The Varosity AI GTM Report

Google pushes overperforming campaigns back toward target, ChatGPT advertising finally gets measured as OpenAI opens Mexico and Brazil, Anthropic's run rate hits $65B, UK charities lose half their traffic to AI answers, and 81% of LinkedIn is machine-written.

Show Notes

Monday, August 17, 2026. Google began rolling out a bidding change today that pushes budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns back up toward their stated targets — so the campaigns that were quietly overperforming get more expensive, right as peak season starts. Also today: Similarweb opened the first credible dataset on AI search advertising just as OpenAI switched ChatGPT ads on in Mexico and Brazil, Anthropic's annualized run rate passed $65B on the way to a reported $2T+ IPO, six UK charities reported losing up to 53% of page views to Google AI answers, AI automation startup Relay shut down with its founder heading to Google Chrome, and a study found 81.2% of sampled LinkedIn posts were likely AI-generated — which turns AI disclosure from a philosophical question into an operational one. Hosted by Jack King.

Today's stories:

  • Google forces overperforming CPAs up across five campaign types — effective today across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Travel. — PPC Land
  • Similarweb opens AI ad data as 26% of ChatGPT replies carry sponsored ads — 0.50% CTR, and 66.3% of ads land on the second prompt or later. — PPC Land
  • OpenAI opens ChatGPT ads in Mexico and Brazil, reaching nine markets — its first Spanish- and Portuguese-language inventory, with no published benchmarks. — PPC Land
  • Anthropic's annualized revenue surges to $65B — up from $47B in May, with an IPO reportedly seeking a $2T+ valuation. — TechCrunch
  • Blood Cancer UK loses 53% of leukaemia page views to Google AI answers — while its community forum grew 86%. — PPC Land
  • AI automation startup Relay shuts down, founder joins Google's Chrome team — paying customers lose access September 14. — TechCrunch
  • Why LinkedIn doesn't really care about AI slop — 81.2% of 5,000 July posts flagged as likely AI-generated. — MarTech
  • Also referenced: Why buyers hate your multi-year software overhaul (MarTech) and the EU Commission's Article 50 transparency guidelines.

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What is The Varosity AI GTM Report?

Your daily ten-minute read on where AI meets go-to-market. Host Jack King breaks down the day's breaking AI news for sales, marketing, and revenue teams — generative video, voice and music models, AI agents, and the tooling that's reshaping how companies sell. Sponsored by Varosity.ai.