Affiliate Roundup: Google AI Cuts Traffic, Rakuten Unveils AI Affiliate Tools, & Luxury Brands Embrace Affiliate Marketing

This week in FMTC’s Affiliate Roundup: Google’s AI Mode cuts publisher traffic by giving direct answers, raising content rights concerns. Rakuten Advertising launched AI tools to boost affiliate marketing transparency and partner discovery. Luxury brands in the U.S. are turning to affiliate marketing for scalable, cost-effective growth and customer acquisition.

• Google’s AI Mode is reducing publisher traffic by delivering answers directly, raising concerns about content rights and the open web’s future.

• Affiliate marketing is helping luxury brands grow in the U.S. by offering a scalable, cost-effective way to reach new customers.

• Rakuten Advertising launched AI tools to boost affiliate marketing transparency and growth by improving reporting, partner discovery, and compliance monitoring.

• Booking.com’s shutdown of its affiliate program cuts off a key income source for travel influencers, exposing platform dependency risks.

• Affiliate marketing is maturing into a data-driven channel, with brands using first-party data and influencers to boost performance.

• SEO is shifting from traffic volume to focusing on user engagement and conversions.

• Microsoft ended its coupon browser extension on May 31, 2025, due to lawsuits over redirecting affiliate commissions.

The post Affiliate Roundup: Google AI Cuts Traffic, Rakuten Unveils AI Affiliate Tools, & Luxury Brands Embrace Affiliate Marketing appeared first on FMTC.