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Kochava Product & Partnership Updates Bulletin: Q3 2026

Measure ChatGPT Ads, upgrade your Kochava SDK, manage Meta campaigns…

7 Ways Marketers Want to Use Agentic AI in Their Daily Workflows

Insights & takeaways from Kochava webinar featuring Meta

OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT Ads with Image Formats and Measurement

This week's SEA news highlights Google Ads updates and OpenAI's growing but underperforming ChatGPT ad platform. Google Ads introduces channel prioritization and budget allocation for Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Demand Gen, ending Search with Display Network spend allocation in February 2027. OpenAI's ChatGPT Ads expanded to 60+ countries, with advertisers surging from ~20,000 in August to ~60,000 by October, yet it's likely to miss its $2.4 billion 2026 ad revenue target. The platform supports CPM, CPC, and experimental CPA bidding, partners with DoubleVerify and IAS for brand safety, and integrates with Hightouch, Tealium, and LiveRamp. Early results show some success (WeightWatchers' 15.3% lower CPA), but high invalid click rates (0.1%-34%) and low CPC ($5 vs. $30-50 on Google) deter major budgets. Google also tests 'Direct Offer' assets for AI Mode and adds 'store_address' attributes for local inventory.

• Google Ads adds channel prioritization and budget allocation; Search with Display Network spend allocation ends February 2027.
• ChatGPT advertisers grew from ~20,000 (August) to ~60,000 (October), but OpenAI likely misses its $2.4B ad revenue target for 2026.
• ChatGPT Ads expanded to 60+ countries with CPM, CPC, and experimental CPA bidding, and partners with DoubleVerify and IAS for brand safety.

AI Bots Waste Scammers' Time to Combat Fraud

Australian security firm Apate has developed an AI-powered system using approximately 350,000 bots to combat telephone and messaging scams. These bots engage scammers in lengthy conversations, impersonating various personalities to waste their time and reduce the time available to target real victims. Some conversations last over two hours. The AI agents also infiltrate scam groups online, collecting over 250,000 pieces of intelligence on fraudulent activities and responsible individuals, including bank account details. CEO Dali Kafaar stated that every minute a scammer talks to a bot potentially protects hundreds or thousands of people from being contacted by the same scammer. Despite these efforts, the scale of the problem is immense, with an estimated 68 billion scam calls worldwide annually. The bots represent a novel approach to fighting fraud using AI.

• Apate has deployed ~350,000 AI bots to engage and waste scammers' time.
• AI agents have collected over 250,000 intelligence data points on scam operations.
• Some bot conversations with scammers last over two hours.

Truecaller launches Scam Checker for the open web

Truecaller, the Swedish caller ID app with over 500 million monthly users, has launched Scam Checker, a free web and Android service that lets users check suspicious phone numbers, links, or messages for fraud without needing an account or app installation. For numbers, it cross-references a database of known spam; for links, it expands shortened URLs and checks against a risk database; for messages, it compares content against community-reported scams. Initially available in India, the tool will expand to Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Scam Checker leverages Truecaller's community-powered ScamFeed and broadens the company's focus into general scam detection. This move comes amid competitive pressure in India and alarming global scam statistics. Truecaller plans to add support for more scam types and allow screenshot uploads.

• Truecaller launched Scam Checker, a free web and Android service, on September 27, 2026, allowing users to check phone numbers, links, and messages for scams without registration.
• Scam Checker is initially available in India and will expand to Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
• The tool expands shortened URLs, cross-references phone numbers against known spam databases, and compares messages to community-reported scams.

India Mandates Caller-ID Apps Share Spam Reports with Telcos

India's telecom regulator, TRAI, has amended rules to require caller-ID and call-management apps, such as Truecaller, to share user spam reports with telecom operators via a blockchain-based platform. The move aims to broaden the spam report pool for enforcement. Truecaller, which has over 500 million monthly active users globally and 350 million in India, called the requirement anti-competitive, citing a one-way exchange of valuable data. The amendments also bring AI-powered and automated calls under the A2P framework, requiring declaration to operators or being treated as spam. Telecom operators may levy termination charges up to 5 paise per minute. The rules raise questions about data sharing scope, enforcement, and consent. India reported around 42 billion spam calls in 2025, with Truecaller blocking 12 billion.

• TRAI amended rules requiring caller-ID apps to share spam reports with telecom operators via a blockchain platform.
• Truecaller called the mandate 'anti-competitive', citing a 'one-way exchange' of data.
• India had around 42 billion spam calls in 2025, according to a Truecaller report.