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Google is testing AI-generated summaries in YouTube feeds, replacing video titles with auto-written synopses. Some YouTube users are seeing video titles replaced by AI-generated summaries in the Android app. Reports on Reddit showed title-less video cards with collapsible summary boxes instead. The details. Video thumbnails remain, but titles are missing in some cases. AI summaries appear in expandable text boxes beneath each video. Users must tap to expand summaries to understand the content. The test appears limited to YouTube on Android. Why we care. This further abstracts creator metadata and reduces control over how your YouTube content appears. Titles remain a critical ranking and click-through signal. Replacing them with AI summaries can impact keyword targeting, brand voice, and intent matching — and increase the risk of inaccuracies that hurt performance. The context. Google is also testing AI-generated headline rewrites in Search, extending the same approach beyond Discover and now potentially into YouTube. Google confirmed a “small” and “narrow” experiment replacing original page titles with AI-generated versions in Search results. According to Google, the goal is to better match queries and improve engagement. But examples showed Google shortening or rewording headlines, changing tone and meaning. Reaction. Early feedback suggests a worse browsing experience. Expanding summaries slows discovery and adds friction to content selection, which runs counter to YouTube’s engagement goals. What’s next. There’s no official confirmation from YouTube on a broader rollout. The missing titles may be a bug, but the AI summary feature aligns with Google’s broader push into generative AI. View the full article

We’ve all seen the charts going viral on LinkedIn. They’re everywhere at this point. Multiple industry studies, even this research from Semrush, confirm that Wikipedia and Reddit are the top-cited domains across major LLM platforms — and CMOs are running with this data. The response is predictable: Just search for any bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) software query, and you’ll find Reddit threads in the top-ranking positions. This is exactly why the market is currently flooded with “Reddit SEO” agencies: Just stop. Taking this macro context — or a few isolated, high-ranking SERPs — and pivoting your entire GEO strategy toward Reddit or Wikipedia is a massive strategic error for the majority of B2B brands. Why CMOs are misguided by the Reddit hype The algorithmic tide is running toward massive community forums and open-source encyclopedias. That shift is real — but how it’s being interpreted isn’t. The charts driving this executive FOMO are mathematically accurate, but they’re strategically misguided. Applying them as a universal GEO playbook ignores why that aggregate data exists and why certain pages rank for high-intent queries. Reddit is the primary target because it’s perceived as easier to influence. While the industry respects Wikipedia’s ironclad editorial guardrails, Reddit is often viewed as an open loophole. This is a classic case of marketing whiplash, where teams abandon foundational principles to chase the shiny new object. To understand why Reddit and Wikipedia are a high-effort, low-upside channel for the vast majority of brands, you have to look at the context executives ignore. Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with Macro studies analyze hundreds of thousands of randomized keywords These studies add up citations across a randomized database that covers everything from pop culture to generalized consumer advice. As Alex Birkett points out: “Wikipedia, Reddit, and YouTube are heavily cited by LLMs because they are massive websites with a topical footprint that spans into a million different areas.” By default, they’ll always get the most aggregate LLM citations. High-ranking Reddit threads on BOFU queries can’t be reproduced When you see a Reddit thread driving CTR for a specific BOFU software query, it’s tempting to view it as an SEO loophole that can be easily reverse-engineered. This is incorrect. In reality, this is a scenario where the “voice of the customer” largely dictates who gets recommended. This isn’t an SEO hack or a growth trick. It’s the culmination of years of actual human peer reviews and real discussion on a topic that has reached a definitive consensus. Your marketing team can’t microwave this historical, multi-year, authentic brand sentiment. Claiming you need a Reddit or Wikipedia strategy because they are the most-cited domains overall is like claiming spaghetti carbonara is the most-eaten dish in Italy. Yes, it’s ubiquitous and popular, but just because it’s everywhere doesn’t mean you should put it on the menu at a high-end steakhouse. Dig deeper: Rand Fishkin proved AI recommendations are inconsistent – here’s why and how to fix it The illusion of ‘hacking’ Reddit and Wikipedia for AI visibility Even if you ignore the macro context and decide to aggressively pursue a Reddit or Wikipedia SEO strategy, you’ll quickly realize how LLMs actually process data. Hacking them for AI citations is an illusion built on a fundamental misunderstanding of what LLMs are looking for. When you look at the mechanics of AI citations, two massive roadblocks emerge. Historical consensus can’t be microwaved Thirsty SEO agencies will frequently pitch Reddit marketing services, promising to generate hundreds of upvotes and comments to trigger LLM visibility. But the data shows LLMs don’t care about manufactured virality. Up to 80% of Reddit threads cited by AI have fewer than 20 upvotes, according to Semrush. More importantly, the average age of a cited post is roughly 900 days. LLMs are surfacing historical, established consensus, not yesterday’s growth hack. Wikipedia editors will just delete you The exact same brutal reality applies to Wikipedia. A Princeton University study analyzing AI-generated Wikipedia content revealed exactly what happens when marketers try to “hack” the encyclopedia with generative tools. Researchers found that when users utilized AI to create self-promotional pages for businesses, the articles were mathematically lower in quality, lacking proper footnotes and internal links. The result? Human moderators quickly identified the low-effort content, deleted the pages for “unambiguous advertising,” and actively banned users. Paraphrasing destroys narrative control Even if you successfully infiltrate a subreddit or a Wikipedia page without getting banned, you lose control over your product positioning. Benji Hyam notes that Reddit mentions are typically too short and lack the depth necessary for an LLM to associate your product with a specific problem and solution. The Semrush data also proves this: AI tools don’t quote Reddit word-for-word. They blend and paraphrase discussions (showing a semantic similarity score of just 0.53). Your carefully crafted value proposition will be mashed up with random, anonymous user comments, or stripped down to dry, encyclopedic neutrality, diluting your brand narrative entirely. Posting on Reddit isn’t an SEO strategy — it’s shouting through a bus window, hoping to join the conversation. At best, it’s a short-term tactic. At worst, it actively damages your brand. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. The hidden risks of astroturfing The lack of ROI is only half the problem when it comes to building a Reddit or Wikipedia presence. The much larger issue is the active harm it can inflict on your brand’s image. Brands that treat these platforms as loopholes for AI citations fundamentally misunderstand their architecture. As Eli Schwartz points out, trying to replicate decades of genuine human conversation with templated brand messaging isn’t just ineffective — it’s a massive reputational hazard. Reddit communities are aggressively moderated Subreddits and wiki pages are policed by passionate human moderators and veteran Wikipedia editors. They’ve seen every variation of corporate infiltration. A new account dropping a link, manufacturing enthusiasm, or violating Wikipedia’s strict conflict of interest (COI) guidelines is flagged, reverted, and banned almost immediately. Sometimes, this is accompanied by a public callout (featured on subreddits like r/hailcorporate), causing more brand damage than the campaign was ever worth. LLMs ingest deleted spam and banned accounts This is the most critical and misunderstood risk. Reddit sells its data directly to companies like Google and OpenAI. Wikipedia’s entire edit history is completely open source. LLMs aren’t just scraping the public-facing websites. They’re receiving the entire firehose of data (including deleted posts, reverted wiki edits, and banned accounts). When your agency’s fake comments or promotional product descriptions get removed by moderators, those AI models still see the manipulation. Astroturfing creates a permanent negative trust signal Because the AI models have full visibility into the moderation pipeline, links or mentions flagged as inauthentic carry negative weight. By attempting to game the system, you’re essentially training the AI to associate the brand with spam and coordinated manipulation. Dig deeper: How to build an organic Reddit strategy that drives SEO impact Where AI actually looks for ground truth Once you accept that hacking Reddit or Wikipedia is both ineffective and dangerous, you have to look at where LLMs are actually pulling their answers from when a buyer is ready to make a purchase. When you filter for high-intent, BOFU prompts, the “Reddit/Wikipedia is everywhere” narrative falls apart. Using AI visibility platforms like Scrunch AI exposes Reddit’s and Wikipedia’s true influence on specific target categories. For one B2B client, tracking 300+ custom prompts generated thousands of LLM responses, but just two specific Reddit threads were responsible for the vast majority of citations. The Wikipedia data was even more revealing. For high-intent software queries, the encyclopedia barely registered. When AI tools cited Wikipedia, they were almost exclusively scraping broad, top-of-funnel category definitions, or pulling background facts from a specific company’s history page. Data from Grow and Convert shows the same thing. For trucking software queries, LLMs consistently cited domains like PCS Software and TruckingOffice. For project management queries, the AI cited specialized software review sites and niche blogs. This is a far cry from the overwhelming dominance promoted by SEO/GEO research studies. If you’re chasing platforms simply because they cover massive topical geography, you’re making a painful error. You don’t need to be visible everywhere. You only need to be visible in the specific digital neighborhood that influences your flagship category. Dig deeper: ‘Search everywhere’ doesn’t mean ‘be everywhere’ How to actually earn AI recommendations: Owned content and niche citations Winning in AI search requires optimizing for targeted influence rather than aggregate metrics. The most effective GEO strategy abandons massive topical geography and focuses entirely on the pillars you can actually control. Publish deep, human-written owned content Your website remains your most powerful asset. To be recommended, you must provide the specific, granular depth the AI needs to understand your value. Your key product and solution pages need to explicitly cover: Who the product is for. How it’s used. The specific pain points it solves. Its core benefits. This depth is exactly what gives you a chance at showing up for the highly specific, long-tail queries a customer types into an AI when evaluating products. Execute targeted citation outreach Use AI visibility tools to identify the specific, niche domains that currently influence your flagship categories. Once you know which industry blogs, review sites, and peer publications the LLMs are actually citing for your BOFU queries, execute targeted outreach to earn your place on those exact lists. Dig deeper: How paid, earned, shared, and owned media shape generative search visibility See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with If you want a Reddit or Wikipedia strategy, respect their ecosystems Reddit and Wikipedia carry real authority, and earning trust there is valuable independent of AI visibility. If you choose to invest in them, it must be a long-term play, not a marketing hack. Engage authentically on Reddit: Answer questions, provide unique insights, and participate in discussions where your buyers actually hang out. Build street cred before recommending your own tools. Build a branded subreddit for transparency: Create an official space for your team to share expertise, host AMAs, and answer product questions openly. Monitor conversations for product insights: Use the platform to spot emerging pain points and shifts in sentiment before they hit traditional search engines. Leave Wikipedia to the experts: If your brand genuinely deserves a Wikipedia page, it will be created by independent editors using reliable secondary sources. Don’t try to write your own product entry. The path to AI visibility runs through your own domain and the highly specific digital neighborhoods your buyers trust. AI engines reflect the authority you already have. If you want the algorithm to recommend your brand, then you have to do the work to actually be recommendable. View the full article

Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, has proposed a delay to the state’s landmark 2019 climate law, saying its goals would be too costly and could worsen already-expensive utility bills. But a coalition of climate, labor, and community groups counters that there are serious costs to not meeting the law’s climate goals—like more expensive energy bills, lost jobs, and health impacts caused by pollution. Delaying the law would cost New Yorkers nearly $9,000 on their energy bills per household over five years, due to the loss of billions of dollars in energy credits or rebates, according to an analysis from NY Renews. The proposed rollbacks would mean roughly 150,000 jobs lost statewide, as well as 5,000 premature deaths and 4,000 asthma hospitalizations over the next five years. Hochul’s proposed Climate Law changes In 2019, New York state passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, known colloquially as the Climate Law. It was signed into law by Hochul’s predecessor Andrew Cuomo. It was a landmark policy, making New York “one of the first states to put in law enforceable mandates that the state decarbonize and take steps to meet its climate goals,” says Stephan Edel, executive director of NY Renews. The law requires cutting greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 (as compared to 1990 levels) and 85% by 2050. In a recent op-ed, Hochul proposed pushing that 2030 goal to 2040, and also changing the way the state measures methane emissions, which experts say means much of this pollution could go undetected. While the Climate Law sets emissions reduction targets, it doesn’t specify how the state should meet those goals. Hochul was supposed to release the regulations for mandating these reductions by January 2024; she did not, and is now being sued by environmental groups for missing that deadline. In her op-ed, Hochul proposed issuing those regulations for how the state reduces emissions by the end of 2030, pushing back the entire enforcement of the Climate Law. The law will save households money In making her proposals, Hochul has said the effort to meet the Climate Law’s 2030 targets would actually make utility bills spike, and even cause gas prices at the pump to surge more than $2 a gallon. Those figures reportedly come from a memo from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (which the governor controls). But multiple environmental groups dispute those estimates. The high costs represent a “worst-case scenario” calculation, Edel says, that doesn’t reflect the actual policy that would take place. NY Renews’s own research says these programs help save money for households, particularly for low-income and disadvantaged communities. Another group, Earthjustice, also disputed the costs, telling The New York Times that the figures should include rebates and subsidies for energy customers, and that the state used an “exaggerated figure for penalizing polluters.” Edel adds that the governor’s office hasn’t been “transparent” in how it put that memo about costs together. (Fast Company has not viewed the NYSERD memo, and has reached out to Hochul’s office for comment.) Climate crisis is too urgent to kick down the road Concerns about rising utility costs and gas prices are valid. But those concerns are being driven by fossil fuels. That’s been clear with the conflict in Iran; New York gas prices have spiked 21% since the unrest began. “What we could do best to sustainably stabilize and lower bills is actually get people off fossil fuels, make their homes more energy efficient, and in doing that [make their homes] healthier and safer,” Edel says. The NY Renews analysis looks at the state’s own research on the impact of climate programs to quantify what New Yorkers would lose out on if the law is delayed and altered. Along with causing New Yorkers to miss out on $9,000 in household energy bill savings over five years, and 150,000 jobs statewide, the analysis finds that the state will lose between $15 and $60 billion in local revenue. That’s money that would have been invested in communities for things like rooftop and community solar, electric buses, weatherization for affordable housing, and infrastructure and resiliency projects. Hochul has framed the Climate Law as something at odds with affordability efforts—claiming that its delay would protect residents from future costs. NY Renews says that’s not supported by the research. Delaying the law also conflicts with the urgency climate experts say is needed to address these issues. “If we give the governor the power to kick the can down the road,” Edel says, “it fundamentally undermines the rationale of having . . . legally mandated climate goals, [and] the idea that this is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed.” “The governor should not have the discretion to just be like, ‘Yeah, I don’t feel like dealing with climate change,’” he adds, “because it’s really here.” View the full article

U.S. stocks are falling Friday as Wall Street stumbles toward the finish of a fifth straight losing week, which would be its longest such streak in nearly four years. The S&P 500 sank 0.8% in early trading, deepening its losses after falling the day before to its worst drop since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 402 points, or 0.9%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% lower. The losses are a break from Wall Street’s pattern this week, where the U.S. stock market flip-flopped from gains to losses each day as hopes rose and fell about a possible end to the war. Moments after the U.S. stock market finished its dismal Thursday of trading, President Donald The President offered another potential signal for hope. He extended a self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants to April 6 if it doesn’t allow oil tankers to resume their exits from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices pulled back briefly after The President’s announcement in a sign of hope in financial markets that some normalcy may return to the Strait of Hormuz. But oil prices resumed their climb as the sun moved westward from Asia to Europe and back to Wall Street. Despite The President’s second announcement of delay this week, fighting continued in the Middle East. Iran gave no signs of backing down, while Israel threatened to “escalate and expand” its attacks on Iran. “The diplomatic dissonance this week between the U.S. and Iran dismayed investors,” said Doug Beath, global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “By the end of the week, risk appetite could not withstand the fog of war.” “Any further statements by The President about a deal are white noise to the markets,” Jim Bianco, president and macro strategist at Bianco Research, wrote in a social media post. “Only if the IRANIANS say the talks are going well will it impact markets.” The price for a barrel of Brent crude rose 2.2% to $104.15 and is up from roughly $70 before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 3% to $97.28 per barrel. The fear in financial markets is that the war will disrupt the production and transport of oil and natural gas in the Persian Gulf for a long time. It could keep so much oil and gas out of the world’s markets that it sends a punishing wave of inflation through the global economy. Not only would it raise prices for drivers buying gasoline, it could push businesses that use any trucks, ships or planes to move their products to raise their own prices. If the war continues until the end of June, strategists at Macquarie say the price of oil could reach $200 per barrel, which would be a record. Such worries have virtually eliminated hopes among traders that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates this year to boost the economy. While lower rates would help give the job market and prices for investments an upward jolt, they would also risk making inflation worse. Long-term Treasury yields rose even further in the bond market following Friday’s rise for oil prices. The yield for the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.46% from 4.42% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war began. That rise has already sent rates jumping for mortgages and for other loans taken by U.S. households and businesses, slowing the economy. On Wall Street, most stocks fell, including four out of every five in the S&P 500. One of the few stocks to rise was Netflix, which added 0.8% a day after announcing price hikes for its services. In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia. AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed. —Stan Choe, AP Business Writer View the full article

If you only skim the headlines lately, you’d believe “conscious consumerism” is in full retreat, backpedaling to obscurity. ESG has become a political flashpoint. Corporate purpose feels diluted. DEI has been rebranded, softened, or even shelved altogether. Brands, wary of backlash, are pulling back from impact language. And yet, consumers didn’t get the memo. According to our own 2026 Conscious Consumer Report, conducted with our partners Ipsos and Engage for Good, 40% of North American purchases are now influenced by social and environmental considerations, which is up from 38% in last year’s report. That growth struck even during inflation, heightened price sensitivity, and what we’re continuing to see as peak “anti-woke business” rhetoric. So we like to flip this concept on its head. Conscious consumerism isn’t collapsing. It’s normalizing, and it includes Republicans, too. THE MYTH OF THE AFFLUENT LIBERAL SHOPPER Two long-standing assumptions no longer hold. First, higher income no longer predicts ethical purchasing. Sustainable shopping or values-driven purchasing doesn’t map neatly to affluence. In fact, our most engaged segment, Sustainability Stewards, are nearly twice as likely as disengaged shoppers to say price had “much more influence” on their purchasing decisions over the past year. In other words, the most values-driven consumers are also highly price sensitive. Second, this behavior transcends party lines. In the U.S., conscious purchasing is only marginally (2%) more associated with Democrats than Republicans. Values-driven behavior spans the political spectrum. So ultimately, the conscious consumer is not ideological, but rather mainstream. And for brand leaders navigating a polarized market, that should be helpful and clarifying. The claims that resonate most aren’t partisan, they’re actually practical. THE REAL BARRIER: CONFUSION Last year, we identified the biggest obstacle to conscious consumerism: claims confusion. Brands were simply missing the mark. Nearly half of consumers walked away from products with unclear sustainability claims. Among the most conscious shoppers, that number surged to 87%—so much lost opportunity. So this year, we decided to pressure test the claims, by using the drivers and motivations for what actually drives purchase, and a very clear pattern emerged. Consumers favor claims that deliver immediate, personal benefit, or “me now, not we later.” Claims like durability, safety, and ingredient transparency outperformed future-focused