Lab Weekly - 04/04/2025
The AI Revolution of UGC; Plus, the latest about Google’s Roblox ads. Amazon’s AI agent, and more must-know news and stats
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Decoding the AI Revolution of UGC
Marketers have long been tapping into UGC for both eyeballs and cultural relevance. Yet, UGC-driven influencer marketing, once the darling of digital strategy, is facing a moment of reckoning, thanks to the explosion of generative AI-powered creative tools.
In case you missed it…
Google Gemini’s Busy March: What Brand Marketers Need to Know
From new Gemini models and features, to the latest tweaks in AI search results and shopping features, let’s take a close look at Google’s latest AI efforts, and unpack what each of them means for brand marketers.
Microsoft Advertising Accelerate 2025: Event Recap
A quick recap of Microsoft’s latest AI ad poducts and what they mean for brands and the digital marketing at large
The Future of Sports as a Media Business
The fragmented sports media landscape, and how brands can engage the fans in new, exciting ways
Roblox Users Can Now Watch Google's Immersive Ads In Exchange for In-Game Perks [AdWeek]
Google is integrating its immersive Rewarded Video ads into Roblox, allowing users to watch ads in exchange for in-game perks like virtual currency. This partnership streamlines access for advertisers to Roblox’s gaming inventory via Google’s ad-buying platforms and programmatic tools, while Roblox retains its direct-sales team. The move comes as in-game advertising grows rapidly, projected to hit $11.5 billion annually by 2028.
The Rewarded Video ad unit offers a unique and powerful channel for engaging younger gaming audiences in a non-disruptive way. Roblox immersive, interactive environment fosters deep user engagement, especially among Gen Z and Gen Alpha. It currently sees 85 million daily active users, with over 61% aged 13 or older, as Marketing Brew notes. Rewarded Video ads align well with user expectations in gaming—offering value in exchange for attention—which can increase ad recall and brand favorability. With Roblox’s scale and the integration into Google’s ad ecosystem, brands now have a more streamlined path to reach younger consumers in a context they trust and enjoy.
Related: Roblox is introducing new parental tools that let parents have more control over who their children talk to and what experiences they can access [The Verge]; Roblox offers brands unique way to engage Gen Z, Gen Alpha audiences [PR Daily]
Patreon Inks Podcast Partnerships With Sony & Wondery [Bloomberg]
Patreon is striking podcasting partnership deals with Sony Music and Amazon’s Wondery as it leans into the 35% growth it saw in podcasting revenue last year. The podcasting landscape is evolving as subscriptions become a key revenue stream alongside advertising, allowing creators to build more sustainable, community-driven businesses. Patreon's growing influence in the podcasting ecosystem reflects this shift, offering tools that support both independent podcasters and major media players like Sony and Wondery.
The creator economy is becoming more layered, with tiered offerings—free, paid, and premium—mirroring broader trends across platforms like YouTube, Substack, and TikTok. Cross-platform integration, exemplified by this partnership between Patreon and Spotify, highlights the need for flexibility in how and where audiences access content.
Related: Spotify debuts new ad tools, including an AI tool in the US and Canada that generates scripts and voiceovers, and pitches itself to advertisers as “nutritional” [New York Times]; Substack rolls out a TikTok-like video feed in its app, initially featuring short-form videos under 10 minutes [TechCrunch]
Amazon Tests a “Buy for Me” Button Powered by Agentic AI [The Verge]
Amazon is testing a new “Buy for Me” feature that allows users to purchase products from third-party websites directly within the Amazon app. Powered by its Nova AI and Anthropic’s Claude, the agentic AI handles browsing, checkout, and payment—using encrypted personal details—without redirecting users off-platform. Although users must visit the brand’s site for support or returns, Amazon facilitates order tracking. The feature is currently limited to select users, brands, and products in the U.S., with plans to expand.
Agentic AI has the potential to fundamentally redefine the retail interface by shifting consumer behavior from active searching and comparison to passive delegation. As AI companies strive to advance capabilities and bridge the consumer trust gap, these AI agents could evolve beyond simple checkouts to manage more complex interactions—such as applying promo codes, negotiating deals, bundling items, or even overseeing subscriptions and returns. This shift would reduce friction in the buying process while increasingly commoditizing retail experiences.
Related: Amazon announced Nova Act, an AI agent that can control a user’s web browser and will power parts of Alexa+ [TechCrunch]; Alexa+ began rolling out to customers with some features missing at launch [Washington Post]
Situational Awareness:
Amazon is making a major push to the big screen [NYT]
One more Amazon news — this marks an interesting refocus on the theatrical window for the company, as its MGM studio announced plans to release at least 14 movies annually in U.S. theaters, aiming to rival other major studios in both size and scope. This move should benefit Amazon’s streaming business as well, as studies have shown that movies that have had theatrical releases tend to perform better on streaming services too.
Nintendo unveils Switch 2 ahead of June 5 launch [ARS Technica]
In a major Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo announced that the Switch 2 will launch on June 5, 2025, priced at $449 standalone or $499 with the new title Mario Kart World. Interestingly, to deter scalpers and make sure that Nintendo fans will be able to get the new console, Nintendo says customers who want to preorder a Switch 2 from April 9 must have 50+ hours of original Switch gameplay as of April 2. Your move, Valve's Steam Deck!
UFC signs wide-ranging sponsorship deal with Meta [CNBC]
UFC has signed a multimillion-dollar, multi-year sponsorship deal with Meta, making Meta the official fan technology partner across its various platforms.With Meta integrating UFC content across Threads, Instagram, and Quest headsets, it’s clear that sports content is no longer just about live broadcasts—it's about fan engagement across a tech ecosystem.
Tinder launched a new AI game to help users practice flirting [Fast Company]
For a generation that grew up online, AI can provide a judgment-free rehearsal space for flirting, reducing anxiety and encouraging more confident real-life interactions. Yet, some might argue that, the more engaging and captivating the AI flirting becomes, the harder it may be for some users to shift that energy toward real human connections. Did we learn nothing from the movie Her (2013)?
Latest stats from OpenAI: on Monday, the ChatGPT maker announced that it has raised $40 billion, the largest private fundraising round in history, valuing the company at $300 billion. ChatGPT now has 500 million weekly users — up 100 million from a month earlier — and 20 million paid subscribers. On Thursday, OpenAI shared that, since it upgraded its image generation feature on March 25, over 130 million ChatGPT users have generated 700 million images.
ChatGPT is by far the fastest-growth chatbot, but others are growing too: "Gemini’s web traffic grew to 10.9 million average daily visits worldwide in March, up 7.4% month-over-month, while daily visits to Copilot increased to 2.4 million — up 2.1% from February, TechCrunch reports citing tracking data from Similarweb.
Meta is reportedly ramping up work on its first smart glasses with a display, codenamed Hypernova, which it could debut as early as the end of 2025 for $1,000 to $1,400, Mark Gurman writes at Bloomberg.
If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to Chelsea Freitas, our VP of Strategy, at chelsea@ipglab.com.
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