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Construction inventory management played a critical role in keeping projects on schedule and within budget. It ensured that tools, materials, and equipment were tracked effectively from procurement through delivery and on-site use. Without proper construction inventory management, teams risked delays, overspending and loss of valuable resources. By maintaining accurate records and visibility, project managers optimized operations, improved coordination and reduced waste, making construction inventory management a key factor in the success of any construction project. In today’s fast-paced industry, integrating construction inventory management systems with construction equipment management and construction materials management tools became essential. These solutions helped teams monitor stock levels, forecast future needs and prevent shortages or overordering. By managing both materials and heavy machinery efficiently, construction companies maintained tighter control over assets and expenses while improving productivity and accountability across every phase of the project. What Is Construction Inventory Management? Construction inventory management is the process of tracking, controlling and optimizing the flow of materials, tools and equipment used throughout a construction project. It involves monitoring stock levels, managing procurement and ensuring timely delivery to job sites. Effective construction inventory management helps minimize waste, avoid project delays and reduce costs. By combining construction materials management with construction equipment management, companies maintain real-time visibility into their resources, leading to greater efficiency and improved project outcomes. ProjectManager is robust construction project management software that helps teams plan schedules, allocate resources and track progress in real time. It also integrates with Acumatica, a leading ERP system and construction inventory management software. This integration allows contractors to connect financials, inventory data and project operations seamlessly. Together, ProjectManager and Acumatica provide complete visibility across job costs, materials and equipment—making them the perfect combination for efficient construction inventory management. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/construction-gantt-resources-costs-150-CTA-BUTTON-1.jpgLearn more What Resources Are Tracked in Construction Inventory Management? Construction inventory management tracks materials, tools and equipment needed to complete a project efficiently. It includes construction materials management tasks like monitoring concrete, steel and lumber, as well as construction equipment management for heavy machinery, vehicles and power tools. Consumables such as fuel, safety gear and spare parts are also tracked to maintain productivity and avoid delays. Accurate tracking helps reduce loss, control costs and ensure resources are available when and where they’re needed most. Here’s a list of those resources Building materials (concrete, steel, lumber, etc.) Tools and equipment Heavy machinery and vehicles Safety gear and personal protective equipment (PPE) Electrical and plumbing supplies Finishing materials (paint, tiles, fixtures, etc.) Spare parts and replacement components Fuel and lubricants Office and site consumables Rental equipment and leased assets Packaging and storage materials Waste and recyclable materials Related: 10 Free Construction Expense Tracker Templates Construction Inventory Management Tools Construction inventory management tools help track, organize and optimize the use of materials and equipment. They provide better visibility into stock levels, improve ordering accuracy and reduce waste. Whether using spreadsheets, specialized software or ERP systems, these tools ensure construction projects stay on schedule and within budget. Excel or Google Sheets Many teams start with Excel or Google Sheets for construction inventory management because they’re free, accessible and customizable. These tools allow basic tracking of materials and equipment but lack automation, scalability and real-time updates. As projects grow, teams often need more robust solutions that support collaboration and live reporting. Construction Inventory Management Software Dedicated construction inventory management software centralizes data for materials, tools and equipment. It provides barcode scanning, stock alerts and usage reports to improve efficiency. These solutions reduce manual entry errors and help project managers monitor inventory in real time to prevent shortages or over-ordering across multiple job sites. Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP Software) ERP systems combine construction inventory management with financial and operational data to give organizations full visibility across departments. They help track purchasing, logistics and equipment use from one platform. This integration supports better forecasting, cost control and decision-making for construction companies managing multiple complex projects. ProjectManager integrates seamlessly with Acumatica, a powerful ERP and construction inventory management software. Together, they connect project planning and financial tracking with material and equipment data. This partnership allows construction managers to plan schedules, allocate resources and monitor inventory performance while maintaining control of costs and timelines. /wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Construction-Schedule-Template.png Get your free Construction Schedule Template Use this free Construction Schedule Template to manage your projects better. Get the Template Construction Inventory Management Process The construction inventory management process ensures that materials and equipment are available when and where they are needed. It involves estimating resource requirements, organizing storage and tracking procurement and usage. Following a structured process helps prevent project delays, reduce costs and improve efficiency across multiple job sites. 1. Estimate Resource Requirements for the Project Estimating resource requirements is the first step in construction inventory management. Project managers review project plans and specifications to determine the quantity of materials and equipment needed. Accurate estimates prevent shortages, reduce waste and help maintain project schedules. This process also informs budget planning and ensures that resources align with the scope of work. /wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Resource-requirements-in-project-execution-plan-template-600x171.png 2. Establish Warehouses or Storing Areas for Materials and Equipment Setting up proper storage areas is critical to protect materials and equipment from damage or theft. Warehouses or on-site storage zones should be organized, accessible and secure. Labeling, shelving and tracking systems make it easier to locate items quickly. Efficient storage reduces downtime, improves accountability and supports smooth project operations across all teams. 3. Procure, Receive and Organize Materials Once resources are estimated and storage is ready, materials and equipment are procured from suppliers. Receiving involves checking quantities, inspecting for damage and updating inventory records. Organized storage and categorization ensure easy access and reduce loss. Proper procurement and handling processes ensure projects remain on schedule and within budget while maintaining quality standards. 4. Create an Inventory List or Database After organizing materials and equipment, create a comprehensive inventory list or database. Include item names, quantities, locations and relevant details such as purchase date or supplier information. Digital databases or software make it easier to update records in real time. Maintaining an accurate inventory list improves resource planning, reduces lost items and helps project managers monitor availability across multiple sites efficiently. /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Sheet-light-mode-punch-list-construction-custom-columns-costs-hours--600x328.pngLearn more 5. Track Usage of Materials and Equipment Tracking the usage of materials and equipment ensures that resources are used efficiently and stay within budget. Project managers record when items are issued, returned or consumed and update the inventory accordingly. Monitoring usage helps identify trends, prevent over-ordering and highlight areas where processes can be optimized. Proper tracking also supports accountability and ensures resources are available for ongoing and future projects. 6. Conduct Regular Inventory Audits Regular inventory audits verify that the physical stock matches recorded quantities. Audits help detect discrepancies due to theft, loss or errors in tracking. Conducting periodic checks allows managers to adjust inventory records and plan replenishments. Consistent audits maintain accuracy, improve transparency and enhance overall efficiency in managing construction materials and equipment across all projects. 7. Reorder Materials and Equipment Reordering materials and equipment ensures projects do not face delays due to shortages. Project managers monitor inventory levels and lead times from suppliers to plan timely purchases. Automated alerts or reorder thresholds in software simplify the process. Efficient reordering maintains continuous workflow, reduces emergency procurement costs and helps projects stay on schedule and within budget while avoiding resource bottlenecks. /wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-construction-ebook-banner-ad.jpg Free Construction Inventory Management Templates Free construction inventory management templates help project managers organize materials and equipment efficiently. They simplify tracking, ensure accurate record-keeping and reduce errors across job sites. Templates can be customized for different projects, making it easy to maintain visibility of stock, track usage and plan reorder schedules. Inventory Template An inventory template tracks materials such as concrete, steel, lumber and other construction supplies. It lists item names, quantities, locations and supplier details. Using a template reduces manual errors, provides a clear overview of resources and helps project managers quickly assess stock levels for ongoing or upcoming projects. Equipment Inventory Template An equipment inventory template monitors tools, machinery and vehicles. It records serial numbers, maintenance dates, assigned personnel and storage locations. Templates streamline scheduling, prevent downtime from unavailable equipment and provide project teams with visibility to allocate resources effectively and maintain operational efficiency. How to Manage Construction Projects with ProjectManager ProjectManager is online construction project management software that helps teams plan, schedule and track multiple projects in real time. It provides Gantt charts, kanban boards, task lists and dashboards to give a complete view of project progress. Project managers can oversee tasks, timelines and budgets while ensuring construction projects stay on track and resources are allocated efficiently. Robust Construction Resource Planning and Cost Tracking Tools ProjectManager allows managers to plan labor, materials and equipment effectively. The team page and workload charts help assign tasks based on capacity, while budgeting tools track project expenses. Timesheets can be updated on-site with our mobile app, giving real-time insight into labor costs and resource allocation. This ensures accurate forecasting, avoids overutilization and helps maintain construction budgets efficiently. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Team-Light-2554x1372-1.png ProjectManager Integrates With Acumatica’s Construction Inventory Management and ERP Solution By integrating with Acumatica, ProjectManager enhances construction inventory management by linking project planning with material and equipment tracking. This integration allows teams to manage inventory levels, procurement and costs in one system while still using ProjectManager’s project planning features. It’s ideal for companies that need ERP-level inventory control combined with robust project management tools. /wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Acumatica-Project-Management-Integration-Project-Manager.png Related Construction Inventory Management Content Construction inventory management is a big subject and there’s more to it than we’ve covered here. For readers who want to go further, check out the links below that provide free templates, steps to making a material schedule and much more. 7 Free Inventory Templates: Spreadsheets, Lists & More How to Manage a Construction Site Step by Step How to Make a Material Schedule for Construction Cost Forecasting in Construction Project Management Construction Phases: Documentation, Templates & Steps Master Construction Procurement With These Five Methods ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams, whether they’re in the office or on the job site. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post Construction Inventory Management: Managing Materials & Equipment appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Even in 2025, Google.com still knows how to have fun. If you tend to rely on your browser's address bar for Google Search, you might miss the company's latest "Doodle." But today, Oct. 30, if you head to the Google homepage, you'll find a Halloween-themed surprise: a fully playable PAC-MAN game, outfitted with spooky mazes and characters. The Halloween part makes sense, seeing as the holiday is tomorrow. But why PAC-MAN? As it happens, this year marks the game's 45th anniversary. For this Doodle, Google says it partnered with PAC-MAN's parent company, Bandi Namco Entertainment, to feature a celebratory PAC-MAN game on the homepage. If you're familiar with PAC-MAN, you won't have any trouble getting into Google's version. This is the core PAC-MAN experience players have navigated since 1980: You control PAC-MAN through a maze, eating all the dots along the way. If you crash into one of the four ghosts floating around the maze (Blinky, Inky, Pinky and Clyde), you die, unless you eat an "Power Pellet," in which case you're free to eat the ghosts. According to Google, this game has eight levels, with four haunted-house mazes. I do appreciate the effort that went into this experience. Sure, the PAC-MAN gameplay is the same as ever, but the Halloween-themed mazes are fun. I also love the attention to detail with the graphics: The visuals have scan-lines, which sells the retro look. You won't be getting 4K crispy pixels in this game, and that only makes it feel like you're back at your local arcade. Google says the game is only available today (Oct. 30) and tomorrow (Oct. 31) from the homepage, though I would hope it will be made available elsewhere (Google Doodle games are typically archived). But if you want to give it a shot, try it out now just in case. View the full article

