This week, regulation and reinvention were front and centre, as policymakers, platforms, and advertisers grappled with how ad tech and data are reshaping the digital ecosystem. On today’s MadTech Daily we cover Meta planning to nearly double its AI investment amidst Q4 revenue growth, Thailand moving to tighten advertiser verification, and OpenAI teaming with Booking.com for a new UK programme.

In the UK, pressure is mounting on Google’s use of generative AI in Search. The Competition and Markets Authority has proposed measures that would allow publishers to opt out of having their content used in Google’s AI Overviews or to train separate AI models. 

Against this regulatory backdrop, the UK advertising market continues to show resilience. The latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report reveals that UK ad spend rose 11.4% year on year in Q3 2025 to £12.5bn, with total investment for the year now forecast at £46.9bn. 

Platforms, meanwhile, are exploring new ways to monetise engagement. Meta is preparing to test premium subscription tiers across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. The paid offerings are set to include enhanced AI features, while keeping core services free.

The rapid spread of AI features is also fuelling legal tension. A group of leading YouTube creators has expanded its copyright lawsuit to include Snap, alleging the company trained AI systems on their videos without permission. 

On the commercial side, YouTube is pushing deeper into shoppable media. Google has begun rolling out shoppable connected TV ad formats powered by Demand Gen campaigns, enabling viewers to browse and purchase products directly from ads shown on televisions.

Finally, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a request for information seeking insight into big data and ad tech tools that could support its investigative work, highlighting the expanding role of advertising technologies in government data analysis and enforcement.