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Squarespace announced new AI-powered tools for SEO, AI-search visibility, and identifying growth opportunities The post Squarespace Rolls Out New AI Tools For SEO And Design appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Figures from Bank for International Settlements show rapid growth of currency tradingView the full article

Google AI Mode is getting more visual by providing a more graphical response to some of your queries, including your shopping search queries. Google can do this by using its new visual version of the query fan-out technique it has used with AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google AI Mode, for certain queries, particularly those related to shopping, will respond with images and graphics. These are aimed at sparking inspiration, Robby Stein, VP of Product Management at Google Search, told Search Engine Land. AI Mode will be able to not just understand your query in a text-based manner, but also understand your query visually and respond with both textual and visual responses. It is a new and updated fluid, ongoing conversation in AI Mode that “sparks inspiration,” Google said. Visual search fan-out technique. Google’s fan out technique is able breaking down your question into subtopics and issuing a multitude of queries simultaneously on your behalf. Now, Google can also do this visually by looking at the image and text query input for query analysis and various image region analysis, including meta data and context around the image. Then Google AI Mode can render a visual grid of responses to your query. “This means AI Mode can perform a more comprehensive analysis of an image, recognizing subtle details and secondary objects in addition to the primary subjects – and then runs multiple queries in the background. This helps it understand the full visual context and the nuance of your natural language question to deliver highly relevant visual results,” Google wrote. AI Mode is more visual. Now when you search for some queries in AI Mode, the responses will be much more graphical and visual, right up front. Yes, AI Mode may have responded with images before, but now the images are higher and more prominent in some of the responses. Plus, you can conduct follow up questions on the visual responses. “You’ll see rich visuals that match the vibe you’re looking for, and can follow up in whatever way is most natural for you, like asking for more options with dark tones and bold prints. Each image has a link, so you can click out and learn more when something catches your eye. And because the experience is multimodal, you can also start your search by uploading an image or snapping a photo,” Google added. Shopping in AI Mode. Lilian Rincon, VP Product Management Google Shopping, told us one of the best places for a visual experience is with shopping in Google Search. A more visual AI Mode helps you shop conversationally with fresh shopping data, can lead to a better shopping experience. With the addition of Google’s Shopping Graph of 50 billion product listings, where 2 billion products are refreshed daily every hour, the responses are not just inspirational but detailed and helpful. AI Mode for Shopping can not just give you ideas on what to put in your living room but also help you find the perfect article of clothing, in your color, style and fit. Here is a video of this in action: More details. This is launching today in Google AI Mode in the US in English. These are free listings, not shopping ads, and currently have no paid model, including no affiliate model. While Google has ads in AI Overviews, Google is only experimenting with ads in AI Mode, and there are no more details on ads right now for this experience. Agentic experiences, like helping you buy and find what your looking for, is here for some areas now in Search Labs. But Google said they want the final purchase to happen directly on the retailer’s site. Why we care. A new, more visual and graphical experience in AI Mode, may be a better search experience for some searchers and for some queries. Google is experimenting with a lot of changes to Google Search and is rapidly trying new interfaces and technologies. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In Lifehacker’s series, “A Guide to Automating Your Entire Home,” we’re highlighting all the ways you can power your home with autonomous technology, room by room. Whether you want to build a smart security system, turn a “dumb” device smart, or simply control your lights from your phone, this guide will help walk you through it. Temperature is crucial to your comfort at home, and smart tech can help you find that perfect balance—starting with smart thermostats, but extending to other devices and apps to help through the summer and winter months. Not only does a smart tech overhaul like this mean more precise temperature control, it also helps cut down on energy bills, because you're only heating and cooling when you need to. These systems can be operated remotely via apps, set to work on a schedule, and can sometimes even automatically adapt to the local weather conditions. Smart thermostatsA smart thermostat is a good starting point for most people. They're simple to set up in most cases, replacing the thermostat on your wall and connecting to the same internal wiring: Google, for example, has a complete guide to installing a Nest thermostat. Once you've disconnected the power, it's typically a 20- to 30-minute job, although on older properties some more work and extra connections might be required. You can then control the temperature in your home through the physical smart thermostat itself, and through the companion app on your phone. Many smart devices will hook up to a smart home platform (or two) as well, which gives you extras like voice control (through an AI assistant such as Alexa), and tighter integration with everything else in your