Email is the testing ground for AI in advertising: Mailchimp is the latest email marketing platform to launch AI features for clients.
Meta Verified draws criticism over legal name mandate: Paid feature meant to prevent impersonation poses risks for some creators.
On today's episode, we discuss why advertisers aren't returning to Twitter, what the impact of the new blue check mark will be, and whether folks actually want to pay for social media. "In Other News," we talk about the potential of TikTok's sister app Lemon8 and what to make of TikTok's new "Series" feature. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Jasmine Enberg.
Walmart is shuttering four stores in Chicago: The retail giant says that the stores lose “tens of millions of dollars a year,” and their annual losses nearly doubled in the last five years.
Inflation eased for the ninth straight month in March: But falling grocery prices may not be enough to restore consumers’ declining confidence.
eBay is giving merchants more opportunities to advertise: The marketplace nearly doubled the amount of premium search ad inventory as it tries to make up for falling sales volumes.
Brazil’s tax crackdown could deal a serious blow to Asian ecommerce giants’ growth ambitions: The government plans to eliminate exemptions for international orders under $50. (This article was written with the assistance of ChatGPT. )
Lemon8 makes a splash in US as lawmakers mull TikTok ban: New app quickly gains followers, but Chinese ownership could raise concern.
Predictably, AI chatbots are causing a spam explosion: Social platforms are reporting higher-than-usual spam from generative AI.
Netflix races to offer new ad targeting options ahead of Upfronts: A rushed launch meant its ad tech offerings were thin.
An outage Monday downed Apple Music, Radio, and iTunes Match for users in the US, Europe, and Asia. Are persistent outages due to infrastructure or possible cyberattacks?
Google is accused of offering benefits to developers who put their apps only on Google Play. Could more regulation and fines follow?
Pentagon breach is a new low for social media: A classified document leak on Discord, Telegram, and Twitter has serious geopolitical implications. If platforms don’t take action, public sentiment might flatline.
Microsoft is going global with Game Pass: The subscription video game service is hitting 40 new countries as concerns about its monopolizing potential increase.
YouTube’s steep Sunday Ticket pricing will pay off, but at what cost? Consumers now have to pay more than ever to watch football.
Millennials are the age group most likely to buy products or services advertised on podcasts, according to a survey of US podcast listeners by Morning Consult. These ads are also more likely to drive purchases among listeners earning more than $100,000 per year.
HBO and Discovery+ going to the “Max”: Combined streaming service kicking off in May will bring new business leads for advertisers. Read online.
Rivals are likely to spring up for Bloomberg’s recently unveiled generative AI platform. But they won’t have access to its Terminals' data.
Lack of AI regulation could harm adoption in the US: Consumer protections could help elevate AI’s low appeal among Americans, which could boost revenue, workforce skills, and innovation around the tech.
Consumers want online banking tools that consider their specific situation. And they think banks still aren’t using personalization to the fullest extent possible.