or science-heavy sustainability language by 3-4x. When we reframed more abstract claims to make the human benefit explicit (e.g. “Simple, non-toxic ingredients that are better for your health” or “Every purchase feeds your family and a family in need”), purchase motivation increased in 71% of consumables claims and 67% of wearables claims. That’s significant. The largest gains came from claims that previously felt indirect or ideological. Adding clear, everyday language made them tangible. “Fair working conditions” performed better when rewritten as “made by people receiving living wages in safe working conditions,” for example. Ultimately, this approach isn’t about diluting impact. It’s about translating it, and some brands already understand this intuitively. Patagonia leads with durability, i.e. “Built to last, making sustainability synonymous with quality.” Seventh Generation emphasizes products made without harmful chemicals, translating environmental care into family health. Allbirds showcases comfort first, and communicates materials used second. Oatly has a refreshing point-of-view around innovation and trial and error, and is humorous and self-deprecating. These brand examples don’t abandon impact; instead they anchor it in everyday value and humanity. THE CONFIDENCE GAP Interest in corporate impact remains strong. Sixty-two percent of Americans and Canadians say they’re somewhat or very interested in learning about a company’s social and environmental actions, but nearly three in four report low or no trust in business impact communications—that’s a trust gap. When asked which sector has the greatest ability to improve the health of people and the planet, business ranks second behind the government. But when asked which sector they’re most confident will take action, confidence drops significantly. In the U.S., confidence in government falls 24 points between perceived ability and expected action, placing it last among surveyed sectors. Silence from organizations doesn’t ultimately reduce that risk, but rather it amplifies suspicion. Greenhushing reinforces the narrative that responsible business is fading, even when purchasing data says otherwise. This indicates that consumers see potential, but they doubt follow-through. As sustainability and social impact professionals, we know trust isn’t built on promises, but on capability and character: products that deliver what they claim, and companies whose actions align with their words. When that foundation is in place, communication becomes a growth lever versus a liability or weakness. A STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE: FIND YOUR AUDIENCES The findings challenge two dominant narratives we’ve seen: that sustainability is fading as a purchasing driver, and that it only matters to affluent liberals. Conscious consumerism is growing and evolving, having found among audiences long assumed to be disengaged or harder to reach. And the path forward isn’t louder ideology but clear, more cogent strategy. Who should brands target? Everyone. What should they say? Lead with immediate human benefit. Where should they say it? In decision-making moments, where clarity drives conversion and credibility builds trust. The backlash narrative may be loud, but the actions and behavior couldn’t be clearer. Brands that are able to translate impact into everyday value, and prove it, won’t just weather this moment, they’ll grow and ultimately thrive because of it. Phil Haid is founder and CEO, Public Inc. View the full article

Just six weeks after launching its ad pilot, OpenAI has hit a significant milestone — and the platform is still in its early stages of rollout. The numbers. Over $100 million in annualized ad revenue, generated from less than 20% of eligible US free and Go tier users seeing ads daily Around 85% of Free and Go users are eligible to see ads — meaning the current revenue represents a fraction of the platform’s eventual ad capacity More than 600 advertisers are now on the platform What’s coming next. Self-serve advertiser access is on track to launch in April Geographic expansion into Canada, Australia, and New Zealand is being explored OpenAI has hired former Meta ad executive Dave Dugan to lead ad sales Why we care. ChatGPT’s ad business has scaled to $100 million in annualized revenue in just six weeks — and that’s from less than 20% of eligible users seeing ads today, meaning the inventory is about to get significantly larger. Self-serve access launching in April is the moment this becomes accessible to the broader advertiser market, not just the 600+ brands currently in the managed pilot. Getting in early, before competition drives up costs, is the same playbook that rewarded early movers in search and social advertising. The quality picture. OpenAI says fewer than 7% of ads are rated by users as “low relevance” — a metric the company says they are actively focused on improving alongside user trust. The bigger context. Ads are a key part of OpenAI’s path to profitability ahead of an anticipated IPO. Executives have told investors the company expects to generate more than $17 billion from ChatGPT consumers in 2026 — with advertising representing a meaningful slice of revenue from its free user base. The bottom line. $100 million in annualized revenue from less than 20% of eligible users in six weeks is a strong early signal. When self-serve access opens in April and the eligible audience expands, the numbers could scale quickly — and advertisers who have been waiting on the sidelines may soon find the platform harder to ignore. View the full article

OpenAI have been pumping out the ads ads for free-tier ChatGPT users in the US for over a month now, and early testing suggests they’re more frequent and more targeted than many users might expect. How often they appear. In a test of 500 questions across the mobile app, roughly one in five questions in a new conversation thread triggered an ad at the bottom of ChatGPT’s response — always as a website link button, always tailored to the topic of the question. What kind of ads appeared. The range was broad — dog food, hotel bookings, productivity software, cruise vacations, streaming services, corporate credit cards, AI coding tools, and basketball tickets, among others. Travel questions triggered ads most frequently; asking for help planning a trip to Palm Springs surfaced a Booking.com ad that automatically searched for hotels in that location. The “poaching” dynamic. When a question mentioned a brand by name — DoorDash or Netflix, for example — the ad that appeared was sometimes for a direct competitor. Marketing professors describe this as a longtime staple of digital advertising now migrating to AI. Why we care. ChatGPT ads are appearing roughly once every five questions on the free tier, with targeting based on conversation topic and memory — making it an emerging channel advertisers should monitor, particularly given the “poaching” dynamic that allows brands to appear against competitor mentions, a tactic already proven in search advertising. What OpenAI says. Ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers Full conversation content is not shared with advertisers Ad targeting is based on question topic, past chats, and whatever ChatGPT has stored in memory about the user Early signals show low ad dismissal rates and no impact on consumer trust metrics The irony. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called ads “a last resort” in 2024, saying the mix of “ads plus AI is sort of uniquely unsettling.” The company is now expanding the rollout to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand after its US pilot. The big picture. Neither Google’s Gemini nor Anthropic’s Claude currently features sponsored ad buttons in outputs — though Google has said it’s not ruling it out. OpenAI is essentially pioneering a new ad format, and how it handles the balance between monetisation and user trust will shape whether AI advertising becomes a lasting industry or a cautionary tale. Spotted. Digital marketer Glenn Gabe, shared on X how the ads are showing on mobile and confirmed it isn’t showing on Plus accounts. The bottom line. For advertisers, ChatGPT’s ad inventory is becoming real, even though there is still a long way to go to prove ROI. However the platform’s credibility depends entirely on whether users feel the ads are eroding the experience. That’s a tension worth watching closely as the rollout scales. Dig deeper. I Asked ChatGPT 500 Questions. Here Are the Ads I Saw Most Often – Wired (subscription needed). View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you have some spring chores to tackle in your yard, a good set of cordless outdoor tools can save you time—but cordless outdoor tools can also be expensive. Cordless lawn and gardening tools use high-capacity batteries, which can cause a steep increase in price. Amazon has some Big Spring Deals on landscaping tools that can save you up to 62% off on the equipment you need to tackle your spring to-do list. This 24-volt chainsaw is 35% offIf you need to trim a tree or clean up fallen branches, a chainsaw can speed up the process. Although most battery-operated chainsaws aren’t quite as powerful as traditional gas-powered ones, a good quality battery can give you enough power for most things you would use a chainsaw for in your yard. The Greenworks 24-volt, 10-inch chainsaw is on sale for $97.99, down from 149.99. The saw comes with a 24-volt, two-amp-hour battery and a charger as well. Greenworks 24V 10" Cordless Compact Chainsaw (Great For Storm Clean-Up, Pruning, and Firewood), 2.0Ah Battery and Charger Included $97.99 at Amazon $149.99 Save $52.00 Get Deal Get Deal $97.99 at Amazon $149.99 Save $52.00 These 40-volt tool deals are perfect for most yards Whacking weeds is a big part of keeping your yard look manicured, especially in springtime. Getting a trimmer that lasts long enough to get some work done can be expensive, so a 40-volt, two-amp-hour battery is a good investment to avoid running back to the charger every few minutes. The Greenworks 40-volt, 12-inch string trimmer and 390 CFM leaf blower combo is on sale for $124.99, down from 189.99. This combo comes with a 40-volt, two-amp-hour battery and a charger. It’s rated to work at maximum capacity for at least an hour and can be used on about a third of an acre per charge. Greenworks 40-volt, 12-inch string trimmer and leaf blower combo $124.99 at Amazon $189.99 Save $65.00 Get Deal Get Deal $124.99 at Amazon $189.99 Save $65.00 The Greenworks 40-volt, eight-inch cordless edger is on sale for $190.95, 36% off its regular price. The edger tool comes with a 40-volt, four-amp-hour battery that you’ll be able to use right out of the box. The edger is rated to tackle about one mile of edging and can run for at least an hour before needing a charge. A spare Greenworks 40-volt, two-amp-hour battery is on sale for $49, 62% off its regular price. If you already have a Greenworks set of 40-volt tools, this battery is compatible with those sets. Having at least two batteries allows you to charge one battery while you’re using the other so you don’t need to wait for a fresh battery. This is a battery-only deal, so you’ll need a Greenworks 40-volt charger to use it. If you have a larger yard, check out this 60-volt tool setIf you have a larger yard, it might take more than an hour to trim. A 60-volt battery will give you a little more power and run-time so you can get more done between battery swaps. The Greenworks 60-volt yard tool combo set is on sale for $209, 34% off its regular price. It comes with a 13-inch string trimmer, a 540 CFM leaf blower, a 60-volt, four-amp-hour battery, and a charger. The set can run for 90 minutes and the string trimmer can trim about two miles worth of weeds on a single charge. Our Best Editor-Vetted Amazon Big Spring Sale Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Sony WH1000XM6- Best Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $398.00 (List Price $459.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $35.99 (List Price $69.99) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote — $34.99 (List Price $59.99) Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16GB 7" eReader (Black) — $169.99 (List Price $249.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Allan Leighton rejects chancellor’s assertion that petrol retailers are price gouging as store chain’s profits sinkView the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