House flippers are about to get an AI assist on their next renovation project. Kai is an AI-powered tool that can visually identify what’s needed to fix up a house and put it on the market. The system converts photos and videos of house projects into SKU-level material specifications and cost estimates, making it fast and easy for an institutional home renovator to create an actionable renovation plan and order all the materials needed to get the job done. Kai has just launched a partnership with home improvement retailer Home Depot to link its building material and product selection tools directly with Home Depot’s 3.5 million item inventory list. Home renovators will be able to use Kai to scan a project, identify the materials needed, and immediately order them from Home Depot. Kai’s cofounder and CEO Or Agassi calls it an “AI-native renovation intelligence platform” that can effectively reverse engineer a scope of work on anything from a kitchen remodel to a down-to-the-studs gut renovation. With a guided photography process, Kai analyzes images of a house to determine what materials are needed to complete a given project. A photo showing a cracked door, for example, would lead the tool to offer up a few options for replacement, with their prices and availability at Home Depot stores in the area. An image of an old furnace can lead the tool to recommend a more efficient model that can increase the resale value of the home. It’s an evolution of RenoWalk, an in-house tool Home Depot had used for more than a decade, which allowed business customers to streamline property management and renovation projects by integrating with Home Depot’s inventory and ordering systems. The company decided to sunset that tool, and now Kai is taking its place, using data from the tens of thousands of renovation projects completed using the old system. Kai declined to disclose terms of the Home Depot deal. Kai’s first users are large institutional housing investors and operators, including both public and private companies. Citing nondisclosure agreements, Kai declined to reveal the names of these companies. Some of these companies own more than 100,000 houses across the U.S. They also bring their own wealth of renovation data, which Kai uses to train client-specific AI models. “If you send us a scope of work of how you like to renovate, we will know how to create a playbook based on that,” Agassi says. The system also adjusts for different types of renovation projects and budget levels. “Whether you’re looking to optimize for selling to the market, selling off market, renting the property out, we know how to understand the renovation condition and tell you what needed to be done to hit this target renovation,” Agassi says. Agassi says the system has the potential to drastically reduce project timelines and budgets, and help get more affordable housing on the market. “There’s a shortage of five million single family rentals out there. And it’s only getting worse because new inventory is unable to catch up,” Agassia says. “We are trying to solve for the biggest issue in housing.” Agassi has been looking at the housing challenges in the U.S. for more than a decade. Previously he and Kai cofounder Tov Arneson created Stoa, a now-closed proptech company that helped connect fix-and-flip housing investors with institutional investors and housing operators looking for more inventory. The company was seeing solid growth since its launch in 2017 but a hike in interest rates in 2023 hit the company hard and it shut down. Agassi says that even though the company failed, the idea behind Stoa stuck with him. Kai is an evolution of that concept. “We are fulfilling what used to be our dream at Stoa, which is a system that you get into a property, take some photos, and it tells you what you need to do in order to do an optimized renovation,” says Agassi. “The technology was never there, and now it is.” Agassi says Kai expects to be serving tens of thousands of customers by the end of the year, and plans on expanding the tool for use by mom-and-pop landlords, DIYers, and contractors next year. “We start with the largest operators, but the goal is to go all the way down to the consumer sitting in the comfort of their own homes, taking some photos, and we tell them exactly what’s needed to be done in order to renovate for the optimal outcome,” Agassi says. View the full article

In response to last week’s letter about a manager who didn’t want people using AI for note-taking at meetings, some readers shared particularly ridiculous firsthand examples of AI getting it wrong. For example: • Ours once transcribed a side conversation about my water bottle we had while waiting for someone to arrive, and then assumed the entire meeting, which was actually about software design, was about the water bottle. • I would like to shout-out the AI transcription tool at my old job that took notes at a meeting evaluating applicants for a job…and then automatically emailed said notes to the entire company AND to the candidates under discussion. • I once read an AI transcript – made using an approved tool at my then-workplace – that seemed like it needed to go to HR ASAP. All this stuff about kissing and crying for mercy and whatnot. But I also listened to the audio. The problem was, the AI was transcribing in English – and the people were speaking in French. It was just making whatever it could out of sounds that had nothing to do with the language it expected. *facepalm* (“Mercy” was someone thanking someone else for some info…) • My city council was recently busted talking trash about a resident all because there was a substitute clerk taking minutes in a closed session. Since the clerk was new, they decided to use AI to help take notes. No one would’ve known what was said had it not been discovered in a random FOIA. • One recently recorded an informal meeting in such a way that it made it sound like one colleague said another’s dress sense was trash. It was entertaining, but there’s no way I’d trust it as a replacement for meeting minutes. Let’s discuss times you’ve seen AI get it really wrong. Please share in the comments! The post AI gone wild: let’s discuss times AI got it really wrong appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