smart home. If you already have a home full of devices that work with Apple Home, Samsung SmartThings, or Google Home, then it makes sense to buy a smart thermostat to match. It means you'll have more options for controlling your gadgets (through an Apple TV 4K box, for example, if you're deep in the Apple ecosystem). Once you've mastered the basics, you can move on to more advanced features. Smart thermostat features can vary depending on the model and manufacturer, but most offer a broadly similar set of functions: The ability to set up heating and cooling routines to work on a schedule, remote access when you're away from home, and smart adjustments based on weather, time, or sensor readings from around your home. You could, for example, have the smart thermostat automatically adjust to your current location (reported by your phone), so putting your HVAC system into a power-saving mode when you're out at the office, then starting to heat up rooms again when you're on the way back. Or maybe you can have the temperature automatically adjusted while you sleep, maintaining a consistent coolness based on sensor readings overnight. As well as the Google Nest Thermostat mentioned above, you've also got devices like the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium. Its capabilities include being able to adjust temperature in relation to humidity—via the bundled smart sensor—and timing its heating and cooling for periods when electricity is going to cost the least amount, as much as possible. Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium $219.99 at Amazon $259.99 Save $40.00 Learn More Learn More $219.99 at Amazon $259.99 Save $40.00 The Honeywell T5 Smart Thermostat is one of the most customizable devices of its type around, which extends to the information shown on its clear touchscreen panel, and you can schedule heating and cooling timings for up to a week in advance. The accompanying Resideo app means easy access to all the controls from a phone or tablet. Smart thermostat accessoriesSmart vents give you a little bit more control over how and when specific rooms are heated and cooled, whether this control is automated or handled manually. A Flair Smart Vent, for example, can be operated through a dedicated app or through a wider smart home system. Then you've got smart ceiling fans—rather than having you switch these fans on or off manually, you can set them to operate on a schedule, or have them enabled or disabled depending on the temperature. They start up when needed, and you might not have to lift a finger. With ceiling fans and some other devices (such as smart lights), you can opt to make the connected switch smart rather than the device itself. So, invest in a Lutron Caseta Smart Switch, and you can control a connected ceiling fan from your phone or tablet, or through the Amazon Alexa app and devices. It can be automated based on timings, temperature, and your location, like the other smart devices in your home. Air purity is something else that you might consider looking at, with devices like the Levoit Air Purifier available. It's another device that plugs into the Alexa ecosystem, enabling control via apps and smart speakers, and it can scrub dust and pollen from the air across an area of up to 1,073 square feet. Levoit Air Purifier $182.99 at Amazon $219.99 Save $37.00 Learn More Learn More $182.99 at Amazon $219.99 Save $37.00 There are also spot heating and cooling fans that work separately to a smart thermostat, giving you on-demand temperature control across a smaller space—you can move these from room to room as needed, and they often come with support for app control and at least some level of integration with your other smart home devices. Another example here is the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1, which throws in air purification features as well. While the cooling isn't active (it's just blowing air around), the heating is, and it can come in useful all the year round—and again, it can be operated via an app in addition to a physical remote control and the buttons on the device itself. One final option: Smart blinds. These are handy to have at night, but they also help you manage the temperatures in specific rooms. If there's a room that's a real sun trap, you can set a smart blind to block out the sunshine during the hottest part of the day, so it's relatively cool whenever you decide to go into it. Something like the Zstarr Motorized Smart Blind works well here. Via the remote control, you can set up timings for raising and lowering the blinds, and it can be plugged into Amazon Alexa and Google Home smart ecosystems as well if you need it to work with your other smart devices. There are plenty of ways to approach this, and you can add devices as you need once you've got the essentials in place. Eventually, it's possible to get the temperature of every room carefully calibrated using the right gadgets and apps—with the devices all working on a schedule of your choosing, and in combination with each other. View the full article

But only until the next scandal. By CPA Trendlines Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

But only until the next scandal. By CPA Trendlines Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