You know SEO improves traffic, authority, and trust. What we don’t talk about enough is how a strong SEO foundation can help other channels, including PPC. This practical case study will show you how performance marketing scales in a high-consideration B2B medical device market and how getting SEO fundamentals firmly in place enables paid media to deliver at scale. B2B medical device marketing breaks most performance playbooks Marketing a premium pelvic floor chair has little in common with selling SaaS tools or consumer products. This is a high-ticket medical device with a long sales cycle and a strong reliance on medical expertise. Buyers include doctors, fitness centers, physiotherapists, urologists, and gynecologists. They ask detailed questions and have high expectations around clinical evidence, credibility, and long-term value. In markets like this, many common performance tactics fail quickly. Increasing bids, expanding keyword coverage, or testing endless landing page variants doesn’t compensate for a lack of credibility and topical authority. If potential buyers don’t trust the provider behind the product, no amount of optimization will create sustainable results. That was exactly the situation we faced at the outset of this project. Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with Starting point: Paid media with limited topical authority At the end of 2023, we launched our first Google Ads lead generation campaigns. At that stage: The website wasn’t optimized to modern SEO standards and lacked topical authority. Conversion tracking was limited, which meant conversions were often attributed to the direct channel. There were no clearly defined Google Tag Manager (GTM) events in place. Conversions imported from GA4 meant delayed signals and limited usefulness for bidding algorithms. Sales were happening, but primarily driven by word of mouth rather than by clearly attributable digital touchpoints. Still, those early campaigns revealed something valuable. We began seeing our first sales coming through paid search. That wasn’t enough to scale, but it confirmed that search demand existed and could convert once the surrounding system improved. Dig deeper: How to run compliant, effective medical and mental health ads The turning point: Treating SEO as revenue infrastructure In mid-2024, we made a deliberate shift, treating SEO as revenue infrastructure instead of a secondary task or a nice-to-have initiative. Rather than focusing on quick ranking wins, the goal became building topical authority in pelvic health and creating the trust layer that paid media depends on, especially in medical markets. The emphasis was intentionally top-of-funnel. The keyword and content strategy focused on education. We: Mapped the full informational landscape around pelvic health, pelvic floor therapy, and non-invasive treatment options using Semrush. Focused on the questions patients actually ask, explanations of treatment mechanisms, and comparisons between different therapeutic approaches. The content avoided aggressive selling and instead aimed to educate clearly and responsibly. Invested in long-form articles with structured sections, FAQ elements, and embedded videos featuring our physiotherapists. The objective was to build a credible resource that users and search engines would trust over time. Semrush Position Tracking development Authority building through medical partnerships Our most impactful SEO lever was authority and link building. The brand already worked closely with clinics and medical professionals who used the pelvic floor chair in their practices. Instead of relying on traditional outreach or guest posting, we developed a partner-driven backlink strategy. We provided clinics using our chair with free, ready-to-use content ranging from performance campaign visuals (B2C lead generation) to educational materials and clinical studies on the effectiveness of the technology. In return, the clinics linked to our website from their dedicated product pages, using the content we supplied and creating natural, relevant references. These weren’t generic backlinks. They came from trusted medical domains, embedded in highly relevant content, and aligned closely with how Google evaluates expertise and trust in healthcare contexts. Over time, this resulted in steady growth in referring domains and a significant increase in topical authority. As the network graph from our Semrush backlink analysis shows, our strongest referring pages have high authority scores. Semrush Network Graph for backlink analysis They originate primarily from fitness studios, physiotherapy practices, and medical clinics. These relationships position the brand at the center of a tightly connected backlink network, reinforcing topical relevance and trust within the healthcare and wellness ecosystem. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. SEO outcomes that changed everything By late 2024, the impact was clearly visible. The website ranked number one for the most important generic keywords, such as “Beckenbodenstuhl” (German for pelvic floor chair), and gained visibility across a broad range of related queries. More importantly, organic visibility began shaping brand perception. Prospects encountered the brand repeatedly during their research phase, often through AI Overviews, long before ever clicking on an ad. SEO has effectively become a trust engine. Semrush Rankings Overview Dig deeper: 75% of ChatGPT users rely on ‘keywords’ for local services: New data How organic dominance reshaped Google Ads performance This is where paid media behavior started to change. A strong organic presence does more than drive unpaid traffic. It changes how users respond to ads. When people already recognize a brand from their organic research, paid listings feel familiar and credible rather than intrusive. This is especially true with AI Overviews, where we held top rankings for the most important generic keywords related to our product. This effect became especially clear in competitor campaigns. Users searching for alternative pelvic floor solutions clicked on our ads because we were a brand they had already encountered organically, and click-through rates reflected that trust. With authority finally established, we restructured our Google Ads campaigns by: Focusing on exact match keywords for core intent. Clearly separating brand, generic, and competitor campaigns. Bidding aggressively on competitor terms. This was only possible because landing pages aligned perfectly with user intent and the brand already carried organic credibility. In several competitor campaigns (competitor names are blurred out), click-through rates reached an astonishing average of 48.29%. In isolation, those numbers might seem unrealistic. In context, they were the natural result of strong organic preconditioning, with AI Overviews playing a major role, and the brand recognition we built through consistent visibility. Fixing the signal: GTM events and CRM feedback loops Another major improvement came from conversion tracking. We moved away from GA4-imported conversions and implemented GTM-native events designed specifically around meaningful lead actions. This provided Google Ads with faster, cleaner signals and significantly improved Smart Bidding performance. In high-ticket B2B and medical markets, signal quality matters far more than volume, and optimizing toward the wrong conversion can do more harm than not optimizing at all. The final step was closing the loop between marketing and sales. By integrating HubSpot CRM, we tracked lead quality beyond form submissions and identified which leads actually converted into revenue. That information was fed back into Google Ads, allowing the algorithm to optimize toward outcomes that truly mattered, not just surface-level conversions. In long sales cycles, this feedback loop is essential. Dig deeper: A guide to Google Ads for regulated and sensitive categories The results With approximately $12,000 in total ad spend in 2025, the combined SEO and PPC system delivered strong year-over-year growth. Unit sales driven by SEO and PPC increased by 140% from 2023 to 2024, followed by a further 79% increase in 2025. Across the full two-year period, this represented more than a fourfold increase in sales volume, with digital marketing playing a central role in influencing revenue throughout a long and complex buying cycle. This translated into a return on ad spend of approximately 133x, underscoring the compounding effect of aligning organic visibility, paid media, and clean conversion data. See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with What actually made PPC scale: Trust, signals, and SEO The biggest takeaway for us was that SEO shouldn’t be viewed solely as a traffic channel. It has a direct impact on the quality of signals fed into paid media platforms, and those signals ultimately determine how well algorithms can optimize. Paid search only begins to scale once a foundation of trust is in place. In categories where consideration cycles are long and credibility matters, ads perform much better when users already recognize the brand and perceive it as an authority in the field. Sustainable, high ROAS is rarely the result of a single optimization. It’s built through interconnected systems that align SEO, paid media, tracking, and CRM feedback regarding lead quality. Performance marketing itself doesn’t fail in complex markets. What fails is the assumption that complexity can be solved with simple tactics. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you want a high-quality OLED TV for gaming and movies but the options you’ve been seeing online are out of your price range (they often easily surpass the $1,000 mark), the 55-inch Samsung S85F OLED TV checks most of the necessary boxes and is currently down to $897.99 (originally $1,397.99) thanks to a 36% discount during the Amazon Big Spring Sale. Samsung S85F OLED TV $897.99 at Amazon $1,397.99 Save $500.00 Get Deal Get Deal $897.99 at Amazon $1,397.99 Save $500.00 Despite being labeled an entry-level OLED TV, the picture quality is still impressive, with not just strong HDR performance, color accuracy, and near-infinite contrast, but also perfect blacks and refined shadow detail. That means you’ll get better bang for your buck during dark scenes than you will with LED/QLED displays. The S85F has a very wide viewing angle, allowing for a consistent image from all sides. It uses an AI Gen2 processor and has AI-based enhancements, including 4K AI Upscaling and Real Depth Enhancer, and runs on the Tizen 9.0 smart TV platform. It’s also an underrated choice for gamers that rivals the best gaming TVs, with a highly responsive 9.4ms input lag. It has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 120Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium, Nvidia G-Sync, ALLM, and HDR10+ gaming, as well as Motion Xcelerator tech to reduce blur in fast scenes and an AI Auto Game Mode to optimize settings. Plus, the Samsung Gaming Hub offers extra perks, including access to a wide range of cloud gaming apps. The two 2-channel, 20W speakers give users decent bass and clear dialogue, but they're not home theater-level. While it may not be the absolute brightest OLED on the market or have top-of-the-line built-in audio, the 55-inch Samsung S85F OLED TV still offers great value and makes a strong choice for gaming and movies, especially at a sub-$900 price point, which is more than fair for an OLED from a top brand. If you want the best of the best, you can upgrade to a model like the S95, but it’ll come with a hefty price bump. For most people, a middle-ground OLED like the S85F is a solid choice. Our Best Editor-Vetted Amazon Big Spring Sale Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Sony WH1000XM6- Best Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $398.00 (List Price $459.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $35.99 (List Price $69.99) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote — $34.99 (List Price $59.99) Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16GB 7" eReader (Black) — $169.99 (List Price $249.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Move marks escalation in tensions in run-up to much-anticipated May summit in Beijing View the full article

