Marketing and AI weekly roundup: ChatGPT search and Clarity agents

The marketing and AI weekly roundup for Saturday, October 31 to Thursday, November 5, 2026 starts with OpenAI and Microsoft. On November 3 an OpenAI product lead said ChatGPT's search volume has reached about a fifth of Google's, and on November 4 Microsoft Clarity added a dashboard that shows what AI agents do on websites.

How big is ChatGPT search compared with Google?

About a fifth of Google, according to OpenAI. Adam Fry, who leads ChatGPT's consumer product, told Big Technology in an interview published November 3 that ChatGPT's volume of search-like queries is now roughly one-fifth of Google's.

He also said ChatGPT's weekly users grew from one billion to 1.2 billion in the last two months. These are OpenAI's own figures. Search Engine Roundtable called the claim surprising, since Google says its own search volume is at an all-time high.

Why it matters: what ChatGPT says about your company can reach a customer before your website does. Ask it about your business and your prices in Arabic this week, then correct anything it gets wrong on your site.

What does Microsoft Clarity show about AI agents?

A new Agent Activity dashboard shows which AI agents visit your site and what they do there. Microsoft announced on November 4 that it tracks agents from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, and records searches, form submissions, logins, bookings and checkouts.

Clarity can also test whether an agent can finish a set task on your site, starting with commerce and travel scenarios. Microsoft says weekly AI agent sessions nearly doubled in three weeks to almost 2 million, based on its analysis of 5.23 million sessions between August 13 and September 9, 2026. Ask Clarity, which answers plain-language questions about visitor behavior, is still a closed beta for retailers.

Why it matters: if you run an online store on Clarity, open the new dashboard and check whether agents reach checkout or drop off before it. The step where they stop is the first thing to fix.

What is Promotion mode in Google Ads?

Promotion mode is a Google Ads feature that lowers your Target ROAS for a short sale, can add extra daily budget, and then restores your original settings. Google published a detailed help page on it, which Search Engine Roundtable spotted on November 4.

It is an open beta for standard Search and Performance Max campaigns that use a campaign-level Target ROAS. A promotion runs 3 to 14 days, and you can relax the target by 5% to 90%. New campaigns need to be set up at least 48 hours before the sale, and Google says Retail support is scheduled for November 2026.

Why it matters: a short sale on your calendar needs setting up now. The start date cannot change once the promotion begins, and you can be billed up to twice your daily budget in a single day. If you run Performance Max, also read our piece Performance Max may skip brand searches.

How did Shopify do in the third quarter of 2026?

Shopify's revenue grew 32% year over year in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, with a 22% free cash flow margin. Shopify reported the results on November 3, and president Harley Finkelstein said gross merchandise volume reached $119 billion.

The company expects fourth-quarter revenue growth in the low-thirties percent range. Finkelstein said Shopify keeps "building commerce into every surface, every agent."

Why it matters: Shopify's president puts AI agents in the company's plan, and Clarity has started counting their visits. Make sure every product in your store has a clear title, a written description and a price shown in the page text, because agents read text.

What are the targets of Egypt's second national AI strategy?

The strategy aims to build a local AI industry of more than 250 companies and raise the number of local specialists to 30,000 by 2030. Youm7 reported the targets on November 2, citing the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

The 30th Cairo ICT runs from November 7 to 10, 2026 at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo, according to El Watan. Its theme is "AI in Action", and ICT minister Raafat Hindy is its patron. Six ministers are due at a ministerial summit on putting AI to work.

Why it matters: anyone looking for a tech partner or AI hires in Egypt can meet the companies in one place over four days, starting Saturday.

What did HUE publish this week?

• AI training control in robots.txt: what Google and Bing announced: how to let search engines read your site while opting out of model training.
• Performance Max may skip brand searches: what to check now: the settings to review if your brand search results drop.