we haven’t already.
Between the lines. By essentially tying Clarity to revenue, Microsoft leverages its vast advertising network to reinforce higher standards, providing advertisers with increased confidence in the placements of their ads across trusted inventories.
This news was shared by Microsoft Product Liaison Navah Hopkins on LinkedIn, underscoring its significance in our industry.
The bottom line. For us publishers, using Clarity is no more optional. For advertisers, it ensures better brand safety and visibility regarding their advertising spend, marking a win for transparency in the constantly evolving Microsoft network.
As someone deeply involved in the agency world, I know firsthand how crucial it is to stay ahead in the competitive landscape. With Profound’s Agency Growth plan, I’ve discovered a transformative way to expand my agency’s AEO practice, regardless of its size.
The image above captures the essence of our approach—streamlined and powerful, much like the plan itself. This plan is my gateway to developing and refining AEO strategies that drive success and help my agency scale new heights.
Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Anuj Srivastava, Principal/Partner at NY Engineers. With experience in supervising over 350 franchises, Anuj has a proven track record of helping them open stores 50% faster than competitors. We dive into how engineering and marketing strategies can work together to successfully launch a new franchise.
First Page Sage: Thanks for joining us, Anuj. Could you share more about NY Engineers and your role there?
Anuj Srivastava: Certainly! At NY Engineers, I serve as a Principal/Partner, primarily focusing on franchises, retail, and multi-site rollouts. Our team is renowned for delivering fast, cost-effective mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) and fire protection (FP) engineering services tailored to clients expanding across various locations. We’re licensed in all 50 U.S. states, have completed over 4,000 projects, and our turnaround is 50% quicker than industry norms.
First Page Sage: I know that scaling franchises presents unique challenges. What are some key engineering hurdles you encounter, and how do you tackle them?
Srivastava: When a franchise expands to multiple locations, maintaining consistency and speed becomes vital. We ensure brand standards like equipment specs, layouts, and utility loads adhere to local codes. Change orders are costly, so we focus on upfront modeling to offer zero change order assurance. We also standardize components and coordinate early procurement to mitigate supply-chain issues.
First Page Sage: How do your engineering services intertwine with marketing and lead generation during franchise design?
Srivastava: The success of a franchise relies not only on proper engineering but also on effective marketing. While we ensure the physical infrastructure is ready on time, marketing maximizes occupancy and ROI. SEO and content strategies are vital for visibility, making sure each location is easily discoverable and drawing in customer traffic. Not integrating marketing would mean missing potential opportunities.
First Page Sage: Can you highlight an often-overlooked area where engineering and marketing overlap, and how they can collaborate better?
Srivastava: A key area for collaboration is data-driven site selection and pre-opening diagnostics. Engineering and marketing teams should exchange early data, like utility loads and customer behavior, to forecast foot traffic and peak hours. Furthermore, creating a consistent brand experience through both design and messaging helps reduce friction as the brand scales.
First Page Sage: Looking to the future, how do you foresee the engineering-marketing landscape shifting in franchise expansion, and what advice would you offer to brands working with both engineering and marketing firms?
Srivastava: The integration of technology, data, and digital marketing with physical infrastructure is on the rise. Trends include greater use of BIM for efficient design and alignment of physical and digital launches. Emphasizing sustainability also complements both cost control and brand story. I advise brands to see their engineering and marketing partners as one team, ensuring that infrastructure and digital readiness align, along with consistent messaging across all platforms for a successful launch.
I recently dove into the world of AI search and discovered something crucial: if your brand isn’t competing for rankings, it’s competing for visibility through content reuse. Gone are the days when simply ranking was enough.
During my visit to SMX Advanced, I shared insights on crafting an AI visibility engine. This system is all about making fresh facts accessible to both humans and AI across platforms that prioritize synthesis.
We’re constructing this capability with our clients and within XOFU, our own LLM visibility GPT. Here’s the essence of our approach.
Find the FLUQs: Friction-Inducing Latent Unasked Questions
FLUQs are those pivotal questions your audience doesn’t think to ask, yet lacking their answers can entirely disrupt the buying journey.
We scrutinized this with a notable online education client. They had the basics covered but missed addressing the deeper, latent questions that potentially hindered student decisions.
Tackling these hidden inquiries builds trust and cements their decision-making process, thereby strengthening your brand’s relationship with customers.
Extracting FLUQs from Where They Hide
To uncover these unspoken questions, I dive into customer service logs, online forums, and beyond — anywhere there’s repeated friction. It’s about understanding and addressing the points of hesitation that might not appear in initial searches or FAQs.
In today’s AI-driven landscape, this approach isn’t optional. It’s essential.
Uncover Hidden Insights
Following this path reveals insights, leading to content that AI can utilize and synthesize effectively. It’s about structuring facts to ensure survival even through AI’s compression processes.
Proving FLUQs Matter: The Power of Facts
Turning assumptions into facts requires analysis. For our educational client, we surveyed students and confirmed a crucial insight: those who negotiated expectations upfront had better outcomes.
This net-new data now serves not just our client but is available for AI models to reference, ensuring longer-lasting visibility.
Publishing Strategy: Ensuring Reuse by AI
I prioritize structured, reusable content, whether it’s on owned platforms, in collaboration with others, or in emerging AI environments. The aim is sustainable visibility through facts that can be synthesized accurately.
To summarize, it’s no longer enough to generate content; the focus is on creating content that stands up to AI scrutiny and remains usable across platforms.
Recently, I delved into analyzing ChatGPT usage statistics, drawing insights from 14 diverse sources as of October 2025. Each source had its own approach to calculating usage data, so I crafted a weighted model to consolidate these insights. This model gave prominence to sources based on longevity, credibility, and accuracy. Applying this model over the past year unveiled intriguing trends in ChatGPT usage.
I must say, the number of unique users for ChatGPT, both standalone and integrated as Microsoft Copilot, paints a captivating picture. Here’s the data breakdown and a glimpse into the 12-month user trend:
The user numbers are incredible: 801 million for standalone ChatGPT, 98 million for Microsoft Copilot, and a combined total of 856 million unique users. The sheer volume of visits—5.1 billion for ChatGPT alone and 998 million via Copilot—culminates in an astounding 5.5 billion visits. Moreover, ChatGPT commands a significant portion of the AI search market at 61%, with a total market share of 75.1% when combined with Copilot. Observably, we enjoyed a quarterly user growth rate of 7%, signaling upbeat momentum.
Reflecting on ChatGPT’s market share, it remains strong but faces growing competition from other AI chatbots. Despite this, the 12-month progression exhibits consistent growth, which is visually represented and provides a clear narrative of market stability. The graphics demonstrate how the ongoing competition shapes the market landscape.
In terms of competitor market share, while ChatGPT sustains its leadership, newer players like Claude are making noticeable gains. This shift necessitates continuous innovation to maintain our lead.
Diving deeper into user behavior, usage trends reveal essential insights. The most frequent use case remains general and academic research, which speaks to ChatGPT’s versatility. Additionally, coding assistance and email composition are gaining traction, offering insight into evolving user needs.
From a geographical perspective, it’s fascinating to see how visitor shares are distributed across countries. The US and India lead this segment, highlighting their significant role in patronage, while Brazil, Canada, and others follow suit.
Interestingly, industries are also shaping up with ChatGPT’s assistance during purchasing processes. Leading sectors include Travel & Hospitality and Retail & CPG, showing the growing dependency on AI in making informed purchase decisions.
If you’re interested in a detailed pdf version of this report, feel free to reach out here.
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