Smart home devices can streamline a lot of your day-to-day tasks: With an internet connection and some simple automations, you may never have to carry house keys, turn off the lights, or touch your thermostat. But all of this convenience comes at a potential cost, as smart tech is vulnerable to attack by cyber actors, leaving your personal data and your privacy at risk. Here's what you need to know to secure your smart home. Is your smart home secure? The short answer: not by default. Smart homes have vulnerabilities at multiple levels, from the devices themselves to your home network to the physical endpoints, like your phone, that have access to and control over your Internet of Things (IoT). To start, IoT devices may have weak built-in security protocols or lack clear instructions to help users lock them down from factory settings, leaving them open to hackers, who have to exert very little effort to access your data or spy on you. Wifi routers and smart home devices often have default credentials that are publicly available and therefore easy to get past—and data show that the vast majority of users have never changed their router admin password or adjusted any factory settings. If your home network isn't secure, nothing connected to it can be considered secure either. Smart devices can also be integrated into botnets, allowing threat actors to conduct malicious activity like account takeovers and malware distribution using your home network. A recent instance of this was a campaign known as BADBOX 2.0, which targeted off-brand consumer electronics manufactured in China. Bill Budington, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), notes the digital divide may increase the risk for some consumers, who may seek out cheaper devices from low-cost manufacturers that have weaker security and far less to lose in terms of reputation if they are implicated in vulnerabilities compared to companies like Amazon. Finally, security can be compromised if your physical devices fall into the wrong hands. For example, if you control your smart home using apps on your phone, a threat actor could gain access in the event said phone is lost, stolen, or hacked. Smart homes can compromise privacyLeft unsecured, smart home devices can also put your privacy (and potentially your safety) at risk. Internet-connected cameras, from baby monitors to pet cams, are vulnerable to hacking, and threat actors can use them to surveil you and your home. This may include snooping on and tracking your movements, "shoulder surfing" to collect sensitive personal information, recording audio and video footage of your private activities, and sharing or selling live feeds on the dark web. (In a particularly alarming incident in 2018, a hacker reportedly issued verbal threats toward a four-month-old through a Nest-brand baby monitor.) Your smart tech is likely collecting a lot of information about you in the course of its normal activities—all of which could be exploited. For example, your robot vacuum creates and utilizes a map of your physical layout to know where to go, and usage patterns from various automations can be used to track your movements and confirm when you're away from home. There's also the possibility that your smart home devices are compromising your data in ways you aren't aware of and haven't actively consented to. A 2023 report from security experts—led by the nonprofit IMDEA Networks and Northeastern University—shows that IoT devices may inadvertently expose personal information that can be harvested and sold to companies involved in surveillance capitalism. Researchers found that spyware apps and advertisers abuse local network protocols to access sensitive data, making it easier to profile users. No security standards for smart homesThere isn't a single set of cybersecurity standards that smart home companies have to follow or an easy, centralized resource for users to research this information. Earlier this year—during the last few weeks of the Biden administration—the Federal Communications Commission launched the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark voluntary labeling program to incentivize device manufacturers to improve security and help consumers buy with confidence. However, the agency later launched an investigation into the program, delaying its rollout. For now, consumers are left to do their own due diligence. In 2017, the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation created a resource called *Privacy Not Included, with reviews of products measured against "minimum security standards" and breakdowns of any privacy concerns. The site doesn't appear to have been updated in the last year, but you can still find detailed information about the privacy and security history of well-known smart home manufacturers like Amazon, Google, Wyze, and Ecobee. Otherwise, Budington suggests simply searching the device you're considering (and the company that makes it) before buying to see if researchers or users have reported any concerns. How to improve smart home securitySecuring your smart home starts with securing your internet connection via your router. We've got a whole guide to protecting your home network, but at the very least, you should change any default router settings—admin usernames, passwords, and network names—to something unique and not personally identifiable and turn on encryption in your wireless security settings. Regularly check for updates, which provide patches for security flaws, and audit the devices connected to your network to identify anything suspicious and remove those you no longer use. You can add another layer of security with a guest network set up specifically for your IoT devices. That way, if your smart devices are compromised, everything connected to your primary network (such as computers and phones with access to your personal and financial accounts) will be protected. According to Budington, one way to further mitigate vulnerability is to reduce the number of devices with their own wireless connection, running them through a secure, centralized hub instead. Home Assistant is a self-hosted option that can be installed on a Raspberry Pi or a traditional PC or used with the plug-and-play Home Assistant Green. Hubitat also gives you local control over your device data and integrates with a variety of products, including those compatible with the Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Matter standards. Once your network is secure, you'll want to take similar steps with each of your IoT devices. Change default usernames and passwords to unique, secure alternatives and