Observed Signal · Oct 1, 2026 · Interview / Opinion · Source: The Drum · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Future's Jamie Samuel on AI Disruption, Attribution, and Agentic Buying
In an interview with Mark Challinor, Future's VP of Commercial Product and Go-to-Market, Jamie Samuel, discusses the challenges and opportunities publishers face as AI reshapes discovery, attribution, and media buying. Future prioritizes human-written content and leverages its editorial authority through products like Future Optic, which helps brands improve visibility in AI search. The company also invests in Aperture, a first-party data platform for predictive audience modeling, to move beyond last-click attribution. Samuel predicts that agentic media buying will transform negotiations, and that publishers must adapt by focusing on outcomes, brand differentiation, and consolidation. He emphasizes the need for publishers to disrupt themselves before AI does.
The article discusses strategic implications of AI for publishers, including the rise of agentic buying, which is a critical development for the AdTech industry. It highlights how a major publisher is adapting its commercial strategy, which can influence wider industry practices.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Future's Jamie Samuel highlights the importance of human-written editorial content as a differentiator in the AI era.
- Future Optic, launched last year, has over 30 partnerships and more than 60 in the queue.
- Future uses its Aperture platform for first-party data and predictive modeling to identify high-intent audiences.
- Samuel states that attribution is broken and advocates focusing on outcomes rather than last-click.
- Samuel expects AI agents to play a major role in media buying by 2027 and predicts market consolidation.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mapped“Future is a global specialist media company with a portfolio spanning news, finance, technology, games, fashion, beauty, home interest, spor...”
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Related Market Signals & Shifts
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