President Donald The President’s meeting Thursday with China’s top leader Xi Jinping produced a raft of decisions to help dial back trade tensions, but no agreement on TikTok’s ownership. “China will work with the U.S. to properly resolve issues related to TikTok,” China’s Commerce Ministry said after the meeting. It gave no details on any progress toward ending uncertainty about the fate of the popular video-sharing platform in the U.S. The The President administration had been signaling that it may have finally reached a deal with Beijing to keep TikTok running in the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the two leaders will “consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.” Wide bipartisan majorities in Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed — a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it did not find a new owner to replace China’s ByteDance. The platform went dark briefly on a January deadline but on his first day in office, The President signed an executive order to keep it running while his administration tries to reach an agreement for the sale of the company. Three more executive orders followed, as The President, without a clear legal basis, extended deadlines for a TikTok deal. The second was in April, when White House officials believed they were nearing a deal to spin off TikTok into a new company with U.S. ownership. That fell apart when China backed out after The President announced sharply higher tariffs on Chinese products. Deadlines in June and September passed, with The President saying he would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States in a way that meets national security concerns. The President’s order was meant to enable an American-led group of investors to buy the app from China’s ByteDance, though the deal also requires China’s approval. However, TikTok deal is “not really a big thing for Xi Jinping,” said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific program, during a media briefing Tuesday. “(China is) happy to let (The President) declare that they have finally kept a deal. Whether or not that deal will protect the data of Americans is a big question going forward.” “A big question mark for the United States, of course, is whether this is consistent with U.S. law since there was a law passed by Congress,” Glaser said. About 43% of U.S. adults under the age of 30 say they regularly get news from TikTok, higher than any other social media app, including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, according to a Pew Research Center report published in September. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans said they supported a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023. Roughly one-third said they would oppose a ban, and a similar percentage said they weren’t sure. Among those who said they supported banning the social media platform, about 8 in 10 cited concerns over users’ data security being at risk as a major factor in their decision, according to the report. The security debate centers on the TikTok recommendation algorithm — which has steered millions of users into an endless stream of video shorts. China has said the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. But a U.S. regulation that Congress passed with bipartisan support said any divestment of TikTok would require the platform to cut ties with ByteDance. American officials have warned the algorithm — a complex system of rules and calculations that platforms use to deliver personalized content — is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, but no evidence has been presented by U.S. officials proving that China has attempted to do so. Associated Press Writer Fu Ting contributed to this story from Washington. —Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer View the full article

The government-sponsored enterprise's bottom line results, like Fannie Mae's, came in above the previous quarter's but below year-ago numbers. View the full article

The post exploded. 500+ likes, 400+ comments, and people are loving it. But SEOs didn’t. I can’t believe we’re still talking about this at the end of 2025. I want to believe it’s ragebait. But whether he’s antagonising on purpose,…Read more ›View the full article

At first glance, it looks like only big brands get cited in AI answers. Wikipedia alone accounts for over 2 million citations across major AI platforms. But these brands aren’t cited just because they’re famous. They’re cited because their content…Read more ›View the full article

Sticking to a workout schedule is tough even when everything is going normally and you have a pretty standard daily routine. Once you add travel into the mix, it can feel impossible. Sure, hotels have fitness centers, but if you've ever gone to one only to learn it's nothing more than a few dumbbells and an ancient treadmill, you know how aggravating those can be. There are two apps I use to stick to my routine and prioritize my health while I'm on the road, but I use them quite differently. ClassPassAfter discovering last month that ClassPass houses a little-known, but varied, selection of at-home workout classes to stream, I happily re-downloaded the app for the first time in years. If you're not familiar, you buy monthly credits that you can redeem at gyms and fitness studios, trading a handful of credits for, say, a yoga or HIIT class. (You can also use it for salon and spa services, which is a cool upgrade that app has gotten since I last used it.) I used it all around my neighborhood in New York City for a month, checking out all the boutique studios near me, and found some I loved and others I was glad I didn't spend full price on a trial class for. But last week, when I was home visiting my mom in North Dakota, I checked ClassPass—and sure enough, yoga, barre, spin, and Pilates classes came up. I hadn't entirely expected it to work; it's one thing for a well-populated location like Manhattan to have a bunch of offerings on there, but Bismarck? Yes, Bismarck! I went to a barre class and it was awesome, exactly what I needed to stay on track with my workout schedule and destress after a disastrous night of airline mishaps. In the next three months, I'm going to West Virginia, Nebraska, and Mississippi. That's how your vacation schedule looks when you're on a mission to visit all 50 states (and I only have eight to go). According to ClassPass, I'll be able to take a yoga class in Charleston, do HIIT in Omaha, and book time at a pickleball court in Biloxi. All of that beats a hotel fitness center by a mile. Even the smallest cities are well-represented on this app and you can get a real, full class experience wherever you are. PelotonI am a dedicated Peloton user and the app gets daily use from me, even if I'm only using it to track my outdoor walks. If you can't find the time or transportation to get to an in-person class, you have loads of options through Peloton, many of which can be completed in your hotel room, like yoga or stretching. There are guided walks available so you can take yourself on a mindful explorative journey around wherever you are, but you can also find loads of hotels that have Peloton cardio equipment. Usually, the Bikes or other equipment are in a fitness center, but I've seen hotels that even have them available in-room. Even if you can only devote 10 minutes to working out, it's better than nothing and keeps you in your groove, which is why I value the Peloton app so much. I did, of course, use it to track the barre class I took in Bismarck, plus the Les Mills Body Pump and Solidcore classes I took there, too. View the full article

It measures where the brand is mentioned in AI search platforms, how often, how accurately, and based on which sources. Here’s a step-by-step process for how you audit your brand’s AI visibility today. Before benchmarking your AI visibility, start by…Read more ›View the full article

‘Contract for difference’ providers using high-pressure sales techniques to persuade clients to abandon protections, FCA saysView the full article

The The President administration has agreed to resume student loan forgiveness for an estimated 2.5 million borrowers who are enrolled in certain federal repayment plans following a lawsuit from the American Federation of Teachers. Under the agreement reached Friday between the teachers union and the administration, the Education Department will process loan forgiveness for those eligible in certain repayment plans that offer lower monthly payments based on a borrower’s earnings. The government had stopped providing forgiveness under those plans based on its interpretation of a different court decision. The agreement will also protect borrowers from being hit with high tax bills on debt due to be forgiven this year. “We took on the The President administration when it refused to follow the law and denied borrowers the relief they were owed,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “Our agreement means that those borrowers stuck in limbo can either get immediate relief or finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.” The Education Department said the The President administration is reviewing forgiveness programs to identify ones that were not affected by court rulings that blocked much of the Biden administration’s efforts to cancel student debt. “The Administration looks forward to continuing its work to simplify the student loan repayment process through implementation of the President’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the department said in a statement. Several forgiveness programs are included According to the deal, the The President administration must cancel student debt for eligible borrowers enrolled in the following plans: income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, income-contingent repayment plans, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plans. If borrowers have made payments beyond what was needed for forgiveness, those payments will be reimbursed. The Education Department must also continue to process IDR and PSLF “buyback” applications. Balances forgiven before Dec. 31 will not be treated as taxable income, as they will in 2026 due to a recent change in tax law. The administration must also file progress reports every six months with the court to show the pace of application processing and loan forgiveness, according to the AFT. How many borrowers are waiting for forgiveness? An estimated 2.5 million borrowers in IDR plans will be affected by the agreement, and another 70,000 are waiting for forgiveness through the PSLF program. Even with the agreement in place, mass layoffs at the Education Department could factor into processing times for forgiveness, said Megan Walter, senior policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. If borrowers continue to make payments while their application is pending forgiveness, that will be refunded to them if they are successful, Walter said. “But keep really good records,” she said. What are the PSLF and buyback forgiveness programs? Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which has been in place since 2007, forgives federal student loans for borrowers who have worked at non-profit organizations or in public service after 120 payments, or 10 years. The Biden administration also created an option for borrowers to “buy back” months of payments they missed during forbearance or deferment in 2023, to allow more people to qualify for that forgiveness. To determine if you qualify for a buy-back under the PSLF program, consult this page at the Education Department. The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism. —Cora Lewis, Associated Press View the full article