Managing customer service operations effectively requires a strategic approach that prioritizes several key elements. Personalization of the customer experience is vital, as it builds loyalty and satisfaction. Moreover, providing multichannel support improves accessibility. Empowering your team with ongoing training and knowledge management tools is fundamental for effective service delivery. By continuously evaluating performance metrics, you can identify areas for improvement. Comprehending these strategies can greatly influence your customer service success. What are the specific tactics you could implement? Key Takeaways Personalize customer interactions using data analytics to enhance satisfaction and loyalty. Implement multichannel support to allow customers to engage through their preferred platforms. Empower your customer service team with knowledge management tools for quicker issue resolution. Actively gather and analyze customer feedback to identify improvement areas and build loyalty. Continuously evaluate performance metrics and invest in training to enhance service quality. Personalize the Customer Experience To improve customer service, personalizing the customer experience is essential, as it directly addresses individual needs and preferences. With 81% of customers preferring personalized experiences, comprehending their unique requirements is fundamental for effective customer service operations. By utilizing data analytics and CRM systems, you can track and analyze customer behavior, leading to a 47% increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty. Access to customer history during interactions allows you to customize your support, enhancing the overall experience. Implementing AI and machine learning technologies can further deepen your insights into customer preferences, enabling more effective personalized recommendations. These customized interactions not just boost satisfaction but additionally encourage repeat business and positive referrals. In your customer ops, focusing on personalization guarantees that every interaction feels relevant and valuable, greatly improving customer relationships and driving long-term success. Provide Multichannel Support Offering multichannel support is crucial for modern customer service, as it enables customers to interact through their preferred platforms, whether that’s phone, email, live chat, or social media. By implementing strong omnichannel strategies, you can retain up to 89% of customers, compared to only 33% with less effective methods. This highlights the importance of accessible communication channels in managing customer service operations effectively. Integrating CRM systems like Zendesk or HubSpot helps synchronize customer information across all channels, ensuring consistency and efficiency in communication. Effective multichannel support also improves customer satisfaction by allowing seamless shifts between interactions, reducing frustration. In addition, utilizing customer analytics across various channels enables you to understand customer behavior and preferences better, leading to more personalized interactions and increased loyalty. Empower Your Customer Service Team Providing multichannel support lays the groundwork for an effective customer service experience, but empowering your customer service team is equally important. To achieve this, make certain your agents have access to thorough knowledge management systems. This access lets them swiftly find the necessary information to resolve customer queries effectively. Information sharing and establishing best practices within your team promote consistent responses, which can boost customer satisfaction levels markedly. Utilizing enterprise search tools can streamline information retrieval, reducing resolution times and enhancing the overall efficiency of customer interactions. When your team feels empowered, they’re more equipped to address issues without delay, leading to higher customer satisfaction. Furthermore, offering regular training and upskilling opportunities increases your representatives’ confidence and competence. This not just improves service delivery but also raises team morale. Act on Customer Feedback Acting on customer feedback is vital for any business aiming to improve its customer service experience. Actively seeking and addressing feedback not just boosts your brand loyalty, but statistics show that 83% of customers feel more loyal to brands that effectively respond to complaints. Utilizing tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms allows you to gather actionable insights, which can inform necessary service improvements. Regularly analyzing this feedback helps you identify patterns, leading to targeted upgrades in your customer service strategies and operations. Engaging customers in the feedback process cultivates a sense of value and partnership, enabling you to better understand their needs and expectations. Implementing structured approaches for collecting and reviewing feedback guarantees that these valuable insights are consistently integrated into your service improvement plans. Develop Effective Communication Skills Customer feedback is an invaluable resource for refining service strategies, but it’s only part of the equation. Developing effective communication skills is crucial for outstanding customer service. Here are three key strategies to improve your communication: Practice Active Listening: Focus on truly grasping customer needs and concerns. This skill helps you respond appropriately, improving satisfaction rates. Engage in Training Programs: Regular training can greatly boost your communication abilities. These programs equip you with techniques to deliver better service and elevate customer experiences. Encourage Consistent Feedback: Regularly seek feedback on your communication style. This will help you adapt to changing customer expectations, ensuring you remain relevant and effective. Set Realistic Customer Expectations Setting realistic customer expectations starts with clear communication channels that keep your customers informed. Consistent messaging across all platforms helps reinforce your commitments, ensuring that customers understand what they can expect from your service. Clear Communication Channels When businesses prioritize clear communication channels, they not just improve customer satisfaction but also set realistic expectations for service delivery. By establishing these channels, you guarantee customers receive timely updates and accurate information. Here are three key strategies: Openly communicate potential delays or limitations to manage expectations effectively and reduce frustration. Regularly update customers on inquiries or service requests through their preferred channels, cultivating transparency and trust. Implement a feedback loop that encourages customers to voice their expectations and concerns, allowing you to adjust your communication strategies. Consistent Messaging Across Platforms Effective communication isn’t just about having clear channels; it’s also about ensuring that the messages delivered through these channels are consistent across all platforms. When customers receive uniform information, regardless of how they engage with your brand, it builds trust and reduces confusion. Companies with strong omnichannel strategies retain 89% of their customers, emphasizing the need for consistency. By setting realistic expectations through clear communication, you improve customer satisfaction, as 80% of customers value their experience as much as the product. Utilizing CRM systems can synchronize your messaging, aligning all representatives with your strategy. This clarity minimizes misunderstandings and service issues, leading to a 10-15% decrease in customer inquiries and complaints, ultimately enhancing your overall service operations. Transparency in Service Limitations Transparency in service limitations is crucial for managing customer expectations effectively. By being upfront about what you can and can’t provide, you can greatly improve customer satisfaction. Here are three key benefits of this approach: Reduces Frustration: Customers appreciate honesty, which can lower dissatisfaction and negative feedback. Builds Trust: Acknowledging limitations cultivates loyalty, as 83% of customers feel more connected to brands that do so. Improves Efficiency: Clear guidelines allow your team to manage workloads better while maintaining quality interactions. Regularly updating customers about service limitations and potential solutions creates a sense of reliability, encouraging their continued engagement. Continuously Evaluate and Improve To improve customer service effectiveness, it’s essential to continuously evaluate and refine your strategies based on real-time data. Regularly collecting and analyzing customer satisfaction scores and feedback helps you pinpoint areas needing improvement. Implement structured feedback systems, like surveys and performance metrics, to guarantee insights are systematically reviewed for ongoing advancements. Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), such as average handle time and ticket resolution rates, gives you measurable benchmarks to assess your service effectiveness. Engaging in ongoing data analysis allows you to identify trends and patterns, enabling proactive adjustments in your operations. Furthermore, continuous training and development initiatives based on evaluated feedback cultivate a culture of improvement and adaptability within your service teams. By committing to this cycle of evaluation and improvement, you can create a more responsive and effective customer service environment, ultimately leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 7 Essentials to Excellent Customer Service? To achieve excellent customer service, focus on seven fundamentals: provide multichannel support, prioritize personalization, empower your team with knowledge tools, actively seek customer feedback, develop effective communication skills, guarantee timely responses, and cultivate a positive service culture. By integrating these elements, you can improve customer satisfaction, build loyalty, and create a seamless experience. What Are the 4 P’s of Service Strategy? The 4 P’s of service strategy are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Product defines the service’s quality and features, ensuring it meets customer expectations. Price involves setting a competitive pricing strategy that reflects the service’s perceived value. Place focuses on how the service is delivered, making it accessible through various channels. Finally, Promotion includes marketing tactics that effectively communicate the service’s benefits, helping attract and retain customers in a competitive market. What Are the 5 R’s of Customer Service? The 5 R’s of customer service are vital for enhancing customer experiences. First, respect your customers by valuing their time and opinions. Next, be responsive; quick replies can increase the likelihood of repeat business. Reliability is fundamental—consistently meet your promises to build trust. Resourcefulness involves offering creative solutions to problems, ensuring efficiency. Finally, focus on resolution, addressing customer issues effectively to nurture loyalty and satisfaction in your service interactions. What Strategies Have You Used to Ensure Exceptional Customer Service While Managing Day-To-Day Operations? To guarantee exceptional customer service during managing day-to-day operations, you can implement omnichannel support to improve customer retention. Regularly train your team on communication skills to boost performance and satisfaction. Utilize customer feedback systems to adapt strategies, as this cultivates loyalty. Automating routine inquiries can streamline operations, allowing staff to focus on complex issues. Finally, continuously evaluate customer service metrics to refine your approach and drive ongoing improvements in service delivery. Conclusion In summary, managing customer service operations effectively requires a strategic approach that prioritizes personalization, multichannel support, and team empowerment. By actively seeking and acting on customer feedback, developing communication skills, and setting realistic expectations, you can improve customer satisfaction. Regular evaluation and improvement of performance metrics guarantee ongoing success. Implementing these strategies cultivates a responsive environment, ultimately leading to long-term customer loyalty and a more efficient service operation. Stay committed to these principles for best results. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Essential Strategies to Manage Customer Service Operations Effectively" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Use Semrush to turn one topic into a data-backed content pipeline for blog, social, email, and more. View the full article

