The AI Edge Podcast Ep 5. The AI Platform Wars Are Over, featuring Simon Poulton of Tinuiti
Dec 22, 2025
Simon Poulton, EVP of Innovation & Growth at Tinuiti, shares his insights on the current AI landscape in marketing. He believes Google has triumphed in the AI platform wars due to its distribution power. The discussion covers the implications of AI-generated ads, why brands should focus on Google for SEO, and the concept of 'context debt' in personalized marketing. Poulton also addresses the practicality of agentic advertising and advises marketers on building meaningful AI tools instead of chasing trends.
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Distribution Trumps Model Quality
- Google’s distribution and ad business give Gemini a decisive edge over standalone LLMs like ChatGPT.
- Simon says OpenAI has ~12 months to prove cost or performance gains or risk permanent second-place status.
Ads Subsidize AI R&D
- Google can subsidize AI development using high-margin ad revenues and existing infra.
- This makes Google's AI rollout cheaper and faster than an AI-native company like OpenAI.
Prepare AI-Ready Ad Assets
- Bet on Google-first ad strategies and prepare AI-ready ad assets now.
- Build thousands of pre-approved ad components so AI can assemble tailored ads safely.