That’s what a brand gap analysis enables. It also turns brand visibility from a vague concept into something measurable and fixable. Here’s how. A brand gap analysis measures the difference between your brand’s potential visibility and its actual presence across…Read more ›View the full article

Every month, millions of individuals worldwide choose to drive or deliver with Uber, underscoring a growing demand for flexible work opportunities. At the recent “Only on Uber” event in Washington, DC, the company outlined new developments designed to enhance the earning potential and safety of drivers and couriers. For small business owners, these updates may signal shifts in market dynamics that could affect everything from customer engagement to logistics. Key among the announcements was the introduction of digital tasks in the Uber Driver app, a pilot program currently launching in the U.S. After early success in India, Uber aims to provide drivers more avenues to earn while offline. “Drivers have asked for more ways to earn, even when they’re not on the road,” said Uber. These tasks include simple activities like uploading photos to assist in training AI models. This innovation could offer small businesses more cost-effective ways to gather data or conduct market research through drivers. A redesigned offer card enhances the trip experience, allowing drivers to make more informed decisions with additional time and information regarding trip requests. Small business owners can leverage the potential increase in driver confidence to improve service levels in rideshare logistics. Safety was also a major focus. With the expansion of features like Women Rider Preference, women drivers can choose to accept rides only from female riders, catering to an existing demand for safer service options. Uber noted that in markets where this feature is operational, women drivers often opt-in for over 150 million trips. For small businesses, the emphasis on safety can translate into customer trust, a critical component for companies engaging in delivery services. Uber also announced enhancements to trip navigation, such as a new Rides Heatmap that provides real-time data highlighting areas of high demand. For small business owners, employing drivers who utilize these tools can optimize delivery operations, potentially increasing service efficiency. “With better data and more transparency, it helps drivers decide where and when to go so they can stay busy and earn more,” said Uber. In terms of fair compensation, the new Delayed Ride Guarantee promises drivers will receive additional payment for trips taking longer than estimated. This can alleviate stress for those involved in logistics and delivery, ensuring that costs are transparent and predictable. Moreover, with tipping reminders integrated into rider prompts, actual earnings for drivers can be better assured, enhancing service reliability. However, the rollout of these features isn’t without potential challenges for small businesses. Smaller operators may find the expanding competition and improved services difficult to navigate, particularly when it comes to pricing and service offerings. As Uber continues to invest in driver satisfaction, small businesses could face pressure to keep pace in a rapidly evolving landscape. Drivers also gained enhanced control over their rater preferences, allowing them to set a minimum rider rating they’re comfortable with. This flexibility may influence the types of customers small businesses attract and retain, as drivers may prefer to work with clients who uphold a certain standard. As small business owners explore partnerships with gig economy platforms like Uber, understanding these updates can help them leverage innovative services to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Adjustments in the Uber platform may soon shape how delivery and rideshare services operate, impacting financial models and customer engagement strategies across various sectors. “As always, serious violations, including safety issues, may result in losing access to Uber altogether,” said the company, emphasizing accountability. Small business owners looking to harness Uber’s features should stay informed about these updates, aligning their operations to take advantage of enhanced driver capabilities. Understanding the interplay between driver experience and customer satisfaction could prove beneficial as rideshare and delivery services continue to evolve. For further details on these developments, you can read the original press release from Uber here. Image via Envanto This article, "Uber Launches New Features to Enhance Earning Flexibility and Safety" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Every month, millions of individuals worldwide choose to drive or deliver with Uber, underscoring a growing demand for flexible work opportunities. At the recent “Only on Uber” event in Washington, DC, the company outlined new developments designed to enhance the earning potential and safety of drivers and couriers. For small business owners, these updates may signal shifts in market dynamics that could affect everything from customer engagement to logistics. Key among the announcements was the introduction of digital tasks in the Uber Driver app, a pilot program currently launching in the U.S. After early success in India, Uber aims to provide drivers more avenues to earn while offline. “Drivers have asked for more ways to earn, even when they’re not on the road,” said Uber. These tasks include simple activities like uploading photos to assist in training AI models. This innovation could offer small businesses more cost-effective ways to gather data or conduct market research through drivers. A redesigned offer card enhances the trip experience, allowing drivers to make more informed decisions with additional time and information regarding trip requests. Small business owners can leverage the potential increase in driver confidence to improve service levels in rideshare logistics. Safety was also a major focus. With the expansion of features like Women Rider Preference, women drivers can choose to accept rides only from female riders, catering to an existing demand for safer service options. Uber noted that in markets where this feature is operational, women drivers often opt-in for over 150 million trips. For small businesses, the emphasis on safety can translate into customer trust, a critical component for companies engaging in delivery services. Uber also announced enhancements to trip navigation, such as a new Rides Heatmap that provides real-time data highlighting areas of high demand. For small business owners, employing drivers who utilize these tools can optimize delivery operations, potentially increasing service efficiency. “With better data and more transparency, it helps drivers decide where and when to go so they can stay busy and earn more,” said Uber. In terms of fair compensation, the new Delayed Ride Guarantee promises drivers will receive additional payment for trips taking longer than estimated. This can alleviate stress for those involved in logistics and delivery, ensuring that costs are transparent and predictable. Moreover, with tipping reminders integrated into rider prompts, actual earnings for drivers can be better assured, enhancing service reliability. However, the rollout of these features isn’t without potential challenges for small businesses. Smaller operators may find the expanding competition and improved services difficult to navigate, particularly when it comes to pricing and service offerings. As Uber continues to invest in driver satisfaction, small businesses could face pressure to keep pace in a rapidly evolving landscape. Drivers also gained enhanced control over their rater preferences, allowing them to set a minimum rider rating they’re comfortable with. This flexibility may influence the types of customers small businesses attract and retain, as drivers may prefer to work with clients who uphold a certain standard. As small business owners explore partnerships with gig economy platforms like Uber, understanding these updates can help them leverage innovative services to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Adjustments in the Uber platform may soon shape how delivery and rideshare services operate, impacting financial models and customer engagement strategies across various sectors. “As always, serious violations, including safety issues, may result in losing access to Uber altogether,” said the company, emphasizing accountability. Small business owners looking to harness Uber’s features should stay informed about these updates, aligning their operations to take advantage of enhanced driver capabilities. Understanding the interplay between driver experience and customer satisfaction could prove beneficial as rideshare and delivery services continue to evolve. For further details on these developments, you can read the original press release from Uber here. Image via Envanto This article, "Uber Launches New Features to Enhance Earning Flexibility and Safety" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

“Waiting this one out is not an option. The rate of change is too fast.” Accounting ARC With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto Center for Accounting Transformation Go PRO for members-only access to more Center for Accounting Transformation. View the full article

“Waiting this one out is not an option. The rate of change is too fast.” Accounting ARC With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto Center for Accounting Transformation Go PRO for members-only access to more Center for Accounting Transformation. View the full article

