Subscribe free

The year chatbots got ad budgets.

We sent 250+ issues this year. This is what you clicked, read and kept coming back to, picked from your clicks, not our opinions.

See the top 5

Our 2026 in numbers

250+
issues sent
STACKED MARKETER, PSYCHOLOGY OF MARKETING and [TACTICS]
9.5M
newsletters sent
Straight into marketers' inboxes, all year
4.2M
opens
Thanks for reading. Seriously.

Story of the year: ChatGPT got an ad business. You followed every step.

Five of the year's most-clicked stories were chapters of the same one.

  1. Jan 19

    Ads are coming to ChatGPT

    OpenAI confirms it will test sponsored content for Free and Go users.

  2. Apr 10

    A self-serve ads manager

    Live performance data, and the minimum buy drops from $250K to $50K.

  3. Apr 22

    Pay per click, inside ChatGPT

    Performance-based ads open up to advertisers.

  4. Sep 16

    Ads you can talk to

    Sponsored Agents: a "Chat with us" button opens a branded conversation.

  5. Nov 11

    Business Hub goes live

    Click data for brands, and a free agent you can sponsor. Your #1 story of the year.

The stories you clicked most in 2026

Each story ranked against the rest of its own issue, so no single big send wins on size alone.

  1. 1
    Nov 11 · CHATGPT

    ChatGPT's Business Hub goes live with click data and a free agent you can sponsor

    The finale of the story of the year.

    Read it
  2. 2
    Feb 9 · TIKTOK

    How SMBs can better leverage TikTok, a new US policy takes effect

    TikTok's 40-page creative guide for small businesses.

    Read it
  3. 3
    Apr 20 · AI MARKETING

    AI's had a big week: Claude can design your pitch deck now, ChatGPT ads wobble, and more

    Prototypes, decks and campaign assets, just by describing them.

    Read it
  4. 4
    Oct 16 · ADVERTISING

    Meta launches Super Burst ads, Google lets you rank ad channels, and more

    Meta's push into brand building, straight from its summit.

    Read it
  5. 5
    Jun 3 · GOOGLE AI

    Google finally shows you your AI search performance, and quietly expands AI ads

    Search Console starts reporting AI Overviews and AI Mode.

    Read it

Your most-clicked story, every month

JanJan 7

Looking into 2026: TikTok releases marketing calendar while Google breaks down search trends

FebFeb 9

How SMBs can better leverage TikTok, a new US policy takes effect

State of Advertising 2026 out
MarMar 4

Link attribution is changing, your Reels toolkit is expanding, and you best leave Meta's shopping assistant alone for now

AprApr 20

AI's had a big week: Claude can design your pitch deck now, ChatGPT ads wobble, and more

MayMay 22

Google comes a step closer to running ads without you

JunJun 3

Google finally shows you your AI search performance, and quietly expands AI ads

JulJul 20

This leak may help decode Google's 2026 ranking factors

AugAug 17

Your next job may be a content play on social media

SepSep 16

AI advertising moved on four fronts in five days

OctOct 16

Meta launches Super Burst ads, Google lets you rank ad channels, and more

Our games launched
NovNov 11

ChatGPT's Business Hub goes live with click data and a free agent you can sponsor

DecDec 18

Our last issue of 2026 lands on December 18. Get it in your inbox.

Subscribe free

Rabbit hole of the year: the link you couldn't resist wasn't marketing at all.

floor796.com, a giant animated scene eight years in the making. We said "take a quick look". It beat every news story in that issue.

The chart, the effects and the tactics you liked most

DATA STORIES

Chart of the year: where search starts

47%37%11%4%
Google or another search engine47%AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot)37%Voice assistant (Siri, Alexa)11%Social media platform4%

Source: Eight Oh Two. We ran it on Feb 23 and again on May 20, and it was the most-clicked DATA STORIES both times.

New every MondayMore DATA STORIES

2027 starts January 4.

We're off from December 21. Get the first issue of the year in your inbox, free, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Subscribe to STACKED MARKETER