Google Announces New Measures to Remove Deepfakes
Google has updated its systems to de-rank deepfake content and make it easier for people to remove it entirely. The search giant’s new measures follow a surge in explicit deepfakes posted online. Google says it will also attempt to “surface high-quality, non-explicit” news and articles for these queries.
Majority of Gen Z Shoppers Buy While Browsing Socials
Four in ten Gen Z shoppers start their buying journey with online searches on Google and TikTok. A new joint study from Walmart and Morning Consult also found that social media drives purchases; 55% of young people have bought something while browsing their favourite apps and platforms. Walmart urged retailers to “predict shoppers' needs” and deliver “highly personal experiences”.
Google’s Core Update Still Hasn’t Landed
SEOs are still anticipating Google’s latest broad core update. There wasn’t a rollout this week (as of 1 August), but John Mueller says it “isn’t extremely far away now”. Google’s search expert was responding to a complaint from a publisher about image thumbnail issues.
1.5 Million Posts Shared Every Minute on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has published its latest quarterly earnings report. The business-focused social media platform saw its revenue jump 10% in Q4 FY24. Perhaps more interesting for marketers, LinkedIn revealed that video is the fastest-growing format, with uploads surging 34% over the last year. Engagement also hit record levels, with 1.5 million pieces of content shared every 60 seconds.
‘About This Image’ Added to Circle To Search
Google launched ‘Circle To Search’ on its Pixel smartphones with much fanfare last year. Now, it’s getting a new ‘About This Image’ feature. After circling an image, users can navigate to the new section to find more relevant information. Google’s Senior Product Manager said it will provide “more ways to quickly get context on images that you see wherever you come across them.”
News Searches Don’t Trigger AI Overviews That Often
It appears that Google has been dialling back the triggers for AI Overviews (AIOs) for some time now. A BrightEdge survey in June found AIOs were only showing for 15% of queries, down from a staggering 84% at launch. New research from NewzDash has now found that news-related queries are very unlikely to trigger Google’s new AI-driven experience. After analysing 10,000 trending news keywords, AIOs surfaced for just 3.9% of queries.
Facebook Pulls Celebrity AI Chatbots
Meta’s big play on the metaverse isn’t going well. The company revealed this week that its Reality Labs unit lost $4.48 billion in Q2, bringing its total losses to $50 billion since its AR/VR pivot. Although this is unlikely to be directly related, Facebook removed its celebrity AI chatbots this week. Social media consultant Matt Navarra believes the feature was “too gimmicky” and had little appeal for creators.
Google Fixes Autocomplete Predictions
Finally, Google has fixed an issue with autocomplete predictions after Donald Trump’s son complained that the former US president was being censored in search results. Google said it wasn’t “censoring” or “banning” any terms and has already rolled out improvements to its system.
