Chartbeat vs FreeWheel

Publishers Shift from Clicks to Valuable Sessions

Digital publishers face a decline in search referral traffic due to AI-generated answers in search engines. A Chartbeat analysis of over 2,500 publisher sites shows a global drop in Google search traffic of about one-third by November 2025, with a 38% decline in the US. An Ahrefs study of 300,000 keywords found that the top result's click-through rate is 34.5% lower for queries with AI Overviews. This shift makes volume-based monetization models unsustainable. Publishers are advised to focus on Revenue Per Session (RPS) rather than pageviews or individual clicks. This involves integrating editorial recommendations, native ads, and display formats into dynamic content feeds that are optimized for relevance and user experience, thereby increasing the value of each session despite fluctuating traffic.

• Chartbeat analysis of over 2,500 publisher sites shows global Google search traffic declined by one-third year-over-year through November 2025.
• Ahrefs analysis of 300,000 keywords shows a 34.5% lower click-through rate for top results on queries with AI Overviews.
• The article advocates for a shift from pageview-based metrics to 'Revenue Per Session' (RPS) as the key performance indicator.

Marriott Media turns hotel bookings into a shopping calendar

Marriott's advertising arm, Marriott Media, is leveraging its Bonvoy loyalty program data and booking signals to help brands target travelers with timely, contextually relevant ads. The company announced new partnerships with FreeWheel, LiveRamp, Nexxen, and Viant, enabling brands to combine their own customer data with Marriott's traveler audiences for media buying beyond hotel properties. Marriott cites research indicating travelers make purchases like clothing and beauty products weeks before a trip, positioning its data as a predictive shopping calendar. The company is developing attribution and brand lift measurement tools. It emphasizes privacy, noting that only 500 of its captured attributes are available for targeting, and it reviews creative for suitability in hotel settings.

• Marriott Media announced partnerships with FreeWheel, LiveRamp, Nexxen, and Viant.
• Marriott claims that 75% of consumers bought beauty or personal care products for a trip and 85% bought clothing and accessories, based on third-party research.
• Marriott Media has 500 attributes available for custom audiences, not all captured data.

AI Agents Reshape Roles and Business Models in AdTech

The article analyzes how artificial intelligence agents and the Advertising Context Protocol (AdCP) are transforming programmatic advertising. AI agents are evolving from simple chatbots to autonomous systems capable of planning, negotiating, and executing media buys. AdCP provides a standardized communication layer, enabling Buyer Agents and Seller Agents to interact across platforms. This shift moves advertising from platform-centric buying to agent-based advertising, where media briefings become executable tasks for AI agents. The article discusses changing roles for agencies, DSPs, SSPs, and publishers, and highlights new AI-native players like Concord and Apostra. Traditional intermediaries face pressure to differentiate, while the focus shifts to data, integration, and context. The article concludes that operational excellence alone is insufficient; a deep understanding of customers and business objectives becomes crucial.

• AdCP 3.2 introduces version negotiation, brand verification, and clearer runtime rules.
• WPP Media is developing a buyer agent for video within WPP Open.
• Concord positions itself as an 'Agentic Media Buying Platform'.

Hamid Davari Joins FreeWheel as Commercial Director, MENA to Lead Strategic Regional Expansion

Press Release - October 6, 2026