Microsoft Project Online Essentials was a simplified, cloud-based project management tool designed for team members who needed to collaborate on projects without requiring full access to Microsoft Project Professional. It was retired when Microsoft shut down its Project Online tool for new users on October 1, 2025. It will be completely retired on September 30, 2026. Project Online Essentials enabled users to view schedules, update tasks, track progress and communicate project status efficiently. Teams could manage tasks across multiple projects and ensure alignment with overall objectives. With Project Online Essentials, organizations gained a flexible, accessible way to participate in project planning, reporting and collaboration. What Is Project Online Essentials? Project Online Essentials was an online, simplified project management solution designed for team members who needed to collaborate on projects without full access to Microsoft Project Professional. Part of the Microsoft Project suite, Project Online Essentials allowed users to view project schedules, update tasks, communicate progress and participate in project planning without requiring extensive training. The interface was web-based and integrated with Microsoft 365 tools, making it accessible from anywhere while supporting task management, reporting and project alignment across teams. While Project Online Essentials provided core project collaboration capabilities, it lacked some of the advanced project planning and resource management features that full Microsoft Project users relied on. It did not include Gantt charts for complex scheduling, critical path analysis, or deep resource allocation tools. Teams also missed intuitive kanban boards, real-time dashboards and mobile-friendly interfaces for on-the-go updates. ProjectManager has robust Gantt charts, which are essential for project management. It complements the gaps of Project Online Essentials by offering cloud-based access, multiple project views, interactive kanban boards, live dashboards and integrated collaboration tools, keeping team members aligned across projects and ensuring visibility into progress without needing separate desktop software. /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ms-project-pm-integration.pngLearn more Project Online Essentials Pricing Plans Microsoft Project Online Essentials was a subscription-based cloud application priced per user per month, making it ideal for teams that needed lightweight project collaboration without the full Microsoft Project Professional desktop features. This version allowed team members to update tasks, track progress and view project schedules while integrating seamlessly with Microsoft 365 applications. The plan included web-based access, task assignments, team communication tools and basic reporting for efficient project participation. It provided core capabilities such as updating progress on tasks, managing personal workloads and collaborating with project managers. However, Project Online Essentials did not include advanced resource management, Gantt chart scheduling or critical path analysis. Teams relying on this plan may have found complex project tracking or in-depth reporting to be limited compared to full desktop tools. It was designed primarily for team members who needed to contribute to projects rather than manage entire portfolios. ProjectManager fills the gaps that Project Online Essentials left by offering multiple project views, including Gantt, list, board and calendar, along with real-time dashboards, AI-powered reporting, task linking across projects and resource workload management. Teams could manage costs, set baselines, reassign tasks and track progress all in one cloud-based platform. It’s ideal for organizations seeking more robust collaboration and project oversight than Microsoft Project Online Essentials. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gantt-CTA-2025.jpgLearn more Project Online Essentials Views Project Online Essentials was the web-based companion plan for Microsoft Project Online, designed primarily for team members rather than project managers. It offered simplified, browser-based views that allowed users to collaborate on assigned tasks without needing the full desktop application. Unlike Project Professional or Project Standard, it didn’t include advanced scheduling or resource management interfaces. Instead, it focused on visibility and updates within existing enterprise projects. The following list highlights the main views that were available in Project Online Essentials: Tasks View: Displayed assigned tasks with start and finish dates, percent complete and status fields. Timesheet View: Allowed users to submit and update timesheets for project and non-project work. Approvals View: Provided a central location for reviewing submitted timesheets or task updates. Project Center View (read-only): Let team members view project summaries published by project managers. Resource Assignments View (limited): Offered a personal overview of tasks linked to each user’s resource ID. Reports Access (via PWA): Displayed shared dashboards and basic visual reports published to Project Web App. (All views were accessed through Project Web App and required connectivity to the Project Online service.) Project Online Essentials Features Project Online Essentials offered a streamlined feature set built for collaboration rather than full project planning. It was designed as an affordable option for team members who needed to view and update project information but not create or manage full schedules. The plan required connection to a Project Online Professional or Premium environment, where the main project plans were stored. The following list summarizes the key features of Project Online Essentials: Web-based access through Project Web App (PWA) Ability to view assigned tasks and update progress on deliverables Timesheet submission for reporting actual work and hours Basic task collaboration tools, such as comments and document attachments Read-only visibility into enterprise projects and resources Integration with Microsoft Teams and SharePoint for communication and file sharing Email notifications for task assignments and status changes Compatibility with Project Online Professional and Premium plans for centralized project management Role-based access controlled by administrators in Microsoft 365 Lightweight browser performance without requiring the desktop version Related: Microsoft Project Standard vs. Professional: In-Depth Software Comparison What Is Project Online Essentials Used for? Microsoft Project Online Essentials was used as a lightweight companion tool for team members working within the Microsoft Project Online ecosystem. It allowed users to view assigned tasks, submit timesheets and update progress directly through a web browser. This made it easier for project participants to collaborate with project managers who used Microsoft Project Online Professional or Project Online Premium. Microsoft Project Online Essentials simplified communication and ensured everyone stayed aligned on schedules and deliverables. The platform was primarily used to streamline task updates, track work hours and provide visibility into project progress without requiring users to install the full desktop version. Team members could log in, mark task completions and submit status reports that synced automatically with their manager’s project plans. It was especially useful for organizations that wanted to extend project access to contributors without granting full administrative control. While Project Online Essentials provided a convenient entry point for basic collaboration, it lacked advanced tools for scheduling, reporting and resource management. Over time, teams transitioned to cloud-based platforms like ProjectManager that offered richer dashboards, real-time communication and customizable workflows, replacing the limited functionality once offered by Microsoft Project Online Essentials. Pros and Cons of Project Online Essentials Microsoft Project Online Essentials was a companion product designed for team members working within the Microsoft Project ecosystem. It offered a simplified way to update tasks, submit timesheets and collaborate with project managers using Project Online Professional or Premium. While Project Online Essentials was valued for accessibility and integration with Microsoft 365, it also came with several limitations that affected usability and performance for larger teams. Pros of Project Online Essentials It provided web-based access, allowing users to log in and update tasks without installing desktop software. It integrated directly with Microsoft Project Online, enabling real-time task synchronization and reporting. It simplified timesheet submission and task tracking for team members. It helped reduce licensing costs by giving limited access to users who didn’t need full project management capabilities. It supported role-based collaboration, ensuring only authorized users could modify certain project elements. Cons of Project Online Essentials It lacked advanced scheduling, reporting and resource management tools found in higher-tier Microsoft Project products. Its interface was less intuitive than modern cloud-based platforms like ProjectManager. It required integration with other Microsoft applications for full functionality, increasing complexity. It offered limited customization for dashboards and workflow automation. It depended heavily on administrative setup, which slowed deployment in some organizations. ProjectManager Is the Best Alternative to Project Online Essentials While Microsoft Project Online Essentials offered basic task management for team members, ProjectManager delivers a complete project and portfolio management experience built for modern teams. It’s a cloud-based platform that connects planning, collaboration and reporting in one secure workspace. Teams can create projects, assign work, manage budgets and track progress in real time without switching between multiple tools. It also integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and popular third-party apps, helping teams stay aligned across departments. Learn more about how our software outperforms Microsoft Project Online Essentials. Balance Workloads and Resources Effectively ProjectManager’s resource management tools go beyond anything offered in Microsoft Project Online Essentials. The dynamic team page provides a daily or weekly overview of progress and priority across all projects, plus tasks can be updated without leaving the page. Workload charts let managers see who’s over- or underallocated, making it easy to reassign work before delays occur, avoiding burnout and promoting productivity. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Team-Light-2554x1372-1.png Track Progress and Performance in Real Time ProjectManager simplifies tracking with secure timesheets, AI-powered reports and real-time dashboards that give managers full visibility into performance. Unlike Microsoft Project Online Essentials, which offered limited reporting, our software automatically collects data from every task and updates dashboards instantly. Secure timesheets can be updated anywhere with our mobile app and track labor costs, while AI tools identify schedule risks early. This unified tracking system allows teams to measure productivity, control budgets and maintain compliance without relying on manual updates or separate reporting software. /wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AI-Insights-Light-Mode-Dashboard-GPT5.png Project Online Essentials FAQs Below are some questions that those looking into Microsoft Project Online Essentials and other project management tools have asked. Why did Microsoft discontinue Project Online Essentials? Microsoft discontinued Project Online Essentials to simplify its project management product lineup and transition users to more modern, cloud-based tools. The company shifted its focus toward the Microsoft Project for the Web platform, which provided improved collaboration, scalability and integration with Microsoft 365. Project Online Essentials was part of an older SharePoint-based architecture that limited flexibility and required more maintenance compared to newer cloud solutions. What replaced Project Online Essentials after its retirement? Microsoft’s new Planner is the primary replacement for Project Online, particularly through Planner Premium, which integrates the features of Project for the Web and offers a more modern, collaborative and AI-powered experience. For organizations needing the most advanced, enterprise-grade project and portfolio management (PPM) capabilities similar to the full Project Online feature set, Project Server Subscription Edition and Dynamics 365 Project Operations are also recommended alternatives, though they get expensive. How did Project Online Essentials differ from Project Online Professional and Premium? Project Online Essentials served as a lightweight, task-focused companion for team members, while Project Online Professional and Premium were full-featured tools for project managers and administrators. The Essentials plan allowed basic task updates and timesheet submissions, but lacked scheduling, portfolio management and resource planning tools available in the higher tiers. Related Microsoft Project Content Yes, Microsoft Project Online Essentials is on its way out, but there are other Microsoft products that are still available. Whether they’re what users want is another story. To get a better picture of what’s out there, below are links to articles on Microsoft Project alternatives, project management software for Mac and more. 20 Best Microsoft Project Alternatives: Free & Paid Options What Is Microsoft Project Professional? Uses, Features and Pricing 6 Free & Open-Source Microsoft Project Alternatives: Ranked Microsoft Project Gantt Chart: A How-to Guide With Pros & Cons Microsoft Project: Plans, Training and How to Download 10 Top Microsoft Project Management Software, Apps & Tools Microsoft Project for Mac: How to Run MS Project Files on Mac ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams, whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post What Is Project Online Essentials? Uses, Features and Pricing appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web...View the full article