Managing customer service operations effectively requires a strategic approach that prioritizes several key elements. Personalization of the customer experience is vital, as it builds loyalty and satisfaction. Moreover, providing multichannel support improves accessibility. Empowering your team with ongoing training and knowledge management tools is fundamental for effective service delivery. By continuously evaluating performance metrics, you can identify areas for improvement. Comprehending these strategies can greatly influence your customer service success. What are the specific tactics you could implement? Key Takeaways Personalize customer interactions using data analytics to enhance satisfaction and loyalty. Implement multichannel support to allow customers to engage through their preferred platforms. Empower your customer service team with knowledge management tools for quicker issue resolution. Actively gather and analyze customer feedback to identify improvement areas and build loyalty. Continuously evaluate performance metrics and invest in training to enhance service quality. Personalize the Customer Experience To improve customer service, personalizing the customer experience is essential, as it directly addresses individual needs and preferences. With 81% of customers preferring personalized experiences, comprehending their unique requirements is fundamental for effective customer service operations. By utilizing data analytics and CRM systems, you can track and analyze customer behavior, leading to a 47% increase in customer satisfaction and loyalty. Access to customer history during interactions allows you to customize your support, enhancing the overall experience. Implementing AI and machine learning technologies can further deepen your insights into customer preferences, enabling more effective personalized recommendations. These customized interactions not just boost satisfaction but additionally encourage repeat business and positive referrals. In your customer ops, focusing on personalization guarantees that every interaction feels relevant and valuable, greatly improving customer relationships and driving long-term success. Provide Multichannel Support Offering multichannel support is crucial for modern customer service, as it enables customers to interact through their preferred platforms, whether that’s phone, email, live chat, or social media. By implementing strong omnichannel strategies, you can retain up to 89% of customers, compared to only 33% with less effective methods. This highlights the importance of accessible communication channels in managing customer service operations effectively. Integrating CRM systems like Zendesk or HubSpot helps synchronize customer information across all channels, ensuring consistency and efficiency in communication. Effective multichannel support also improves customer satisfaction by allowing seamless shifts between interactions, reducing frustration. In addition, utilizing customer analytics across various channels enables you to understand customer behavior and preferences better, leading to more personalized interactions and increased loyalty. Empower Your Customer Service Team Providing multichannel support lays the groundwork for an effective customer service experience, but empowering your customer service team is equally important. To achieve this, make certain your agents have access to thorough knowledge management systems. This access lets them swiftly find the necessary information to resolve customer queries effectively. Information sharing and establishing best practices within your team promote consistent responses, which can boost customer satisfaction levels markedly. Utilizing enterprise search tools can streamline information retrieval, reducing resolution times and enhancing the overall efficiency of customer interactions. When your team feels empowered, they’re more equipped to address issues without delay, leading to higher customer satisfaction. Furthermore, offering regular training and upskilling opportunities increases your representatives’ confidence and competence. This not just improves service delivery but also raises team morale. Act on Customer Feedback Acting on customer feedback is vital for any business aiming to improve its customer service experience. Actively seeking and addressing feedback not just boosts your brand loyalty, but statistics show that 83% of customers feel more loyal to brands that effectively respond to complaints. Utilizing tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms allows you to gather actionable insights, which can inform necessary service improvements. Regularly analyzing this feedback helps you identify patterns, leading to targeted upgrades in your customer service strategies and operations. Engaging customers in the feedback process cultivates a sense of value and partnership, enabling you to better understand their needs and expectations. Implementing structured approaches for collecting and reviewing feedback guarantees that these valuable insights are consistently integrated into your service improvement plans. Develop Effective Communication Skills Customer feedback is an invaluable resource for refining service strategies, but it’s only part of the equation. Developing effective communication skills is crucial for outstanding customer service. Here are three key strategies to improve your communication: Practice Active Listening: Focus on truly grasping customer needs and concerns. This skill helps you respond appropriately, improving satisfaction rates. Engage in Training Programs: Regular training can greatly boost your communication abilities. These programs equip you with techniques to deliver better service and elevate customer experiences. Encourage Consistent Feedback: Regularly seek feedback on your communication style. This will help you adapt to changing customer expectations, ensuring you remain relevant and effective. Set Realistic Customer Expectations Setting realistic customer expectations starts with clear communication channels that keep your customers informed. Consistent messaging across all platforms helps reinforce your commitments, ensuring that customers understand what they can expect from your service. Clear Communication Channels When businesses prioritize clear communication channels, they not just improve customer satisfaction but also set realistic expectations for service delivery. By establishing these channels, you guarantee customers receive timely updates and accurate information. Here are three key strategies: Openly communicate potential delays or limitations to manage expectations effectively and reduce frustration. Regularly update customers on inquiries or service requests through their preferred channels, cultivating transparency and trust. Implement a feedback loop that encourages customers to voice their expectations and concerns, allowing you to adjust your communication strategies. Consistent Messaging Across Platforms Effective communication isn’t just about having clear channels; it’s also about ensuring that the messages delivered through these channels are consistent across all platforms. When customers receive uniform information, regardless of how they engage with your brand, it builds trust and reduces confusion. Companies with strong omnichannel strategies retain 89% of their customers, emphasizing the need for consistency. By setting realistic expectations through clear communication, you improve customer satisfaction, as 80% of customers value their experience as much as the product. Utilizing CRM systems can synchronize your messaging, aligning all representatives with your strategy. This clarity minimizes misunderstandings and service issues, leading to a 10-15% decrease in customer inquiries and complaints, ultimately enhancing your overall service operations. Transparency in Service Limitations Transparency in service limitations is crucial for managing customer expectations effectively. By being upfront about what you can and can’t provide, you can greatly improve customer satisfaction. Here are three key benefits of this approach: Reduces Frustration: Customers appreciate honesty, which can lower dissatisfaction and negative feedback. Builds Trust: Acknowledging limitations cultivates loyalty, as 83% of customers feel more connected to brands that do so. Improves Efficiency: Clear guidelines allow your team to manage workloads better while maintaining quality interactions. Regularly updating customers about service limitations and potential solutions creates a sense of reliability, encouraging their continued engagement. Continuously Evaluate and Improve To improve customer service effectiveness, it’s essential to continuously evaluate and refine your strategies based on real-time data. Regularly collecting and analyzing customer satisfaction scores and feedback helps you pinpoint areas needing improvement. Implement structured feedback systems, like surveys and performance metrics, to guarantee insights are systematically reviewed for ongoing advancements. Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), such as average handle time and ticket resolution rates, gives you measurable benchmarks to assess your service effectiveness. Engaging in ongoing data analysis allows you to identify trends and patterns, enabling proactive adjustments in your operations. Furthermore, continuous training and development initiatives based on evaluated feedback cultivate a culture of improvement and adaptability within your service teams. By committing to this cycle of evaluation and improvement, you can create a more responsive and effective customer service environment, ultimately leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 7 Essentials to Excellent Customer Service? To achieve excellent customer service, focus on seven fundamentals: provide multichannel support, prioritize personalization, empower your team with knowledge tools, actively seek customer feedback, develop effective communication skills, guarantee timely responses, and cultivate a positive service culture. By integrating these elements, you can improve customer satisfaction, build loyalty, and create a seamless experience. What Are the 4 P’s of Service Strategy? The 4 P’s of service strategy are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Product defines the service’s quality and features, ensuring it meets customer expectations. Price involves setting a competitive pricing strategy that reflects the service’s perceived value. Place focuses on how the service is delivered, making it accessible through various channels. Finally, Promotion includes marketing tactics that effectively communicate the service’s benefits, helping attract and retain customers in a competitive market. What Are the 5 R’s of Customer Service? The 5 R’s of customer service are vital for enhancing customer experiences. First, respect your customers by valuing their time and opinions. Next, be responsive; quick replies can increase the likelihood of repeat business. Reliability is fundamental—consistently meet your promises to build trust. Resourcefulness involves offering creative solutions to problems, ensuring efficiency. Finally, focus on resolution, addressing customer issues effectively to nurture loyalty and satisfaction in your service interactions. What Strategies Have You Used to Ensure Exceptional Customer Service While Managing Day-To-Day Operations? To guarantee exceptional customer service during managing day-to-day operations, you can implement omnichannel support to improve customer retention. Regularly train your team on communication skills to boost performance and satisfaction. Utilize customer feedback systems to adapt strategies, as this cultivates loyalty. Automating routine inquiries can streamline operations, allowing staff to focus on complex issues. Finally, continuously evaluate customer service metrics to refine your approach and drive ongoing improvements in service delivery. Conclusion In summary, managing customer service operations effectively requires a strategic approach that prioritizes personalization, multichannel support, and team empowerment. By actively seeking and acting on customer feedback, developing communication skills, and setting realistic expectations, you can improve customer satisfaction. Regular evaluation and improvement of performance metrics guarantee ongoing success. Implementing these strategies cultivates a responsive environment, ultimately leading to long-term customer loyalty and a more efficient service operation. Stay committed to these principles for best results. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Essential Strategies to Manage Customer Service Operations Effectively" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Traditional 60-40 portfolio of global equities and fixed income on course for worst month since 2022View the full article

