Optimizely

AI Saves Time, Marketers Spend It Fixing Output

An Optimizely survey of more than 2,000 B2B marketers finds widespread AI adoption but significant operational friction: nearly half say AI is integrated into daily work, yet three-quarters spend at least three hours weekly editing, fact-checking, or fixing AI-generated content. Only 19% use a single integrated AI platform while over 80% regularly switch among multiple AI applications, creating disconnected workflows that increase governance, compliance, and quality-control work. U.S. marketers report higher confidence in AI outputs than global peers, but many respondents worry AI is flattening brand voice. The report — vendor-sponsored research published on MarTech (owned by Semrush) — concludes the industry’s competitive edge will come from operationalizing AI (governance, integrated tech, and workflows) rather than simple adoption.

Server-Side A/B Testing with Optimizely

Technical guide describing server-side A/B testing using Optimizely Feature Experimentation (formerly Full Stack). It explains when to choose server-side over client-side tests, how Optimizely's SDKs (Node.js, Python and others) evaluate a locally cached JSON datafile to make deterministic variation decisions, and how to initialize SDKs, create user contexts, track conversion events, and verify experiments. The guide covers synchronization strategies (pull/push/custom), sticky bucketing and a User Profile Service for persisted assignments, common pitfalls (SDK initialization latency, unstable user IDs, incorrect attribute types), and end-to-end verification steps to ensure exposure, tracking, and stable bucketing.

B2C Creators Invade B2B; Reddit Clamps Down; Sky Acquires ITV

AdExchanger's July 7, 2026 roundup highlights a shift toward creator-style, B2C tactics in B2B marketing — seen at Cannes Lions and in campaigns such as LiveRamp’s five-month B2B brand push on Netflix. The piece notes CTV and retail-media plays (Vibe.co’s acquisition by Walmart Connect) and warns of regulatory scrutiny around big deals. Reddit is tightening its defenses against brand-driven content surfaced by LLMs: its AI systems reportedly flagged ~25,000 spammy posts/comments per day and contributed to a 20% year-over-year decline in low-quality content. Industry voices (ReachLLM, Optimizely) criticize paid mentions and GEO manipulation. In M&A, Sky will buy ITV’s Media & Entertainment unit for £1.6 billion, a deal expected to close in H2 2027. The roundup also lists other sector moves including Versant’s $530M acquisition of Full Swing and reporting on undisclosed commercial ties between broadcasters and Kalshi.