Central bank says labour market is ‘robust’ and private balance sheets are ‘solid’View the full article

With federal SNAP food assistance set to run dry this weekend amid the protracted U.S. government shutdown, Louisiana, New Mexico and Vermont became the latest states Wednesday to announce help for low-income households that rely on the funds to eat. They join states from New York to Nevada in scrambling to find ways to get food to people who are increasingly anxious and will otherwise go hungry without their normal monthly payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Several states take action Wednesday In Louisiana, where nearly one in five residents receive SNAP benefits, lawmakers authorized $150 million in state funding Wednesday to help avoid Saturday’s expected interruption. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry backed a bipartisan measure to allow most of the state’s nearly 800,000 SNAP recipients to receive their full monthly benefit amount. “Our priorities are specific, we’re going to protect the most vulnerable population in Louisiana — which is our kids, disabled and elderly,” Landry said. But officials said that while program details are still incomplete, the effort will likely exclude “able bodied” adults who aren’t caring for children or don’t share a household with elderly or disabled members — about 53,000 recipients. Elsewhere, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday that her state will provide $30 million in emergency food assistance to residents through EBT cards, backfilling SNAP benefits temporarily. The Democrat leads a state where 21% of the population relies on SNAP — the highest rate in the nation. Officials said the benefit would cover about 30% of what residents usually see at the start of the month. New Mexico held a two-day special legislative session at the outset of the shutdown to shore up food banks and pantries with $8 million in new funding, along with $17.5 million in SNAP-related costs to offset cuts under President Donald The President’s spending and tax cut bill. The emergency funding is expected to last about 10 days, while Democratic state House Speaker Javier Martínez said the Legislature is positioned to approve more if necessary because “children going without basic food staples is an emergency.” Lujan Grisham said state officials are aware that 10 days isn’t enough but they are prepared to deal with the issue for as long as they can. “We’re not going to let food insecurity creep into this state,” she said. In Vermont, Republican Gov. Phil Scott and Democratic legislative leaders approved using $6.3 million in state funds to cover 15 days of SNAP benefits and provide $250,000 to food banks. The Legislature had previously put $50 million aside for such emergencies. Different strokes for different states So far, state responses have been mixed. Some, like Rhode Island, say they will funnel reserve federal welfare funds directly onto the debit cards issued to people who buy groceries with SNAP. States including Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, West Virginia plan to boost funds to food pantries to help cover for low-income families needing food. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo are both seeking to direct $30 million in state funds to cover food assistance. Other states such as Alabama, Texas, Kansas and Florida have not acted. In Nebraska, the state Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement Tuesday announcing it would pause SNAP benefits the next day. It said it is “actively coordinating with food banks, nonprofit partners, and community organizations,” and listed area food banks for those seeking help. Leaving people to fend for themselves will mean the most vulnerable — like children and the elderly — will go hungry, said Tashara Leak, a registered dietitian and nutritional researcher and professor at Cornell University. She also serves on New York State Council on Hunger and Food Policy that routinely meets with New York’s governor. “The panic is already starting,” Leak said, adding families with limited resources are “already rationing food in preparation to not receive benefits on Nov. 1.” States can’t do what the federal government can Despite the best efforts of states, local governments and food charities, it won’t be enough to cover what the federal government does under SNAP. Even states with fat budget surpluses couldn’t cover the SNAP tab much beyond November. That tab nationwide totaled about $100 billion in 2024. “There’s no way for the states to be able to fill in the gap for the month of November, especially with such short notice,” Leak said. Democrats have called on the The President administration to release contingency funding to ensure uninterrupted SNAP payments, but it has declined to do so. Recently, a group of Democratic state officials filed suit, asking a judge to require the The President administration to keep funding SNAP benefits. They say that the government is required to use one contingency fund, which has around $5 billion, for that purpose and that another larger reserve fund of about $23 billion is also available. A hearing is set for Thursday in federal court in Boston. Delays in benefits are nearly certain for most beneficiaries whose debit cards are replenished early in the month — even in states that are planning to pay for benefits or if a judge orders the federal government to load the cards immediately. The legal filing asserted that in California, for instance, there will be a one-day delay in benefits available for every day after Oct. 23 that the process of putting money on cards hasn’t begun. That means that if a judge orders the program to continue on Thursday, the first cards would likely not be ready until around Nov. 10. Christopher Bosso, a Northeastern University professor of public policy and political science who has published a book about SNAP, said even a delay would be deeply felt. Beneficiaries often stock up on groceries at the start of the month, and stores often hold sales then that encourage shoppers to do so. “We’re about to find out how much this program matters, in ways that people hadn’t realized,” Bosso said. AP writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report. —Margery A. Beck and Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press View the full article

With Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI leading the agentic shift, marketers face a new era of machine-mediated discovery and engagement. The post How Agentic Browsers Will Change Digital Marketing appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Recently, Figma CEO Dylan Field assembled employees from throughout the company for a demo of a new-ish tool for generating, refining, and editing synthetic images and videos. Rather than being built around one-off prompts, it allowed users to create visual workflows for comparing and manipulating options created by different AI models. It also facilitated putting imagery through multiple rounds of polishing and remixing, adding a large dose of human taste and quality control to the process. According to Field, they were “mesmerized” by what they saw. “We had it scheduled for 20 minutes,” he remembers. “And 20 minutes came, and everyone’s like, ‘No, no, please keep going. We’ll cancel the next session—this is the most magical thing.’ We went for an hour.” The tool that wowed the Figmates, as Figma employees call themselves, was the creation of an Israeli startup. Both were known as Weavy—but not for long. Figma had already agreed to acquire the company. Slightly rebranded as Figma Weave, its product will join Figma’s growing portfolio of web-based apps for designing interfaces, whiteboarding ideas, creating presentations, AI-assisted coding, and more. Figma isn’t disclosing the terms of the acquisition, its first since its July IPO. It will result in around a dozen Weavy staffers joining the company, including cofounders Lior Albeck, Jonathan Alumot, Jonathan Gur-Zeev, and Itay Schiff. Describing its vision as “artistic intelligence,” the startup was founded in 2024 and announced a $4 million seed funding last June. In its short existence, it had lined up an impressive customer list, including Google, Nvidia, Toyota, Dyson, Panasonic, and HP. Its product’s interface provides a canvas for connecting building blocks called nodes to create a flowchart-like system of inputs and outputs. One example project starts by feeding a prompt into several still-image generators, then sends the nicest one on to serve as source material for several video generators. Another deconstructs an image into editable layers, allowing for the sort of masking and tweaking that was once solely the province of a product such as Photoshop. A third starts with an actual beauty shot of a dessert taken in a studio, then generates purely synthetic images of other foodstuffs that retain its look and feel. Workflows can accept user input that affects their operation, turning them into mini-apps with ongoing value. Many tools have long helped users perform programming-like feats via workflow builders with some conceptual similarities to Weave, if not its emphasis on AI and imagery. One you might be familiar with is Apple’s Shortcuts. Field himself remembers using another called LabVIEW in middle school. But the unusual degree of buzz around Weavy’s implementation of the idea attracted his attention. “I started to hear about it from people who are connoisseurs of product and have good taste,” he says. “It spiked as something to check out.” Meeting with the startup’s founders, Field bonded over their approach to balancing power and approachability, which struck him as Figma-esque. As he explains it, ”My job to get right every day, from a product standpoint, is, how do you balance the power of a tool with approachability and simplicity? It’s a constant battle. I just felt like the way that they were thinking about that aspect was extraordinary.” Field was also attracted by the fact that their product didn’t spit out AI images and videos allegedly ready for use. Instead, it was about making it easier for human creators to slice, dice, and otherwise rework them before they ever appeared anywhere. “It’s easy to consider AI outputs as the final destination, but that’s not the way you should think about it,” he says. “They’re just this new creative starting point. 
You can use them like clay, and you can figure out how to transform them. And I think [Figma Weave] does a really good job of showing how it’s possible.” Field says that Figma is working on integrating Weave with its broader ecosystem—both making it possible to bring Figma designs into Weave and adding elements of Weave to other products. It’s also planning to speed further development through additional hires. Maybe most of all, he’s mindful of the delicate work involved in not screwing up what Weavy created on its own. “They’ve got the trust of their community,” he told me. “I think it’s very important for Figma to show that we’ll be a good steward of the team, of this platform—and that we’re doing everything we can to help them build.” View the full article

