Lab Weekly - 07/18/2025
The AI-powered future of travel; Plus, the latest news about Roblox, OpenAI, and more must-know news and stats
Want this newsletter in your inbox every week? Sign up for our mailing list here
The AI-Powered Future of Travel
Let’s take a deep dive into the three key ways that AI will reshape how travelers plan and enjoy their trips
In case you missed it…
Digital Twins and AI-Scaled Influencer Marketing
What a viral Dove x Crumbl campaign tells us about the new era of scalable, AI-enhanced influencer marketing
How Beauty & Wellness Enter a Post-Viral Era
As trend fatigue sets in, consumers are trading fleeting fads for wellness rituals, athlete role models, and AI-aided self-discovery
Airbnb’s Rebranding & What It Says About the Service Economy
The issue with scaling local services and experiences, and how AI might play a part in Airbnb’s future
Roblox Launches New Licensing Platform for IP-Driven Experiences [The Verge]
Roblox is launching a new licensing platform that allows rights holders to offer their IP to creators through a self-serve license manager and catalog, enabling creators to build brand-approved experiences on the platform in a more streamlined manner. Initial partners include Lionsgate, Netflix, Sega, and Kodansha, with IPs like Stranger Things, Squid Game, and Twilight available for full-experience adaptations. More IPs and licensing options are expected to roll out later this year.
This move is positioning Roblox to better compete with Fortnite’s growing ecosystem of brand-backed content. Platforms like Roblox and Fortnite allow brands to leverage fan-generated content and experiences without losing control over brand storytelling. For entertainment brands, this opens up new, scalable ways to engage younger audiences in immersive formats. Roblox already has a recent hit with Grow a Garden (sorta like a Farmville for Gen Alpha players), and it will be interesting to see whether IP holders can funnel some of that growing consumer interest in immersive playable experiences into branded content.
Related: Roblox launches new age verification system to unlock unfiltered chats [CNBC]; Grow a Garden: The surprise Roblox gaming hit [BBC]
OpenAI to Take Cut of ChatGPT Shopping Sales [Financial Times]
OpenAI is reportedly developing an integrated checkout system for ChatGPT that would allow users to complete purchases within the platform, with merchants paying a commission to OpenAI. Following OpenAI’s partnership with Shopify announced in April, this move would position ChatGPT as a potential competitor to platforms like Google Shopping for search-based product discovery.
AI agents are becoming active players in the shopper journey, moving beyond recommendations to handling discovery, comparison, and checkout. 39% of U.S. consumers have used generative AI for online shopping, and 53% plan to use it this year, according to Adobe data. As a result, brands must adapt to AI-driven conversational commerce by optimizing their product data and integrations for chat-based interactions.
Related: OpenAI developing ChatGPT agents in challenge to Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint [The Information]; OpenAI says it will use Google’s cloud for ChatGPT [CNBC]; OpenAI debuts ChatGPT Agent, which can control an entire computer and perform multi-step tasks [The Verge]
A24 to Reopen Off-Broadway Theater for Offline Events [The Hollywood Reporter]
A24 is set to reopen its newly acquired Cherry Lane Theatre this September, transforming the historic Off-Broadway space into a cultural hub featuring film screenings, theater, comedy, and more pop-up performances. Rounding out the on-site experience, they are also buidling a restaurant-bar called Wild Cherry. This move follows the indie studio’s 2023 purchase of the venue for over $10 million, and aligns with a broader trend of media companies, like Amazon’s Audible with the Minetta Lane Theater, investing in physical spaces to host live experiences.
More entertainment brands—and brands at large—are investing in offline, experiential spaces to deepen fan engagement, especially with Gen Z and Gen Alpha. As fatigue over algorithmic curation and toxic online environments grows, these IRL activations offer a powerful way to create emotional connection, social currency, and lasting brand relevance in a way streaming or scrolling simply can’t match.
Related: The first two Netflix Houses will open in Philadelphia and Dallas in late 2025 [Neflix]; Gen Z and Alpha want IRL — This is how every studio is racing to respond [The Ankler]
Situational Awareness:
Stage Door Pass, a social platform for Broadway theater fans, will open to public soon [Broadway News]
This is essentially Letterboxd for theater fans. Mezzanine Theater Dairy is a social network aimed at the same audience, but its growth has been somewhat hindered by the fact that it’s only available as an iOS app so far. These apps exemplify a growing trend toward interest-based niche platforms that cater to passionate fan communities.
Ad blockers for real life are now a thing, thanks to AR glasses [Gizmodo]
Developer Stijn Spanhove is building an experimental real-world ad blocker for Snap Spectacles glasses that uses Gemini AI to detect and obscure physical advertisements. As AR glasses gain adoption, traditional out-of-home advertising may face new challenges from user-controlled visual filters.
ByteDance developing Mixed Reality goggles in challenge to Meta [The Information]
TikTok’s parent company is reportedly working on lightweight mixed‑reality glasses to compete directly with Meta’s upcoming models. The device is still in the prototype phase with no official release window. Industry speculations seem to place it within a 2026–2027 timeframe for launch, roughly aligning with Meta’s Project Orion schedule.
Uber teams up with China’s Baidu on global robotaxi rollout [Bloomberg]
Rather than building its own hardware/software, Uber continues to act as a global aggregator, partnering with autonomous tech leaders like Waymo, Nuro, WeRide, and now Baidu, to offer robotaxi rides through its app. It’s a clever strategy that plays on Uber’s strong global brand awareness and user experience.
HBO and HBO Max have taken the lead in Emmy nominations this year (142), cruising past Netflix (121), per Deadline. It's the most Emmy nominations for HBO in a single year, thanks to a slew of big hits over the past year, including "The White Lotus," "The Last of Us" and "The Penguin." Despite HBO's slate of hits, Apple's "Severance" still led the pack in terms of overall nominations for a single program, scoring 27 nods. Disney scored 128 nominations across all of its platforms including ABC, Disney+, FX, Hulu and Nat Geo.
AI is unlocking new brand opportunities across domains, but AI-related risks are also rising to the top of mind for many companies. In the past year, about 75% of S&P 500-listed firms have updated their official risk disclosures to detail or expand upon mentions of AI-related risk factors, per a recent report from research firm The Autonomy Institute, The Register reports.
A new report from the nonprofit Internet Matters found that children and teens are using AI chatbots to simulate friendship more than ever before. Of the 1,000 children aged nine to 17 that Internet Matters surveyed for its "Me, Myself, and AI" report, some 67% said they use AI chatbots regularly. Of that group, 35%, or more than a third, said that talking to AI "feels like talking to a friend."
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 Ryan Miller, our Director of Partnerships, at ryan.miller@ipglab.com.
If you liked this edition of Lab Weekly by IPG Media Lab, why not share it?