Learn how the agentic web is transforming search into AI-driven action, and why SEOs must adapt beyond traditional optimization. The post Why Google’s New “Google-Agent” Is The Biggest Mindset Shift In SEO History appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is underway, and one of the more practical big-ticket deals right now is on the Anker Solix F2000 Portable Power Station. It’s down to $799.99 (from $1,999), which is about 60% off and the lowest price tracked so far, according to price tracking tools like Keepa. That kind of drop makes this a very different conversation. At full price, it’s a niche buy. At this price, it starts to feel like a realistic backup option for homes, road trips, or anyone who deals with frequent power cuts and wants something more reliable than a basic inverter setup. Anker Solix F2000 Portable Power Station Backup power for home use, outdoor camping or RVs $799.99 at Amazon $1,999.00 Save $1,199.01 Get Deal Get Deal $799.99 at Amazon $1,999.00 Save $1,199.01 The F2000 is built around a 2,048Wh battery and a 2,300W AC output. In real terms, that’s enough to run a dishwasher through a full cycle or keep essentials like a fridge, lights, and a few devices going during a blackout. It can also handle heavier appliances like a washing machine or oven, just not all at once, since that 2,300W is shared across its three AC outlets. You also get a mix of ports that cover most setups: three AC sockets, three USB-C ports with up to 100W output for laptops, two USB-A ports, and car-style outlets. Plus, there’s a screen that gives you a clear read on battery levels, power usage, and time estimates, and the companion app adds extra control like switching ports on or off and monitoring battery temperature. Charging is flexible, too. You can plug it into a wall for a full recharge in a little over an hour, use a car adapter, or connect up to 1,000W of solar panels (sold separately) for off-grid use. If you want more runtime, there’s also an optional expansion battery that doubles the capacity to 4,048Wh, though the output stays the same at 2,300W. It’s currently bundled with the F2000 for $1,498.99, down from $2999. The main downside here is size and weight. Even with wheels and a telescopic handle, this is not something you casually move around. Our Best Editor-Vetted Amazon Big Spring Sale Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Sony WH1000XM6- Best Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $398.00 (List Price $459.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $35.99 (List Price $69.99) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote — $34.99 (List Price $59.99) Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16GB 7" eReader (Black) — $169.99 (List Price $249.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

The Senate early Friday morning approved Homeland Security funds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and most other agencies, but not the immigration enforcement operations at the heart of the budget impasse that has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers. The deal, which the Senate approved unanimously without a roll call, next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday. “We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again and then we’ll go from there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “Obviously, we’ll still have some work ahead of us.” With pressure mounting to resolve the 42-day stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the endgame emerged in the final hours before TSA workers miss another paycheck Friday. President Donald The President said he would sign an order to immediately pay the TSA agents, saying he wanted to quickly stop the “Chaos at the Airports.” The deal did not include any of the restraints Democrats have demanded as they sought to rein in The President’s mass deportation agenda. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the outcome could have been reached weeks ago, and vowed that his party would continue fighting to ensure The President’s “rogue” immigration operation “does not get more funding without serious reform.” What’s in and out of the funding package Senators worked through the night on the deal that would fund much of the rest of the department, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and TSA, but without funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Customs was funded, but Border Protection was not. The package puts no new limits on immigration enforcement, which has remained largely uninterrupted by the shutdown. The GOP’s big tax cuts bill that The President signed into law last year funneled billions in extra funds to DHS, including $75 billion for ICE operations, ensuring the immigration officers are still being paid despite the lapse. Next steps in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., holds a slim majority, are uncertain. Passage will almost certainly require bipartisan support, as lawmakers on the left and right flanks revolt. Conservative Republicans have panned their own party’s proposals, demanding full funding for immigration operations. Many have vowed to ensure ICE has the resources it needs in the next budget package to carry out The President’s agenda. “We will fully fund ICE. That is what this fight is about,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said as he tried to offer legislation to fund the agency. “The border is closing. The next task is deportation.” On-again, off-again talks collapsed Earlier Thursday, Thune announced he had given a “last and final” offer to the Democrats. But as the day dragged on, action stalled out. Democrats argued the GOP proposals have not gone far enough at putting guardrails on officers from ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and other federal agencies who are engaged in the immigration sweeps, particularly after the deaths of two Americans protesting the actions in Minneapolis. They want federal agents to wear identification, remove their face masks and refrain from conducting raids around schools, churches or other sensitive places. Democrats have also pushed for an end of administrative warrants, insisting that judges sign off before agents search people’s homes or private spaces — something new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said he is open to considering. The President had largely left the issue to Congress, but warned he was ready to take action, threatening to send the National Guard to airports in addition to his deployment of ICE agents who are now checking travelers’ IDs. The White House had floated the extraordinary move of invoking a national emergency to pay the TSA agents, a politically and legally fraught approach. Instead, The President’s order would pay TSA agents using money from his 2025 tax bill, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly. If the Senate package is approved by the House and signed it into law, the action The President announced to pay TSA agents may be temporary or unneeded. Airport lines grow as TSA workers endure hardships The funding shutdown has resulted in travel delays and even warnings of airport closures as TSA workers missing paychecks stop coming to work. Multiple airports are experiencing greater than 40% callout rates of TSA workers and nearly 500 of the agency’s nearly 50,000 transportation security officers have quit during the shutdown. Nationwide on Wednesday, more than 11% of the TSA employees on the schedule missed work, according to DHS. That is more than 3,120 callouts. Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the union is grateful the TSA workers will be paid, but said Congress must stay in session to pass a deal “that funds DHS, pays all DHS workers, and keeps these vital agencies running.” At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Melissa Gates said she would not make her flight to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after waiting more than 2½ hours and still not reaching the security checkpoint. She said no other flights were available until Friday. “I should have just driven, right?” Gates said. “Five hours would have been hilarious next to this.” Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti, Kevin Freking, Rebecca Santana, Collin Binkley and Ben Finley, Lekan Oyekanmi, Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Rio Yamat, Russ Bynum, and Gabriela Aoun Angueira contributed to this report. —Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press View the full article

With some of the largest and most influential tech giants planning to go public this year, 2026 is shaping up to be the year of the mega IPO. Stock listings from OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX could all potentially happen in 2026, and it is the latter that may make its market debut first. Here’s the latest on the potential initial public offering from Elon Musk’s space-tech company: When is SpaceX’s IPO? For some time, investors have expected, or at least speculated, that Elon Musk’s rocket and space technology company, SpaceX, would go public sometime in 2026. And it looks like that may finally be happening. Citing anonymous sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX is expected to confidentially file its IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “in coming days.” That means the company’s confidential IPO filing is likely to happen sometime between today and next week. The public IPO filing usually happens about eight weeks after the private one. Of course, the actual SpaceX IPO wouldn’t occur until after both the confidential and public filings. If the standard eight-week timeline holds for public filings, that means SpaceX’s public filing will likely take place sometime in late May or early June. And that June timeframe lines up nicely with WSJ reporting that says SpaceX’s IPO could happen sometime that month. Indeed, the Journal says that SpaceX’s IPO is being timed for mid-June, before Elon Musk’s birthday, which is on Sunday, June 28. He will turn 55 this year. Retail investors may get a bigger slice of the SpaceX IPO pie Historically, when companies go public, very few shares are allocated to so-called retail investors—individuals like you and me. At most, about 10% of a company’s shares are available to retail investors during an IPO, with the remainder earmarked for institutional investors. Yet that’s not expected to be the case for the SpaceX IPO. As reported by Reuters yesterday, Elon Musk is considering allocating as much as 30% of SpaceX’s IPO shares to retail investors. The move is reportedly being considered in part to help reward the loyalty of Musk’s ardent fanbase. The Reuters story cites an unnamed source. This potential retail allocation also stands to benefit Musk and SpaceX. The large retail allocation could help drive hype for SpaceX stock among the masses, leading to a spike in shares on the company’s IPO day as more mom-and-pop investors rush to snap up SpaceX stock. As more retail investors buy in, the price would rise, and since Musk is the largest SpaceX shareholder, his net worth would rise in sync, helping him toward one of his likely goals: becoming the first individual trillionaire in history. Fast Company reached out to SpaceX for comment. What is SpaceX’s IPO share price? As of now, it’s not known what SpaceX’s IPO share price will be, nor how many shares will be made available. How much will SpaceX raise in its IPO? That’s yet to be decided. But the Wall Street Journal reports that SpaceX is looking to raise anywhere from $40 billion to $80 billion in its initial public offering. If it were to achieve even the low end of that range, it would make SpaceX’s IPO the biggest in history. That current title is held by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), which raised over $29 billion in its 2019 IPO. What is SpaceX’s stock ticker? It’s unknown what SpaceX’s stock ticker will be. Right now, the ticker “SPAX.PVT” is used to track the private company on financial sites like Yahoo Finance. However, that’s no guarantee that SpaceX will decide to use the “SPAX” ticker. Which exchange will SpaceX trade on? It’s likely that SpaceX will trade on the Nasdaq. This is likely for a few reasons. First, the Nasdaq is already the home to the largest technology companies, including Apple, Google, Meta, and Nvidia Second, the Nasdaq is also already home to Elon Musk’s other publicly traded company, Tesla. Given these factors, many expect Nasdaq to be the home of SpaceX shares. