Brandweek Highlights Bot‑Dominated Internet and Shift Away from Tech Specs in Marketing

At Brandweek, industry leaders addressed the fact that bots now generate more than half of all internet traffic, according to cybersecurity firm Human Security and Cloudflare data. Human CEO Stu Solomon warned that marketers can no longer assume a human audience, describing experiments where autonomous agents performed tasks without human judgment. Reddit’s ad‑monetization executive Roelof van Zwol outlined the platform’s strategy to identify and contain agentic traffic rather than block it outright, while Tripadvisor highlighted its role as a trusted source for AI‑driven content.

In a separate session, Hisense USA’s first overarching CMO Sarah Larsen explained the brand’s move away from technical product specifications toward consumer‑focused storytelling. She emphasized that marketing must drive sell‑out, tying campaigns, retail decisions and sponsorships such as the FIFA World Cup 2026 directly to sales outcomes and real‑life relevance for shoppers.