The feed
Martech news and analysis. Every story says what changed, why it matters and what marketers should do next.
BrightEdge said on April 8, 2026 that agent activity is about 15% of website traffic, 95% of it from OpenAI, and that 77% of companies block training agents while only 21% address search agents.
Why it matters
If agents act for customers, blocking them can block sales; if they are not managed, content may be used in ways owners did not intend.
A June 2026 Yext analysis of 17.2 million citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude found that verified, structured, distributed data made up 54.53% of distinct citation sources.
Why it matters
It suggests brand-owned pages are only part of what answer engines cite, so listings, reviews and structured data matter.
From September 15, 2026 Cloudflare's defaults split AI traffic into Search, Training and Agent. Training and Agent crawlers are blocked by default on pages that show ads, while Search bots stay allowed.
Why it matters
If agents are blocked, your pages may not be fetched when someone asks an assistant about your brand.
Gartner's January 21, 2026 survey found 31% say AI summaries add research time, 82% read AI Overviews but not exclusively, and 71% changed how they phrase searches.
Why it matters
Marketers cannot treat AI answers as a substitute for classic search; both must be served.
Perplexity's September 21, 2026 release adds Effort Mode settings for Computer, GPT-6 Astra access for Pro and Max subscribers, a Skills Marketplace, Portable Computer for Windows and Linux, and a Hybrid mode for Mac.
Why it matters
Search players are becoming agent platforms, which affects what content agents read and how brands are surfaced inside tasks.
On June 8, 2026 Microsoft's search lead Jordi Ribas said Bing shipped a preview extension that toggles AI chat-like features on or off, and that adding -ai to a query removes AI responses.
Why it matters
It shows demand for classic results and gives publishers and SEOs a reason not to assume every search shows an AI answer.
On May 19, 2026 Google announced the first major upgrade of the Search box in more than 25 years, 24/7 information agents for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, and agentic booking in the US.
Why it matters
The agents and the new box shift searching from one-off queries to ongoing tasks, which changes how brands get found.
Google has added an AI Mode button to the Search homepage for many users and says AI Mode passed one billion monthly users. TIME reports that AI Overviews now appear in 40% of US Google searches.
Why it matters
More searches start with a conversational answer, which changes which pages are seen, and what a click is worth.
On September 15, 2026 Salesforce announced AIforce, which brings Salesforce data and workflows into the AI tools people already use, including Claude, Slack and the Lightning interface.
Why it matters
If work moves into chat and agent tools, the CRM's value shifts from the screen to the data, permissions and workflows beneath it.
Salesforce reported second-quarter revenue of $11.3 billion, up 11%, with Agentforce annual recurring revenue above $1.5 billion and a raised full-year outlook of $46.1 billion to $46.4 billion.
Why it matters
It is the clearest public measure of whether a CRM vendor can turn agents into revenue, although the metric is defined by the company.
