We tuned into Google’s Think Retail on Air 2025 so you don’t have to. Below is our fast (but thoughtful) rundown of what matters for retail marketers, plus how we’re adapting playbooks for Q4. If you want the official session videos and docs, they’re all on the Think Retail hub and Resource center

 ​FTC probes Google, Amazon for allegedly misleading advertisers The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is probing whether Google and Amazon have misled advertisers. There could be regulatory pressure ahead to require more disclosure of how ad costs are determined.    TikTok’s AI Mandate for TikTok-Shop Ads (GMV Max) and Backlash TikTok has mandated that all advertisers using TikTok Shop must use its AI-driven tool “GMV Max” starting Sept 1, 2025. While it helps small business

 ​Google fined €2.95B for “self-preferencing.” The Commission ordered Google to present a remedy plan within 60 days and warned that a structural breakup is on the table; Google will appeal.    Meta’s Major Marketing API Update Basically, Dynamic Media is now ON by default for Advantage+ Catalog ads. Rollout began Sept 1, 100% by Oct 20; opt-out available. Make sure to double-check all campaign/adset/ ad set, and ad-level settings frequently to ensure you're set up the wa

🆕 Google Ads launches 'Branded Searches' Metric Google is rolling out a new way to measure upper-funnel impact. Branded Searches — a conversion type first teased at Google Marketing Live 2025 – is now live. 😮 Amazon Pulls Out of Google Shopping Amazon quickly dropped out of the auction starting on July 22. This is a major direct impact for Google's bottom line, but also indirectly helped maintain higher auction prices. Bad news for Google, cautiously optimistic news for