Microsoft is in the news today for a 10,000-person layoff, but we’re more interested in cool AI stuff, right?  They recently announced general availability of Azure OpenAI Service, which will make it easier for businesses to run all sorts of advanced machine learning models.  Well, not all sorts, since ChatGPT is notably excluded.  But they promise to add it soon.

Your own media plans may be above average, Dear Reader, but this CMO Council report finds two-thirds of marketers are less than very confident their current media strategy will produce the desired results.  Also: privacy ranks last on the list of obstacles to marketing results, while budget and talent are on top.  And: 20% have a data clean room and 24% plan to add one.

Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation.  The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.