Episode 139: Lisa Utzschneider on carbon, attention, AI, and why being the CEO is fun!

In this episode, Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi talk with Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of Integral Ad Science (IAS), about the latest shifts in digital advertising. They explore how the industry is moving from simple verification toward performance, why metrics like attention and carbon are getting more attention, what AI is doing behind the scenes, and how retail media and streaming are changing the game. Along the way, they dig into trust, complexity, and what brands really care most about today.

Takeaways

• IAS has moved beyond verification, focusing on performance and transparency.
•  Attention and carbon are part of the metrics mix, not replacements for existing standards.
•  AI powers classification and validation at scale, speeding up processing and accuracy.
•  Retail media and CTV are rapidly growing areas with unique challenges.
•  Brands still prioritize simple goals: reach consumers, protect reputation, and drive outcomes.

Chapters
01:00 Open Web vs. Walled Gardens
04:40 From Verification to Optimization
07:30 Carbon as a Metric
09:00 Attention Metrics
12:00 Cutting through the Complexity
12:40 AI in Practice
16:15 Startups, Scale, and Data
19:00 Retail Media’s Rise
21:00 Trust and Perception

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