In this episode, filmed remotely, Julius and Ben discuss Spotify’s move toward short-form discovery with new podcast clipping and narrated article features, debating whether it boosts engagement while pushing Spotify toward more addictive social formats. They then cover Google’s latest AI announcements, including native checkout across Google surfaces that could shift e-commerce dynamics with partners and intensify competition with platforms like Amazon and Shopify. The conversation explores Google’s expanding AI support in Ads and Analytics, such as “Ask Advisor” for faster campaign setup and reporting, while noting that strategy still matters most in competitive markets. They also examine Google’s broader AI ad push toward making ads feel native inside LLM-style conversations and mention new conversion tracking for ChatGPT.