Audience participation can become a liability for brand communities online when it is treated as an open invitation rather than a designed system. Without the right structure, brands risk gathering scattered feedback, rewarding the loudest voices and creating expectations they cannot meet. Done well, however,...
Etsy announced the launch of its native app within ChatGPT, opening up a new way for shoppers to explore its catalog of over 100 million listings. The new experience is designed to move beyond the limitations of traditional keyword queries. Instead of typing something like “wooden coffee...
Bret Taylor’s AI startup Sierra is raising a $950 million funding round led by Tiger Global and GV, the company announced, pushing its post-money valuation above $15 billion. The raise gives Sierra more than $1 billion to work with — capital the company says it will...
As AI-generated artists and tracks flood music streaming platforms, Spotify is rolling out a new “Verified by Spotify” badge to help listeners more easily identify authentic human artists. To receive the badge, artists must meet certain criteria. Spotify looks for an identifiable artist presence both...
Shapes, an app where humans and AI characters chat together in shared group conversations, is emerging from stealth with $8 million in seed funding. Think Discord, but with AI characters alongside humans. Founded in 2022, Shapes has more than 400,000 monthly active users. The app’s founders,...
Meta announced an improved Meta Account system designed to make it easier for users to sign in and manage their Meta accounts and devices. The Meta ecosystem has become so expansive that it almost feels unwieldy — users might have various different accounts and log-ins for Facebook,...
For years, existing consumer platforms have tried to keep users within their app by offering more services. After the rise of the AI chatbot, the trend is to have people use the assistant for both queries and actions without leaving the conversational flow. With its...
Creative teams are running into a familiar problem with a new label: When everything starts to look and sound the same, consumers lose interest, and the high volume of low-quality, mass-produced digital content users see daily now—a.k.a. “AI slop”—has only amplified this sensation. When consumers...
Since its launch in 2021, Gizmo, an AI-powered learning platform that transforms students’ notes into interactive study materials, has attracted more than 13 million users across over 120 countries. And, as user adoption increases, investor interest is following suit. The company recently secured $22 million in Series A funding....
Last October, Adobe previewed a new assistant under the “Project Moonlight” moniker that could do tasks for you by tapping different Adobe apps like Acrobat, Photoshop, and Express. That product is now being launched as Firefly AI Assistant. The Firefly AI Assistant will be available in public...
