May was defined by AI-powered automation and new approaches to search, attribution, and creative production. Advertising platforms continue to reduce the amount of manual work required from marketers, shifting more responsibilities to algorithms and agentic AI systems.
Meta Ads
| Update | What it is | How it affects advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| Meta expanded ad placement control tools in Threads | New settings have been added that allow advertisers to exclude unwanted content categories and better control the environment in which their ads appear. | Brands gain more options to protect their reputation and manage ad context. Especially relevant for large advertisers and regulated industries. |
Google Ads
| Update | What it is | How it affects advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| Google launched Ask Advisor (beta) | A unified AI assistant that integrates Google Ads, Analytics, Merchant Center, and Google Marketing Platform. Marketers can now ask questions in plain language and receive recommendations across all their marketing data at once. | Instead of switching between different interfaces, a marketer can ask the AI: "Why did conversions drop?", "Where should I increase the budget?", or "Launch a new campaign for this audience." Google is gradually turning ad management into a conversation with AI. |
| Ads in AI Search: • Conversational Discovery Ads • Highlighted Answers |
Google has begun testing new ad formats inside AI-generated search responses. | Search is becoming more conversational, and ad placements appear directly within the user's interaction with AI. |
| Asset Studio Update | An updated creative hub that allows advertisers to generate images, videos, and ad materials from a single brief. | Reduces the cost and time required to produce ad materials. |
| AI Brief | Advertisers can give Gemini natural-language instructions about their brand, audiences, and approved messaging. | Simplifies control over AI-generated creatives and reduces the risk of outputs that don't match brand guidelines. |
| Smart Bidding now accounts for the customer journey | Smart Bidding begins incorporating CRM data and the full user path to purchase. | Optimization moves closer to actual business revenue rather than intermediate conversions only. |
| Demand Gen gains access to the full Google Display Network inventory | Demand Gen campaigns can now buy impressions not only on YouTube, Gmail, and Discover, but also across millions of websites and apps in the Google Display Network. | Demand Gen becomes a universal upper- and mid-funnel campaign type and is gradually replacing classic Display. |
TikTok Ads
| Update | What it is | How it affects advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| Smart+ updated |
1. TikTok has merged manual and Smart+ campaigns into a single setup interface. Advertisers can now individually enable or disable automation for targeting, budget, placements, and product catalog. 2. Smart+ now works not only for conversions but also for traffic. Automation is now available for Traffic objective campaigns. 3. A Summary tool has been added to Ads Manager — it automatically analyzes campaign data and generates optimization insights and recommendations. 4. Asset Manager has been introduced — a centralized hub for managing catalogs, events, and creatives. 5. Symphony Automation now runs inside Smart+. |
1. Advertisers can keep AI where it helps while retaining manual control over critical campaign settings. 2. AI tools can be used at the audience acquisition stage, not just when optimizing for sales. 3. Marketers no longer need to manually diagnose rising CPAs or falling conversion rates — AI surfaces potential issues and growth opportunities automatically. 4. Easier campaign infrastructure management and faster issue detection before launch. 5. Faster creative production and testing. |
| New campaign objective: Brand Consideration | TikTok has introduced a dedicated funnel stage between awareness and conversion for the first time. | Advertisers can now optimize not just for impressions or purchases, but for users who are actively considering the brand. |
| GMV Max scales across TikTok Shop | AI automatically manages product promotion within the TikTok Shop. | Simplifies operations for e-commerce advertisers and TikTok Shop sellers. |
| TopReach predicts reach before campaign launch | Advertisers can see expected reach and impression frequency in advance. | Makes media planning and budget allocation more convenient. |
| Growth Max for Mini Games and Mini Series | TikTok has automated the promotion of games and mini-series within its ecosystem. | Content creators get dedicated growth tools for these formats. |
| Salesforce integration launched | Lead and sales data can now be synced directly between systems. | Makes it easier to measure the real performance of ad campaigns. |
Telegram Ads
| Update | What it is | How it affects advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| EURO ad account: new geos available | Telegram continues to open new geographies for Target Users. Now available: Moldova, Bangladesh, Israel, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, and South Africa. |
Advertisers gain access to new markets and can scale Telegram Ads campaigns into additional countries without relying on alternative ad platforms. |
| AI Bot Revolution | Telegram introduced a major AI bot update: • AI bots can now be summoned in any chat; • users can instruct a bot to automatically reply to messages or complete tasks; • bots can now interact with each other and exchange data. |
New automation scenarios open up for customer service, lead generation, sales, and audience engagement inside Telegram. Brands will be able to build more complex AI-driven funnels and reduce manual workload. |
Snapchat Ads
| Update | What it is | How it affects advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| Snapchat launched beta of Unified Attribution | Previously, advertisers compared Snapchat data and mobile measurement partner (MMP) data — from AppsFlyer, Adjust, and others — separately, which often led to discrepancies. The platform now consolidates Snapchat's own data with MMP partner data in a single report. | Fewer attribution discrepancies and a clearer picture of Snapchat's contribution to app installs or conversions. |
| Snapchat introduced BFF Energy at Scale | The platform has started using friendship connection signals within Snapchat to power ad campaigns. Advertisers can run creatives built around friend interactions, recommendations, and shared experiences. | Enables more effective use of social influence in ad campaigns and boosts engagement through friend-to-friend recommendation mechanics. |
OpenAI Ads
| Update | What it is | How it affects advertisers |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI opened its advertising platform to businesses | In May, OpenAI expanded access to advertising in ChatGPT: a beta Ads Manager became available, enabling self-serve campaign launch without an OpenAI account manager, a CPC pricing model, and performance measurement tools. Previously, the ad system operated only as a limited pilot for a small number of advertisers. | ChatGPT is gradually becoming a new advertising platform alongside Google and Meta. Companies with mid-range budgets can now test advertising inside ChatGPT — not just large enterprises. |
Evido by Aitarget
| Update | How it helps advertisers |
|---|---|
| Aitarget platform: launch of the Cashback section | Working with cashback is now much more convenient: the dedicated section lets advertisers track their full status in real time — how much has already been credited, how much is left to meet the conditions, what requirements apply, and how progress is changing. This makes the system transparent and removes the need to manually calculate or decode cashback terms. |
| Video tutorial on OpenAI Ads from our team | Our team has released a video tutorial on OpenAI Ads. No need to figure out the new platform from scratch — we've already done it for you. Watch the material to understand how it works, explore the key features, and get started without a long learning curve. |
| Telegram Insider: geography expansion (Georgia + Indonesia) | Telegram Insider has added two new countries — Georgia and Indonesia. You now have more options for selecting channels, audiences, and markets within the Telegram platform. This expands your inventory choices and gives greater flexibility when building ad strategies and testing new geographies. |
| Article: scaling on TikTok without losing budget control | We've put together an article on how to scale TikTok advertising through the Cost Cap strategy without losing budget stability or performance. We address one of advertisers' biggest fears — uncontrolled spend growth — and show how this model helps maintain a stable cost per conversion while safely increasing volume and optimizing campaigns. |
* Update names in this table are clickable links
Last updated:
Jun 3, 2026
Ksenia Lebedeva
Content Manager
Ksenia is a content marketer with experience across B2B marketing, brand communications, and digital growth. She has worked in both product and service-based environments, leading content initiatives for LinkedIn, YouTube, and other digital channels. Her background includes content strategy, SEO, social media, project management, and cross-functional marketing support — with a strong focus on building structured communication that supports business goals.
LinkedIn
.jpg)
.jpg)