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Hisense’s mid-range TVs tend to land in that sweet spot of good features at a not-astronomical price. That certainly describes the 2025 U7 Series right now, as the 65-inch model is discounted by $800 at Best Buy, dropping to just $699. It's one of Lifehacker's picks for the best 65-inch TVs in 2026, especially at this price. The sale price is good through April 19, and Best Buy is sweetening the deal with a discount on mounting and free haul-away for members, which will make upgrading your older TV a bit less of a chore. 65-inch Hisense 65U75QG TV MiniLED Smart 4K TV (2025) $699.00 at Best Buy $1,499.00 Save $800.00 Get Deal Get Deal $699.00 at Best Buy $1,499.00 Save $800.00 The Mini-LED backlighting and QLED panel of the 65U75QG deliver deep blacks with minimal blooming, and displays punchy HDR content with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+, so watching movies or sports feels lively. It gets bright enough to handle sunlit rooms without looking washed out, though if your room has a lot of light, reflections can show up during darker scenes. There’s a built-in speaker setup with a subwoofer and upward-firing speakers, which adds some height to the soundstage, though it won’t replace a dedicated soundbar. As Google TV runs the interface, apps, casting, and voice control are all baked in. On the downside, this TV doesn’t track brightness levels as precisely as higher-end models, so scenes can look slightly off without careful calibration. Also, the viewing angle is narrow enough that colors and contrast shift if you’re sitting too far to the side. While gaming works well overall, with smooth performance and plenty of support for high refresh rates, fast-moving scenes may blur more than expected. None of these factors will be a dealbreaker for casual use, but they matter if you’re picky about image accuracy or plan to use this in a wide seating setup. For most people, though, this is a bright, capable TV that covers a lot of ground, especially for this price. Our Best Editor-Vetted Amazon Big Spring Sale Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Sony WH1000XM6- Best Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $398.00 (List Price $459.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $35.99 (List Price $69.99) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote — $34.99 (List Price $59.99) Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16GB 7" eReader (Black) — $169.99 (List Price $249.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If your wifi is too damn slow (and I bet it is), the bottleneck is probably the router. This TP-Link Archer AXE75 might be the solution, and it's 44% off for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, bringing it down to $112.99—and it's already a good deal at the full price. TP-Link Archer AXE75 $112.99 at Amazon $199.99 Save $87.00 Get Deal Get Deal $112.99 at Amazon $199.99 Save $87.00 This is a Wi-Fi 6E router, which unlocks the 6GHz band, so it's a serious router for the price of a bargain one. It features a 1.7 GHz Quad-Core CPU, so it won't freeze up when you're gaming while someone else is streaming 4K in the next room, and it has six high-gain antennas that are built to kill dead zones in medium-to-large homes. Check out PCMag's review for more details. That's the good news. The bad news is the FCC regulations regarding foreign-made routers going into effect. Like most routers, AXE75 is "foreign made"—but the regulations only affect the future authorization of brand-new models. Since the Archer AXE75 is already an authorized, existing model, you can legally buy and use it without worry. But there's a caveat: The FCC has allowed security updates for these models through March 1, 2027. After that, it's not certain it will be supported. TP Link says it's planning to move manufacturing to the U.S. If that happens, the FCC is expected to extend its waiver, and the device will be supported. But no one can say for sure. Our Best Editor-Vetted Amazon Big Spring Sale Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ 128GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Gray) — $209.99 (List Price $249.99) Sony WH1000XM6- Best Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $398.00 (List Price $459.99) Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $35.99 (List Price $69.99) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote — $34.99 (List Price $59.99) Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16GB 7" eReader (Black) — $169.99 (List Price $249.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

If your entire Google Ads strategy consists of targeting brand and non-brand keywords, you’re limiting growth. If performance is declining, it’s not the platform — it’s the strategy. People don’t discover you through non-brand search. They research on Reddit, ChatGPT, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. They watch demos, read testimonials, and learn about your brand long before they ever search for it. If you have a complex sales process and a long customer journey, this shift is critical and requires a different approach. Here’s what you need to know to make this work in B2B. AI-forward campaigns: A cost-effective growth gold mine Google has been developing multi-channel, multi-asset campaigns for years — first with Performance Max, then with Demand Gen. These campaigns reach your audience across the web as they research and evaluate. Your brand is front and center while your audience builds their shortlist. By the time they’re ready to pick vendors to take the next step, you’ve already built trust. Then they’ll find you by searching for your brand. A Performance Max campaign with a variety of ad types, like image and video ads, can showcase demos or customer testimonials on YouTube. They can appear across the web via the Display Network. They can follow (retarget) your target audience as they research. That’s what drives the branded search that converts later. These campaigns let you do all of this cost-effectively. In a Performance Max campaign, you can use keywords alongside your own customer data as signals. You’re not abandoning keywords. You’re using them smarter. Dig deeper: Why B2B brands are shifting from keywords to Performance Max Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with The search experience is changing. Your strategy should, too. Google’s search results pages have evolved with AI Overviews and AI Mode. If this experience is changing so dramatically, isn’t it time to rethink your ad strategy as well? I’m a fan of the 4S framework: search, scroll, stream, and shop. I’d add “ask” to reflect how people now engage across AI tools. They ask ChatGPT or Gemini, search Google, scroll LinkedIn, stream YouTube videos, and shop across platforms. If your strategy only covers one or two of those behaviors, you’re missing how growth actually happens. Focusing only on keyword targeting means you’re missing the bigger picture. Yes, brand keywords will convert better than non-brand keywords. But how do people even know to search for your brand in the first place? (The answer is that you’ve been showing up in their feed the whole time.) Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Test, learn, and be patient This approach takes time, especially for B2B companies with long sales cycles. It took us nearly a year to realize the value Performance Max was driving for a life science client. Most of their deals take months to close. Our account manager was about to pause the campaign at one point because the ad platform data didn’t look good. But as we began piping in sales data, things started clicking. Once we got over the sales cycle hump and started seeing revenue data, Performance Max proved its value. If you can sync data beyond MQLs — like Proposal Sent — that provides more data and signals to Google, and more peace of mind until you can add sales data. Be patient, feed the system better data, and don’t give up too early. B2B sales cycles are complex. You might have 100 people at an event that you promoted through a LinkedIn ad strategy. Some of those people caught an email promoting a webinar. Months later, they searched for you on Google and asked for a proposal. Still months later, they became a customer. Even with the best-recorded data, you won’t see this happening right away in a long sales cycle. Dig deeper: How to optimize B2B PPC spend when budgets and confidence are low Start small, then scale what works If you don’t have a test-and-learn budget, reallocate 5% to 10% to introduce AI-forward campaign types. Test strategically. Don’t go all in, and don’t launch major tests during a busier time of year. Give yourself breathing room while the system learns. This approach takes time. But it drives sustainable growth if you commit to the process. The advertisers who figure this out are building sustainable growth, while others are still stuck optimizing for a shrinking slice of demand. View the full article

A new version of the Google Ads API is out, bringing a handful of targeted updates across video, app campaigns, and audience planning tools. Key changes in this release. A new VideoEnhancement resource that surfaces whether a video ad is Google-generated or advertiser-provided — giving developers clearer visibility into auto-enhanced creative A new AppTopCombinationView resource providing read-only insights into top-performing asset combinations in App campaigns The ability to disable the hotel feed in Demand Gen campaigns via HotelSettingInfo.disable_hotel_setting A new conversion metric for indirect first in-app installs across Campaign, Customer, and AdGroup resources Several enhancements to ContentCreatorInsightsService and ReachPlanService What to do. Upgrading to v23.2 requires updating both client libraries and client code — all updated libraries and code examples are already published. Catch the walkthrough. Google is hosting a live release walkthrough on March 26 at 11am ET on Discord and YouTube Live, with a recorded version to follow for those who can’t attend. Why we care. The VideoEnhancement gives developers the ability to programmatically identify whether a video ad is Google-generated or advertiser-provided, which has been a notable blind spot in Performance Max reporting. For agencies and teams building custom reporting tools, this is a meaningful step toward greater creative visibility. The bottom line. A routine but useful release — the VideoEnhancement resource in particular is worth attention for any developer building tools around Performance Max creative reporting. View the full article