Tailored advertising is ubiquitous and effective, but implicit ads can scare consumers off by being too personal. Companies are now using IBM’s Watson to reach people in a novel way – offering them a search service that’s more intuitive and convenient than Googling.

Advertising revenue underpins a huge majority of what we see online, but Brits aren’t a fan of banners and pop-ups, with over a fifth having installed blocking software. Now, Facebook is looking to put a stop to ad blockers with its latest update that gives users control over which ads they see.

Native advertising has exploded over the internet in recent years. But for many consumers, figuring out what’s been paid for and what’s strictly editorial can be confusing. Nathaniel Evans, who studies the phenomenon, explains to Canvas8 why people often don’t recognise sponsored content.

With 79% of Brits rarely or never clicking online ads, brands are wasting huge sums of money on ineffective advertising. So how can companies entice consumers to voluntarily eyeball their content? Canvas8 sat down with 15 British men and women to find out what they think about online ads.