enable all available security features, such as two-factor authentication and encryption, in the device settings. Ensure your devices (and any apps used to control them) receive automatic firmware updates. You should also check your device's privacy settings, removing permissions that aren't essential for it to function and disabling features you won't use. For example, you could turn off location tracking on your smart thermostat and disable voice control for devices other than your voice assistant. Finally, while we've focused mostly on digital threats, your smart home isn't immune to physical compromise. Be aware of ways your devices can be accessed, such as those installed on the exterior of your house, and ensure phones and tablets and the apps on them that control IoT devices are secured with a PIN or biometric authentication. Remember that, by nature, anything connected to the internet is at least somewhat vulnerable to attack. You'll have to consider your own risk tolerance and weigh the convenience of having a smart device against the potential for it to be compromised—and your privacy along with it. You may find that there are some things that you simply don't need to automate, and therefore you can stick with the "dumb" alternative. View the full article

Cleaning is one of those necessary chores that most of us don't have much enthusiasm for. It's often demanding and tedious work, and while you're taking care of it, you do so with the knowledge that you're going to have to do it all again next week. There's some good news, though, for the cleaning-averse: Modern day tech can handle a lot of these jobs on your behalf, as smart cleaning gadgets continue to get better and better. In recent years, they've become more reliable and more effective, and you've got a host of different models to choose from. This introduction to smart cleaning technology will bring you up to date on the products that are available, and what they can do for you. Yes, you can have a home that's neater and cleaner—with just a few button presses. The pros and cons of cleaning techThe big positive from investing in smart cleaning gadgets is, of course, that you won't have to do these jobs yourself, so the hours you save can be put towards doing something you actually enjoy. These gadgets don't get tired, sick, or irritable, and will work at any time of the day or night—though you don't necessarily want a robot vacuum humming away at 4 a.m.. In many cases they can be operated remotely and work autonomously, so they can be taking care of the chores while you're out at work or on vacation. You can get smart devices to wash your windows for you. Credit: Ecovacs You are going to have to make an initial investment in the technology, and, for some devices, a rather sizable one. The argument can be made that hiring someone to do your cleaning is a better option than getting robots to do it: They might do a more thorough job, depending on the person and the gadget you're comparing them to, and you can give them more specific instructions. However, getting cleaners in does involve giving someone else access to your home, and finding a mutually convenient time. It will also be an ongoing expense. There are a few more cons to consider. One is that a certain amount of tidying up and preparation work is often required before the robots can take over. You may have to pick up toys and clothes, for example, so the robot vacuum can vacuum. By the time you've done that, you might think it makes more sense to just do the whole job yourself. Many smart devices can be controlled via an app. Credit: iRobot What's more, these gadgets require a certain level of maintenance: Depending on the device, you need to empty them out, supply them with power, water, and cleaning products, and perhaps even clean parts of them yourself. Like any piece of hardware, they will experience wear and tear, and will eventually need to be replaced. There's one other consideration to think about, which is that manual cleaning is a great way to exercise. Studies have shown that domestic duties can give you enough of a workout to extend your lifespan and improve a host of different health markers, so you might want to use some of the time that these gadgets are saving you to head out for a run or for a session at the gym. The best smart cleaning gadgets you can buyIf you've decided that you want to transform your home into one that cleans itself, you can automate a number of different processes using a number of different devices. There's plenty of choice out there, so the usual rules apply: Take your time to research the various options and the features they're offering versus their price, and find as many reviews as you can from people who've used them. Robot vacuums and mopsThis is the obvious place to start, as these are the gadgets that usually come to mind when you think of smart cleaning tech. You can find single-purpose devices that only vacuum or only mop, or devices that combine both functions. While early models had their issues with reliability and cleaning power, the robot vacuums you can buy today are generally more impressive in terms of how clean they can get your carpets and floors. You'll find features like LiDAR and camera-powered mapping and obstacle avoidance, self-emptying capabilities, and auto-adjustments depending on what surface is being cleaned. Often, everything these machines do can be organized through a companion app, so you can set the cleaners to work on a specific schedule, as well as set zones or rooms that are off limits. We're even starting to see robot vacuums that can climb up the stairs, so they really can get your whole house vacuumed and mopped without an assist. The Roborock Saros 10R comes with its own docking station. Credit: Roborock These cleaners can be a significant investment. The Samsung Jet Bot+ costs $600 and brings with it automatic emptying, LiDAR-based navigation around your