For years, I told bloggers the same thing: make your content easy enough for toddlers and drunk adults to understand. That was my rule of thumb. If a five-year-old can follow what you’ve written and someone paying half-attention can still find what they need on your site, you’re doing something right. But the game has changed. It’s no longer just about toddlers and drunk adults. You’re now writing for large language models (LLMs) quietly scanning, interpreting, and summarizing your work inside AI search results. I used to believe that great writing and solid SEO were all it took to succeed. What I see now: Clarity beats everything. The blogs winning today aren’t simply well-written or packed with keywords. They’re clean, consistent, and instantly understandable to readers and machines alike. Blogging isn’t dying. It’s moving from being a simple publishing tool to a real brand platform that supports off-site efforts more than ever before. You can’t just drop a recipe or travel guide online and expect it to rank using the SEO tactics of the past. Bloggers must now think of their site as an ecosystem where everything connects – posts, internal links, author bios, and signals of external authority all reinforce each other. When I audit sites, the difference between those that thrive and those that struggle almost always comes down to focus. The successful ones treat their blogs like living systems that grow smarter, clearer, and more intentional with time. But if content creators want to survive what’s coming, they need to build their sites for toddlers, drunk adults, and LLMs. In this article, bloggers will learn how to do the following: Understand the current blogging climate and why clarity now matters more than ever. Adapt their content for AI Overviews, LLMs, and emerging retrieval systems. Use recency bias and “last updated” signals to strengthen visibility. Build a recognizable brand that LLMs can cite and retrieve with confidence. See why professional SEO audits are one of the smartest investments bloggers can make. Prepare for the next five years of AI-driven search with practical, proven strategies. The 2026 blogging climate: Clarity amid chaos Let’s be honest: the blogging world feels a little shaky right now. One day, traffic is steady, and the next day, it’s down 40% after an update no one saw coming. Bloggers are watching AI Overviews and “AI Mode” swallow up clicks that used to come straight to their sites. Pinterest doesn’t drive what it once did, and social media traffic in general is unpredictable. It’s not your imagination. The rules of discovery have changed. We’ve entered a stage where Google volatility is the norm, not the exception. Core updates hit harder, AI summaries are doing the talking, and creators are realizing that search is no longer just about keywords and backlinks. It’s about context, clarity, and credibility. But here’s the good news: the traffic that matters is still out there. It just presents differently. The strongest blogs I work with are seeing direct traffic and returning visitors climb. People remember them, type their names into search, open their newsletters, and click through from saved bookmarks. That’s not an accident – that’s the result of clarity and consistency. If your site clearly explains who you are, what you offer, and how your content fits together, you’re building what I call resilient visibility. It’s the kind of presence that lasts through algorithm swings, because your audience and Google both understand your purpose. Think of it this way: the era of chasing random keyword wins is over. The bloggers who’ll still be standing in five years are the ones who organize their sites like smart libraries: easy to navigate, full of expertise, and built for readers who come back again and again. AI systems reward that same clarity. They want content that’s connected, consistent, and confident about its subject matter. That’s how you show up in AI Overviews, People Also Ask carousels, or Gemini-generated results. In short, confusion costs you clicks, but clarity earns you staying power. Takeaway The blogging climate might feel chaotic, but the strategy hasn’t changed as much as people think. Focus on clarity, structure, and user trust. Build a brand that people – and AI – can easily recognize and rely on. Dig deeper: Chunk, cite, clarify, build: A content framework for AI search The AI acceleration: From search to retrieval A few years ago, SEO was all about chasing rankings. You picked your keywords, wrote your post, built some links, and hoped to land on page one. Simple enough. But that world doesn’t exist anymore. Today, we’re in what can best be called the retrieval era. AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity don’t list links. They retrieve answers from the brands, authors, and sites they trust most. Duane Forrester said it best – search is shifting from “ranking” to “retrieval.” Instead of asking, “Where do I rank?” creators should be asking, “Am I retrievable?” That mindset shift changes everything about how we create content. Mike King expanded on this idea, introducing the concept of relevance engineering. Search engines and LLMs now use context to understand relevance, not just keywords. They look at: How consistently you cover topics. How well your pages connect. Whether you’re seen as an authority in your niche. This is where structure and clarity start paying off. AI systems want to understand who you are and where you stand. They learn that from your internal links, schema, author bios, and consistent topical focus. When everything aligns, you’re no longer just ranking in search – you’re becoming a known entity that AI can pull from. I’ve seen this firsthand during site audits. Blogs with strong internal structures and clear topical authority are far more likely to be cited as sources in AI Overviews and LLM results. You’re removing confusion and teaching both users and models to associate your brand with specific areas of expertise. Takeaway Stop worrying about ranking higher. Start making yourself easier to retrieve. Build a site that clearly tells Google and AI who you are, what you offer, and why your content deserves to be cited. Understanding recency bias: Why freshness is your friend Here’s something I see a lot in my audits: two posts covering the same topic, both written by experienced bloggers, both technically sound. Yet one consistently outperforms the other. The difference? One shows a clear “Last updated” date, and the other doesn’t. That tiny detail matters more than most people realize. Research from Metehan Yesilyurt confirms what many SEOs have suspected for a while: LLMs and AI-driven search results favor recency, and it’s already being exploited in the name of research. It’s built into their design. When AI models have multiple possible answers to choose from, they often prefer newer or recently refreshed content. This is recency bias, and it’s reshaping both AI search and Google’s click-through behavior. We see the same pattern inside the traditional SERPs. Posts that display visible “Last updated” dates tend to earn higher click-through rates. People – and algorithms – trust fresh information. That’s why one of the first things I check in an audit is how Google is interpreting the date structure on a blog. Is it recognizing the correct updated date, or is it stuck on the original publish date? Sometimes the fix is simple: remove the old “published on” markup and make sure the updated timestamp is clearly visible and crawlable. Other times, the page’s HTML or schema sends conflicting signals that confuse Google, and those need to be cleaned up. When Google or an LLM can’t identify the freshness of your content, you’re handing visibility to someone else who communicates that freshness better. How do you prevent this? Don’t hide your updates. Celebrate them. When you update recipes, add new travel information, or test a product, update your post and make the date obvious. This will tell readers and AI systems, “This content is alive and relevant.” Now, that being said, Google does keep a history of document versions. The average post may have dozens of copies stored, and Google can easily compare the recently changed version to its repository of past versions. Avoid making small changes that do not add value to users or republishing to a new date years later to fake relevancy. Google specifically calls that out in its guidelines. Takeaway Recency is a ranking and retrieval advantage. Keep your content updated, make that freshness visible, and verify that Google and LLMs are reading the right dates. The clearer your update signals, the stronger your trust signals. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Relevance, entities, and the rise of brand SEO Let’s talk about what really gets remembered in this new AI-driven world. When you ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity a question, it thinks in entities – people, brands, and concepts it already knows. The more clearly those models recognize who you are and what you stand for, the more likely you are to be retrieved when it’s time to generate an answer. That’s where brand SEO comes in. Harry Clarkson-Bennett in “How to Build a Brand (with SEO) in a Post AI World” makes a great point: LLMs reward brand reinforcement. They want to connect names, authors, and websites with a clear area of expertise. And they remember consistency. If your name, site, and author profiles all align across the web (same logo, same tone, same expertise), you start training these models to trust you. I tell bloggers all the time: AI learns the same way humans do. It remembers patterns, tone, and repetition. So make those patterns easy to see. Use a consistent author bio everywhere. Build clear “About” pages that connect your name to your niche. Link your best content internally so Google and AI can map your expertise. Use structured data to reinforce entity relationships (i.e., author, organization, and sameAs markup). And here’s something new I’ve started recommending to audit clients: AI Buttons. I originally discussed these AI buttons in my last article, “AI isn’t the enemy: How bloggers can thrive in a generative search world,” and provided a visual example. These are simple on-site prompts encouraging readers to save or summarize your content using AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini. When users do that, those models start seeing your site as a trusted example. Over time, that can influence what those systems recall and recommend. Think of this as reputation-building for the AI era. It’s not about trying to game the system. It’s about making sure your brand is memorable, consistent, and worth retrieving. Fortunately, these buttons are becoming more mainstream, with theme designers like Feast including them as custom blocks. And the buttons work – I’ve seen creators turn their blogs into small but powerful brands that LLMs now cite regularly. They did it by reinforcing who they were, everywhere, and then using AI buttons to encourage their existing traffic to save their sites as high-quality examples to reference in the future. Takeaway Google and AI don’t just rank content anymore. They recognize entities and remember brands. The more consistent and connected your brand signals are, the more likely you’ll be retrieved, cited, and trusted in AI search results. Why every blogger needs an SEO professional (now more than ever) Blogging has never been easy, but it’s never been harder than it is right now. Between core updates, AI Overviews, and shifting algorithms, creators are expected to keep up with changes that even seasoned SEOs struggle to track. And that’s the problem – too many bloggers are still trying to figure it all out alone. If there’s one thing I’ve learned after doing more than 160 site audits this year, it’s this: almost every struggling blogger is closer to success than they think. They’re just missing clarity. A good SEO audit does more than point out broken links or slow-loading pages. It shows you why your content isn’t connecting with Google, readers, and now LLMs. My audits are built around what I call the “Toddlers, Drunk Adults, and LLMs” framework. If your site works for those three audiences, you’re in great shape. For toddlers The structure is simple. Your content hierarchy makes sense. Every post has a clear topic, and your categories aren’t a maze. For drunk adults Your site is fast, responsive, and forgiving. People can find what they need even when they’re not fully focused. For LLMs Your data is clean, your entities are connected, and your expertise is crystal clear to AI systems scanning your site. When bloggers follow this approach, the numbers speak for themselves. In 2025 alone, my audit clients have seen an average increase of 47% in Google traffic and RPM improvements of 21-33% within a few months of implementing recommendations. This isn’t just about ranking better. Every audit is a roadmap to help bloggers position their sites for long-term visibility across traditional search and AI-powered discovery. That means optimizing for things like: Clean structured data and schema that improve AI understanding. Correct date and metadata signals so recency bias works in your favor. Strong internal linking so your topical authority is obvious to both humans and machines. Brand alignment across author bios, entities, and social profiles. You can’t control Google’s volatility, but you can control how clear, crawlable, and connected your site is. That’s what gets rewarded. And while I’ll always advocate for professional audits, this isn’t about selling a service. You need someone who can give you an honest, technical, and strategic look under the hood. Why? Because the difference between “doing fine” and “thriving in AI search” often comes down to a single, well-executed audit. Takeaway DIY SEO isn’t enough anymore. Professional audits are the most valuable investment a blogger can make in 2026 and beyond. Not for quick wins, but for building a site that’s understandable, adaptable, and future-ready for both Google and AI. The road ahead: Blogging in 2026–2030 So where does all this lead? What does blogging even look like five years from now? Here’s what I see coming. We’re heading toward an increasingly agentic web, where AI systems do the searching, summarizing, and recommending for us. Instead of typing a query into Google, people will ask their personal AI for a dinner idea, a travel itinerary, or a product recommendation. And those systems will pull from a short list of trusted sources they already “know.” That’s why what you’re doing today matters so much. Every time you publish a post, refine your site structure, or strengthen your brand signals, you’re teaching AI who you are. You’re building a long-term relationship with the systems that will decide what gets shown and what gets skipped. Here’s how I expect the next few years to unfold: AI-curated discovery becomes normal: Instead of browsing through 10 links, users get custom recommendations from trusted sources. The blogs that survive are the ones AI already recognizes as reliable. Brand-first SEO takes over: Ranking for a keyword will matter less than having your brand show up as the answer. Visibility won’t just depend on optimization, it’ll depend on reputation. Entity-first indexing becomes the foundation: Google and AI models are increasingly indexing based on entities, not URLs. That means your author names, structured data, and topical focus all play a direct role in discoverability. Human storytelling becomes the ultimate differentiator: AI can summarize information, but it can’t replicate lived experience, voice, or emotion. The content that stands out will be the content that feels human. The creators who will win in this next chapter are the ones who stop trying to outsmart Google and start building systems that AI can easily understand and humans genuinely connect with. It’s not about chasing trends or reinventing your site every time an update hits. It’s about getting the fundamentals right and letting clarity, trust, and originality carry you forward. Because the truth is, Google’s not the gatekeeper anymore. You are. Your brand, expertise, and ability to communicate clearly will decide how visible you’ll be in search and AI-driven discovery. Takeaway The next five years of blogging will belong to those who build clear, human-centered brands that AI understands and audiences love. Keep your content fresh, your structure clean, and your voice unmistakably your own. Clarity over chaos If there’s one thing I want bloggers to take away from all this, it’s that clarity always wins. We’re living through the fastest transformation in the history of search. AI is rewriting how content is discovered, ranked, and retrieved. Yes, that’s scary. But it’s also full of opportunity for those willing to adapt. I’ve seen it hundreds of times in audits this year. Bloggers who simplify their sites, clean up their data, and focus on authority signals see measurable results. They show up in AI Overviews. They regain lost rankings. They build audiences that keep coming back, even when algorithms shift again. This isn’t about fighting AI – it’s about working with it. The goal is to show the system who you are and why your content matters. Here’s my advice, regardless of the professional you choose: Get your site audited by someone who understands both SEO and AI search. Keep your content updated and your structure clean. Make your brand easy to recognize, both to readers and to machines. Build for toddlers, drunk adults, and LLMs. It’s never been harder to be a content creator, but it’s never been more possible to build something that lasts. The blogs that survive the next five years will be organized, human, and clear. The future of blogging belongs to the creators who embrace clarity over chaos. AI won’t erase the human voice – it’ll amplify the ones that are worth hearing. Here’s to raised voices and future success. Good luck out there. Dig deeper: Organizing content for AI search: A 3-level framework View the full article

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