We’ve reached the phase on the AI technology-maturity timeline when companies decide whether to build or buy to fill gaps in their products and services.

Yesterday, Salesforce put a ring on Informatica, one year after it first popped the question. That acquisition will aid Salesforce’s mission to help businesses organize, unify and govern data before AI agents disseminate it to employees and customers.

Today, Invoca announced it was acquiring Symbl.ai, allowing marketers to build better tools for orchestrating AI-powered customer journeys.

I asked ChatGPT to put together an M&A outlook for the second half of 2025, and it told me to keep an eye on data infrastructure (“plumbing”) deals, “trustworthy” AI deals focused on compliance and privacy and AI-hardware deals like the acquisition of design houses and component IP to de-risk supply chains.

And that’s what AI has to say on AI.

Mike Pastore
Editorial Director

Digital asset management (DAM)

3 must-have new AI features for your DAM

GenAI isn't perfect, but it's a lot more powerful and can automate workflows and processes that will make you feel like your DAM has superpowers.

Customer journey orchestration

Invoca buys human intel platform Symbl.ai

The acquisition lets users deploy consumer-facing agents, and improve contact-center interactions and measurement and optimization.

Marketing technology

What’s inside IAB and MRC’s attention measurement guidelines

Attention means different things to different vendors. These new guidelines will provide ways to measure attention more consistently.

Agencies

When clients ask "Did it work?"—here’s your answer

The Cross-platform Measurement in 2025 How-to-Guide helps agencies turn campaign metrics into client-ready insights. Prove brand impact with insights clients understand and value.

Adobe Marketo

Adobe focuses on new Email Designer in May 2025 Marketo Engage updates

Here's what's new for Adobe Marketo Engage users from the May 2025 updates.

B2B marketing

Why schema markup matters for B2B

Discover how schema markup can drive visibility and trust for B2B and enterprise websites. Learn use cases, implementation tips, and SEO best practices.

Brand marketing

The future of consumer behavior

Discover how shifts in sustainability, authenticity, and technology are shaping tomorrow’s market.

Email marketing

Why your emails still miss the inbox even if you’re ‘in compliance’

Think meeting authentication requirements is enough? Here’s what most senders miss and how to fix it to boost deliverability and engagement.

What else we're reading

• Moving from HubSpot Starter to Pro? Let’s discuss pricing. 
• How to inexpensively measure brand in B2B
• Why is B2B content still so boring?
• Is Google killing the internet?
• What’s your marketing hill to die on?
• Can better marketing find a younger audience for baseball?

MarTech research

• NEW! Get the 2025 State of Your Stack Survey report by downloading the PDF, flipping through a carousel, listening to a discussion of the results or watching the keynote session from the Spring 2025 MarTech Conference — all without registration.

MarTech Intelligence Reports are in-depth, independent and indispensable. They’re designed to help marketers navigate the martech landscape with questions to ask during the buying process, vendor profiles and more.

Download your Intelligence Report today:

• NEW: Generative AI for Content Creation
• B2B Data Enrichment and Hygiene
• Email Marketing Platforms
• Identity Resolution Platforms
• Marketing Work Management Platforms
• Marketing Automation Platforms
• Customer Data Platforms.
• Call Analytics and Conversational Intelligence

What they're saying

• “GenAI is still far from perfect. It can still give us a bartender with eight fingers or a sunflower floating out of our vase of daisies, but those errors happen less often.” – Michelle Tackabery in 3 must-have new AI features for your DAM.

• “The constant and unpredictable reversals and adjustments of tariffs lack consistent context, meaning consumers don’t know how to properly plan for their immediate budgetary future, much less a long-term one.” – Greg Zakowicz in How tariffs are reshaping long-term strategies for brands and buyers.

From Search Engine Land