rooms, smart suction adjustments, and an advanced 5-layer HEPA filtration system for trapping dust. If you've got more to spend, the Roborock Saros 10R can be yours for $1,600, and offers top-tier suction, obstacle avoidance, corner and edge cleaning, and automatic emptying via the supplied dock. Smart window washersYou can also put robots to work on your windows—although there are fewer models to choose from. Using suction to work their way across windows, cleaning and drying as they go, leaving you with window panes free of dust and grime. Again, these tools can be managed via an app, though a bit more manual setup is required to get them in position to start cleaning. The Ecovacs Winbot series includes some of the best window cleaning options on the market at the moment. The Ecovacs Winbot W2 Pro Omni costs $450, and can work while plugged in or via its built-in battery. It has a triple-nozzle system is combined with a cleaning cloth for effective performance as it methodically travels across windows of almost any size or type. The LG WM6700HBA comes with AI settings. Credit: LG Smart washers and dryersThen there are devices that add some extra smarts to existing appliances, such as smart washers and dryers. These pieces of hardware elevate clothes cleaning with a variety of useful and intelligent tricks, including the ability to adjust cleaning and drying cycles to the type and size of load, remote control via mobile apps, and a number of self-maintaining mechanisms. A good example is the LG WM6700HBA, which will set you back $1,250. There's on-board AI assistance to work out the best cycles for the clothes you're washing, an automatic dispenser for just the right amount of detergent and fabric softener to cut down on waste, and remote operations and monitoring via the LG ThinQ app. Smart dishwashersFinally we have smart dishwashers, which use automated technology to give your crockery and cutlery a better clean than standard appliances might. The features are similar to those you'll find on smart washers and dryers: Sensing technology for understanding what's been loaded in and adjusting the cleaning accordingly, remote app control and smart home integration, and as much automated maintenance and self-cleaning as possible. Take a look at the Bosch 500 Series, which is priced at $1,250 at the time of writing. It has intelligent sensors to check cleaning progress, an AutoAir feature that automatically pops the dishwasher door open when cleaning is finished to let air circulate, and the option of operating cleaning cycles and other dishwasher features from an app on your phone. View the full article

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, the U.S. government could shut down. If that happens, it will be because Congressional Republicans and Democrats could not reach an agreement on a new funding bill, which is required to keep the government running. As noted by CBS News, one of the key sticking points between Democrats and Republicans involves healthcare provisions in the proposed bill. Democrats want provisions in the bill that would help fund healthcare for millions of Americans across the country. They also want restrictions on President The President’s ability to withhold such healthcare funding. Republicans have so far refused to entertain these provisions. If a deal can’t be reached, the federal government will shut down on Wednesday, October 1. The shutdown will impact Americans in different ways, depending on their livelihoods and the services they rely on. Here’s how a government shutdown could affect three large groups of Americans, including Social Security recipients, travelers, and federal workers. What if I’m a Social Security recipient? The good news is that if you currently receive Social Security payments, the government shutdown will not stop those payments from being sent to you, reports CBS News. This is no doubt a relief for the 74 million Americans who get Social Security checks every month. The reason Social Security checks will continue to come is that Social Security spending is mandatory and therefore does not need to be renewed on a yearly basis. However, some administrative tasks of the Social Security Administration (SSA) could be impacted due to federal workers being furloughed during the shutdown. This could include “benefit verifications, earnings record corrections and updates, overpayments processing, and replacing Medicare cards,” Max Richtman, CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, told CBS News. Will a government shutdown delay my flight? If the government does shut down, not all federal employees who work in travel-related positions will be furloughed. This is because some of these workers are considered “essential,” so federal law says they must continue working—albeit without pay in many cases. Essential federal workers include those who work for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CPB). It also includes those who work for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including air traffic controllers, as noted by USA Today. However, while these workers will continue to perform their roles, it’s possible that if the shutdown continues for a long time, some of them could attempt to strike over a lack of pay. If a strike occurs, it could cause delays at airports. And then there are the “non-essential” federal employees who work in travel-related positions, such as those in the National Park Service. Many of these workers will be furloughed, which could lead to the closure of national parks or their understaffing. How will a government shutdown affect federal workers? Without a doubt, the most immediate impact of a federal shutdown will be felt by Americans who work for the federal government. If a shutdown occurs, most federal employees who are considered “non-essential” workers will be furloughed. During the time they are off work, they will not be paid, which could have devastating