Digital and Print Media

Media coverage of the IAB/Sonata Insights research “The AI Ads Gap”:

EMARKETER: What AI-generated ads say about tech in marketing

MediaPost: Brain Functions React Differently To AI-Generated Ads, Consumers Not Buying It

Ad Age: Inside Vodafone’s AI-generated ad—how it was made and its place in the creativity debate

EMARKETER: Younger generations are more drawn to visual quality in AI ads

More Sonata Insights Press Coverage

Adweek: Instagram Is Infusing Search with More AI, Pulling In Outside Links

Digiday: Snap pursues SMBs with its latest AI-powered tool

Platforms have been chasing smaller advertiser dollars for years. Meta and Google can contribute much of their own success to the category, said Sonata Insights founder and chief analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “Anything Snap can do to make it easier for these businesses to buy advertising on the platform will go a long way toward helping to increase its revenue,” she said.

Adweek: Creatives React: OpenAI’s Super Bowl Ad Dumbs Down AI for Average Joes

Debra Aho Williamson, founder and chief analyst, Sonata Insights: “[The ad] was eye-catching and creatively very different from other ads that typically appear in the Super Bowl. [OpenAI] did a beautiful job of demonstrating the promise and future of AI without making it seem out of reach for the average person. I’m also glad the brand used AI to develop the ad, but involved humans in the production process. That demonstrates a key best practice of AI in advertising: AI is a partner to humans, not a replacement.”

Barron’s/AFP: Meta Posts Big Profit, Aims To Take AI Lead

The company projects first-quarter 2025 revenue between $39.5-41.8 billion, representing growth of 8-15 percent year-over-year. This was a lighter outlook than expected and "indicates that Meta's recent content moderation changes may be having an impact on revenue in the coming quarter," said Debra Aho Williamson of Sonata Insights.

The Guardian: Meta posts robust fourth-quarter earnings amid DeepSeek mania

“Meta’s solid revenue growth in the fourth quarter masks a looming problem,” said Williamson. “Its revenue outlook for Q1 was lighter than Wall Street was expecting, and it is planning exorbitant capital expenditures for AI infrastructure in 2025. That adds up to a concerning situation.”

The Times: Google or ChatGPT: which can help you plan your Christmas better?

“A recent report by the research company Sonata Insights concluded that ‘Google remains in a powerful and dominant position” and AI search is “not the disruptive nemesis it’s been portrayed to be.’”

Digiday: Ads might have just hit Perplexity AI, but not all buyers are totally convinced — yet

“… the digital business models that have proven most successful over time are performance-based,” said Debra Aho Williamson, founder and chief analyst at Sonata Insights. “Think Google and Meta — the two largest digital media companies in the world. Both have performance advertising as their core business model. Companies that launched with a premium / brand awareness model have struggled to maintain momentum.”

Investor’s Business Daily: How Reddit Surprised Wall Street With 185% Post-IPO Surge

"In years past, advertisers shied away because of concerns about content moderation and brand safety," Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at Sonata Insights, told IBD. "But Reddit has done a very good job of cleaning up its platform and creating safer spaces for ads to appear in."

Adweek: Perplexity Is Quietly Building an AI-Powered Shopping Experience, Taking On Amazon

"Meta's solid revenue growth in the quarter will help stave off investor concern about its AI investments," said Debra Aho Williamson of Sonata Insights.

Barron’s: Meta Shows Strong Growth As AI Spending Surges

Fast Company: After 3 years and zero profits, this is BeReal’s best chance to monetize

Reuters: Facebook parent Meta sees strong global ad sales while keeping AI costs in check

Associated Press: Facebook parent Meta posts stronger-than-expected Q2 results, sending shares higher after hours

“The market’s positive response to Meta’s earnings report is a bellwether for AI stocks. If a company can show strong results from its core business, its investments in AI will be seen more positively. If the core business is showing any sign of weakness — as we saw last week with Alphabet’s YouTube — then the stock may seem more risky,” said Debra Aho Williamson founder and chief analyst at Sonata Insights.

Investor’s Business Daily: Meta Stock Jumps As Facebook Parent Unpacks AI Strategy

"Meta stands out from other tech firms that have AI ambitions because it already brings in a massive amount of revenue from digital advertising."

Investor’s Business Daily: Battle For Gen Z: Facebook Takes On Snap, Pinterest, TikTok

"No one wants to be seen as the social media platform for old people," Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst of Sonata Insights, told IBD. "That perception is limiting and it makes advertisers less likely to want to advertise there."

Barron’s: Threads hits 175mn users on first anniversary

"Threads was launched during a time when X was struggling, but since then, X has been surprisingly resilient," said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at Sonata Insights, a research firm. "Sports and political discussion are still very active on X, and considering that we have the Olympics, Euro 2024 and the US presidential election this year (among other major events), X will probably continue to attract users," she added.

Wall Street Journal: Meta is bringing chatbots to WhatsApp in test of AI strategy

“The window of opportunity is pretty small for Meta to figure out how to create AI chatbots that businesses will want to use,” said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst of Sonata Insights. “There could be a lot of options for these businesses.”

Investor’s Business Daily: Meta Earnings Watch: AI Push, Spending, Ads Growth In Spotlight

"Factors leading to strong growth include the Advantage+ suite of ad products, Reels revenue, and core Facebook, which continues to perform strongly even at 20+ years old," wrote Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at the research and advisory firm Sonata Insights, in an earnings preview.

Wall Street Journal: Meta Releases Latest AI Model, Seeking to Build Out Rival to ChatGPT

If Meta can steer its billions of users toward its AI offerings, the company may be able to build advertising into its model and also potentially sell other paid services, said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst of Sonata Insights. “I believe that most consumer-facing AI experiences will eventually include some form of paid advertising, such as sponsored results that appear during the course of a chatbot conversation.”

Barron’s: Meta releases beefed-up AI models

"Meta's slower approach to building its AI has put the company behind in terms of consumer awareness and usage, but it still has time to catch up," said Sonata Insights chief analyst Debra Aho Williamson. "Its social media apps represent a massive user base that it can use to test AI experiences."

This is just a small sampling of Debra’s thousands of media appearances. Here are additional examples.