Threads opens ads globally
Threads has launched ads worldwide. After testing the service in select markets, Meta announced on Wednesday (23 April) that it’s now going global. The new ads in Threads will be turned on by default for everyone using Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns and for other manual placements.
The arrival of ads is another milestone for Threads, which continues to gain momentum. The app now has more than 320m monthly active users (MAUs).
YouTube turns 20
YouTube celebrated its 20th birthday on 23 April. The very first video was uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim way back in 2005. The platform has since transformed the internet and now hosts a staggering 20bn videos, with 20m new ones being uploaded every single day.
Analyst MoffettNathanson believes YouTube is now the true “streaming winner”. The firm noted: “They don’t have to invest in content. They just hope that the creator community comes to them and builds their business.”
Bluesky launches new blue tick account verification
A familiar account verification system has arrived on Bluesky. The platform will now verify notable and authentic accounts exactly like X, with a blue tick next to account names. Bluesky says it will also give big organisations the tools to verify employees independently, which will then be double-checked by the app’s moderation team.
Google’s earnings rise again
Google’s earnings jumped 12% during the latest quarter, with Search and ads doing much of the heavy lifting. While AI Overviews (AIOs) have drawn a mixed reaction from consumers, they appear to be performing to expectations internally.
In a statement, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said: “AI Overviews in Search is now serving 1.5B+ users monthly and keeps getting better, and we’re pleased with the positive early reaction to AI Mode — lots more to come.”
ChatGPT rolls out ‘memory with search’
The original AI chatbot, ChatGPT, got a new ‘memory’ feature this week. OpenAI says when it’s turned on, some prompts will now be personalised based on previous searches and content.
It added: “For example, if the user has ‘Memory’ turned on and asks ChatGPT ‘what are some restaurants near me that I’d like,’ and has memories that the user is vegan and lives in San Francisco, then ChatGPT may rewrite the user’s prompt to ‘good vegan restaurants San Francisco.’”
UK plans tough new child safety rules for social media
Social media apps in the UK may soon have to comply with much tougher age verification rules. Ofcom, the comms regulator, announced on Thursday (24 April) that X, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms must use “highly effective” age check systems, such as photo ID and facial scanning, to prevent children from seeing malicious and pornographic content.
Google quality raters now flag AI-generated content
Google’s team of quality raters are on the hunt for AI-generated content. Resident SEO expert John Mueller has revealed that quality raters will now look through content to determine whether it’s been created by AI tools such as ChatGPT. He noted that this content may now be rated at the bottom of the pile as the lowest quality.
TikTok way ahead of competition in daily usage metrics
TikTok has got its rivals beat when it comes to engagement. The average US user spends 108 minutes on the app every single day, which is more than double the figure for Instagram (48 minutes). Only YouTube comes close, but it’s still some way back at 87 minutes.
The popularity of TikTok in the US helps explain why an outright ban is unlikely to happen. The latest data is also worrying for X, where users only spend 24 minutes per day — down 5% from a year ago.
Google adds links to AI Overviews
Google has started adding links to the text in AI Overviews (AIOs). After testing the update behind closed doors for several weeks, the search giant has now rolled it out officially. The change should be a welcome one for websites that’ve suffered from lower visibility and traffic since the arrival of AIOs.
In a statement, Google said: “To help people more easily explore topics and discover relevant websites, we’ve added links to some terms within AI Overviews when our systems determine it might be useful.”
