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AI Search Is Growing Fast; Coke With Cane Sugar Is Coming, but Corn Syrup Is Staying; Health-Ade Kombucha Sells for $500 Million
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Good morning. Today, chatbots become the go-to source for online answers for many consumers; Coca-Cola gives President Trump what he wants; and consumer demand for healthy drinks drives a half-billion dollar deal.
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Perplexity this year released Comet, a web browser in which the AI startup handles search functions by default instead of engines like Google or Bing. Photo: May James/ZUMA Press
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An estimated 5.6% of U.S. search traffic on desktop browsers last month went to AI-powered large language models like ChatGPT or Perplexity, Patrick Coffee reports for CMO Today.
That pales beside the 94.4% that went to traditional search engines like Google or Bing, according to market intelligence firm Datos.
But AI’s share of desktop browser search more than doubled since June 2024, when it was 2.5%, and more than quadrupled since January 2024.
The rapid growth in AI searches could mark a sea change in online behavior comparable to the emergence of Google’s web browser and the first social-media platforms, according to Datos CEO Eli Goodman.
But brands should still move deliberately, Goodman said, noting that traditional search engines still handle the overwhelming majority of inquiries, while AI queries often serve different needs.
“Over 90% of all of the AI searches are what we call informational or productivity-based: Help me solve this problem, help me answer this question,” said Goodman.
Much more on AI: Fortune magazine is laying off around 10% of staff in a move the CEO blamed on the rise of AI and a resulting hit to traffic. [The Wrap]
IPG Mediabrands has won U.S. media duties for Anthropic, maker of the AI chatbot Claude. [Ad Age]
We need to address the known vulnerabilities of LLMs like Grok now, with AI on the cusp of abilities more powerful than ranting on X. [WSJ]
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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Onward and Upward: What’s the CMO’s Next Career Move?
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Richard Sanderson, who leads the marketing, communications, and sales practice at Spencer Stuart, shares findings from the executive search firm’s annual report on marketing leadership. Read More
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Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Coca-Cola’s CEO said the company will add a line of cane sugar-sweetened Coke, Laura Cooper and Dean Seal write, after Trump last week said Coca-Cola had agreed to use “REAL Cane Sugar” in the soda.
Cane sugar-sweetened Coke will be a new product, however, and isn’t replacing standard high-fructose corn syrup Coca-Cola.
The U.S. beverage industry for decades has relied heavily on high-fructose corn syrup. It is relatively cheap and plentiful, while U.S. consumption far outstrips domestically produced cane sugar.
Coca-Cola already sells Mexican-made Coca-Cola sweetened with cane sugar in the U.S., and its Kosher for Passover Coke is made with sugar. PepsiCo also sells a “real sugar” option.
On that viral immigration hoax: Coca-Cola said it had recovered the market share and household penetration it lost earlier this year after social-media videos falsely purported to show that the company called ICE to pick up workers.
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“I am just not convinced that they have
the best road map right now.”
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— Dave Jorgenson on the end of his time at the Washington Post, where he has been the face of the brand on TikTok and YouTube. Jorgenson took the buyout recently pitched to employees who weren’t on board with the Post’s plans and is starting his own digital video company.
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Health-Ade sells various flavors of kombucha, the fermented fizzy tea that is said to benefit gut health. Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
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Backers of Health-Ade kombucha have agreed to sell the company for $500 million, Ben Glickman and Laura Cooper report, the latest in a series of deals for health-conscious food and beverage brands this year.
Generous Brands, a company owned by Butterfly Equity, is set to acquire Health-Ade, founded in 2012, from its current private-equity owners.
The buyers’ portfolio includes Sambazon, which makes açaí bowls and beverages, juice brand Evolution Fresh and Bolthouse Farms, which sells smoothies and other health-conscious beverages.
Big food and drink companies have been looking to expand their offerings that appeal to health-conscious consumers. PepsiCo in March agreed to acquire prebiotic soda brand Poppi for nearly $2 billion, for example, and on Monday said it will introduce Prebiotic Pepsi this fall.
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$12 million
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Subscription income expected this year for Joe Budden’s podcast network on Patreon, with ad sales and other sources likely to bring total revenue above $20 million. Budden agreed to detail sales and expense figures after accidentally revealing his Patreon income for June on Instagram.
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The U.K. could require Google and Apple to steer users to better deals outside of the companies’ own app stores. Photo: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
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The U.K.’s competition watchdog said it is proposing to impose guardrails around how tech giants Apple and Google run their mobile ecosystems under a new law governing business conduct for Big Tech. [WSJ]
The collapse of the partnership between McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme was only the latest high-profile brand collaboration to end in divorce. [Ad Age]
Why Sydney Sweeney made American Eagle rethink its usual strategy of using a stable of endorsers at once. [Modern Retail]
Bari Weiss is pursuing a valuation of more than $200 million for her “anti-woke” media company in talks with Skydance CEO\ David Ellison. [FT]
Interpublic’s revenue fell in the second quarter but its profit rose as the ad giant prepares for its acquisition by Omnicom. [Adweek]
General Motors said new tariffs on imported cars and auto parts took a $1.1 billion bite out of its bottom line in the latest quarter. [WSJ]
WNBA All-Star ratings fell without Caitlin Clark in the game, but remained well above the league’s not-do-distant earlier era. [Front Office Sports]
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