The MadTech Podcast

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The MadTech Podcast episodes

August 27 MadTech Daily: Meta Faces Up to $18bn Teen Safety Settlement; X Revamps Creator Pay With New Rewards Program
In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Meta agreeing to pay up to USD$18bn (£13.5bn) and restrict teen access under a sweeping state settlement, X revamping its creator pay with a new rewards program, and MiniMax posting a 283% revenue surge, though its pace still trails full-year targets.
2 min
August 26 MadTech Daily: New Support for ASA Awareness Campaign; TikTok Settles Children’s Privacy Case for USD$400m
In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover the ASA awareness campaign returning with expanded industry inventory, including Netflix and Waitrose, TikTok settling a children’s privacy case for USD$400m, and Taptap Digital acquiring Skyrise to expand in Europe.
2 min
August 25 MadTech Daily: Amazon Sued Over AI Training on Twitch Videos; UK Digital Infrastructure Investment Hits Dot-Com Era Levels
In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Amazon being sued over its use of Twitch streamers’ videos to train AI models, UK digital infrastructure investment reaching dot-com era levels amid the AI data center boom, and Shein preparing to debut in Hong Kong at a valuation well below earlier expectations.
2 min
August 25 MadTech Daily: WPP Hits Back at Whistleblower Suit; Meta Strips Advertisers of Placement Exclusion Controls; Paramount, California Hold Preliminary Warner Bros Talks
In today's MadTech Daily, we cover WPP's court filing against Richard Foster's whistleblower claims; Meta's decision to strip advertisers of the ability to exclude ad placements, and preliminary talks between Paramount and California officials over its $110bn Warner Bros Discovery acquisition.
2 min
August 21 Havas Media Network's Amy Banks on SEO, GEO, and Zero Click Search
In this episode of The MadTech Podcast, Amy Banks, head of SEO and GEO at Havas Media Network, joins ExchangeWire COO Lindsay Rowntree to discuss the evolution of search.

LLMs have transformed search, pushing the ad industry towards a zero-click era. With the declining importance of search engine rankings, Amy outlines what replaces click-through as the number brands should actually be watching. The conversation dives into whether generative engine optimisation (GEO) is a lasting, standalone discipline, or if it will eventually fold back into SEO once the market matures.
•••
0:00 Introduction
1:53 Bringing GEO into SEO teams
5:52 LLMs and zero-click search
9:28 Optimising for LLMs vs. Google
15:30 Combining GEO and paid ads
23:21 Will GEO eventually collapse into SEO?
28 min
August 20 MadTech Daily: OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Ads Pilot to 31 European Markets; Apple's Latest Spyware Alert Wave Appears Largest Yet
In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover OpenAI expanding its ChatGPT ads pilot to 31 European markets, Apple’s latest spyware alert wave appearing to be its largest yet, according to a digital rights group, and Taboola striking an exclusive programmatic display deal with NBC News.
2 min
August 19 MadTech Daily: Google's New Search Console Feature; Qwen Overtakes Meta
In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss critics arguing that Google’s new Search Console feature masks the decline in AI-driven traffic, Alibaba’s Qwen becoming the world’s most downloaded open-weight AI model, surpassing Meta and Google, and an IAB report finding that Australian agencies are pushing for greater transparency in programmatic DOOH.
3 min
August 18 MadTech Daily: Apple to Overhaul App Tracking Consent Rules; France's Court Blocks Under-15 Social Media Ban
In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss Apple overhauling app tracking consent rules following a German antitrust probe, France’s top court blocking an under-15 social media ban in a setback to Macron, and Alibaba offloading its gaming unit Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital in a USD$1.5bn (£1.12bn) deal.
2 min
August 17 MadTech Daily: Apple Trains Its own AI Model For China; Walmart Connect Adds Negative Keyword Controls For Sponsored Ads
In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover Apple training its own AI model for China with Alibaba’s help, Walmart Connect adding negative keyword controls for sponsored ads, and Audigent’s brand disappearing as Experian absorbs it into its marketing services division.
2 min
August 14 MadTech Daily: Tencent Nearly Triples AI Spending; Anthropic Investors Eye $2 Trillion-Plus Valuation for Autumn IPO
In today’s MadTech Daily, we discuss investors betting on a USD$2tn (£1.50tn) IPO valuation for Anthropic and Tencent’s AI push sending capex soaring 176%.
2 min