As marketing budgets bend under the pressure of economic uncertainty, SEO is increasingly important for its low costs and compounding returns. Some 58% of marketers plan to use AI for content and SEO by the end of this year, compared to 10% who currently do, according to BrightEdge data.

This year, we forecast that Walmart’s digital ad revenue growth will outpace Google, Meta, and even Amazon. This success is driven by updates made to Walmart’s retail media platform as well as partnerships to help advertisers activate across channels like social and connected TV. “You know [how they say] crawl, walk, run? We’re getting to that walk/run phase now where our platform is maturing,” said Rich Lehrfeld, senior vice president and general manager at Walmart Connect.

Virtual reality could help hospitalized cancer patients: Rocket VR Health and Massachusetts General Hospital launch a digital therapeutic trial to boost mental well-being during distressing treatments.

Consumers see the potential of AI in clinical care: Patients’ comfort levels with AI in healthcare are mixed, but many are bullish on the tech’s ability to improve outcomes and reduce medical errors.

15 biggest US pharmacies hit $548 billion in Rx revenues in 2022: We look at Drug Channels Institute’s list of top US pharmacies and where spending will go in the future.

The digital game storefront market shouldn’t be overlooked: Epic Games is taking shots at industry leader Valve’s loose rules in the standard-setting storefront space.

Spotify didn’t need to copy TikTok: Despite being in better shape than similarly aged competitors, Spotify has caved to too many buzzy trends.

The labor market is extremely challenging for retailers and restaurants: Quit rates are on the rise, which is making it difficult for companies seeking to improve the customer experience.

They launched BMO Bill Connect, which helps SMBs automate bill pay, digitize invoicing, and monitor cash flow.

Banks are under pressure to slash costs amid weak dealmaking. Citi is cutting jobs but also spending big in a strategy shift.

Generative AI gains momentum across multiple industries: Generative AI, including ChatGPT, has led to a boom as companies and startups alike race to integrate it into their products and businesses find new applications.

Generative AI tools are leading to more sophisticated cyberattacks. Tech investment and educating staff will be key for banks’ cybersecurity.

Will history repeat itself in the Google-Microsoft innovation drama? Google pushes robotics research despite axing its Everyday Robots arm. Innovation without a clear commercial strategy could give Microsoft an opening.

Dish Network is still reeling from ransomware attack: With various services and websites offline and their stock hitting a 14-year low, the window for Dish to resolve its ransomware-related outage is closing.

The 6G race has begun: Telecom execs say we’ll see 6G in a few years. The notion seems ill-conceived given 5G’s disappointing showing but AI might make the upgrade necessary.

The mix of flexible working arrangements banks and fintechs offer could create recruitment advantages for opportunistic firms.

Crypto-focused bank Silvergate is on the verge of collapse, while Kraken wants to get into digital asset banking. Here’s why crypto banking is flawed.

Shopee’s strong Q4 helped power Sea Ltd to its first quarterly profits: The ecommerce marketplace used its dominance to extract more fees from sellers, even as gross orders fell.