financial consequences for them and their families. A law passed in 2019 states that federal workers who are furloughed during a shutdown have a right to back pay once funding is restored, but that law does nothing to help those workers while the shutdown is in place. What’s more, things could be worse for federal workers this time around when compared to previous government shutdowns. That’s because the The President administration has stated that if the government is shut down, federal agencies should prepare to permanently lay off federal workers whose jobs don’t align with President The President’s priorities, CNN reports. If the The President administration goes through with those plans, it could mean that when some federal workers leave their jobs on Wednesday, if there is a shutdown, they may never return to those roles again. Will a federal government shutdown happen? Congress has less than 24 hours to avert a federal government shutdown. And as of the time of this writing, there are no signs that the Republicans and Democrats are close to an agreement to pass the funding needed to avert a shutdown. If the government shuts down, it will not be unprecedented. As CBS News notes, government shutdowns have occurred 14 times since 1980. The most recent shutdown was in The President’s first term in 2018-2019, when the federal government shut down for 34 days—the longest shutdown on record. Whether the average American who isn’t a federal worker feels the immediate impact of any shutdown depends on their situation, but most should experience a limited impact if the shutdown doesn’t last long. As noted above, this is because Social Security checks will continue to arrive, planes will remain in the air, and mail will continue to be delivered (since the United States Postal Service is a self-funded institution). To see how a shutdown may affect other aspects of life, it’s worth checking out the various 2025 Federal Government Shutdown FAQs that are being posted by some members of Congress on their websites. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In Lifehacker’s series, “A Guide to Automating Your Entire Home,” we’re highlighting all the ways you can power your home with autonomous technology, room by room. Whether you want to build a smart security system, turn a “dumb” device smart, or simply control your lights from your phone, this guide will help walk you through it. We might not live in a future where your home can cook your meals, do your dishes, and walk your pets—yet. But there's one area where the smart home of the future became a normal reality while we were barely paying attention: your lights. I've been using smart lights for the better part of a decade and I can't go back to typical lights. There are several brands of smart lights from companies like Philips, GE, Wyze, and more that can turn any lamp or light fixture into smart home-controlled lighting. You can use your phone, smart speakers like Amazon's Echo line, or Google's Nest speakers. The best smart light brands right now WiZ Connected Smart Light Bulbs $31.13 at Amazon Learn More Learn More $31.13 at Amazon Several major brands manufacture smart lights and, while it is technically possible to mix and match bulbs from different companies, it's easier if you stick to one ecosystem. With that in mind, here are a few of the most established companies and the benefits of each: The reigning champion: Philips Hue. These are the lights I personally use. Philips Hue is the most established competitor, with a massive array of bulbs, light strips, lamps and other lighting gear. Its software suite is also one of the most developed, with robust automation tools and colorful scene libraries. Historically, it's also been the most expensive system, but the company recently announced a line of cheaper bulbs. An inexpensive entry point: Wiz. If you don't want to spend $50 per light bulb in your home—and who can blame you?—Wiz is an affordable alternative to Hue. The company offers full-color bulbs that start as low as around $12 per bulb, in a variety of form factors. For stylistic flair: LIFX. Similar to Philips Hue, LIFX is a bit more expensive, but the company offers a wide variety of unique, stylish lights, like colorful tube bulbs, or flexible LED strips. For customizable lighting arrays: Nanoleaf. While Nanoleaf technically makes its own series of typical smart light bulbs, the company is best known for its modular lighting kits. These kits come in shapes like hexagons, lines, blocks, and more. Each piece can be individually controlled, and you can combine them to make your own designs for wall lighting. They're not subtle, but they're fun as heck. These are just a few of the many companies out there producing smart lights. While a few like Philips Hue require dedicated hubs to make their lights work, most companies are now focused on making standalone bulbs that can connect directly to wifi. The growing Matter standard is also (slowly) making it easier to integrate lights from multiple companies. While you'll still likely need to refer to a company's own app or hub to make some changes, Matter-compatible smart lights can usually replace the need to look for "Works With Google Home" or similar labels for your specific setup. What you need to set up smart lightsIn most cases, the only thing you'll technically need to set up smart lights is the lights themselves. Most smart light manufacturers at least make bulbs compatible with A19 sockets (the kind in most of your lighting fixtures and lamps), and ecosystems like Wiz, LIFX, and GE's Cync don't require a dedicated hub. Philips Hue, notably, does. And if you're getting into Hue now, you're probably best off getting the Hue Bridge Pro, which supports syncing lights to your media, using your bulbs as motion sensors, and more new features. While that's technically all you need to set up smart lights, there are a few things you can get to make even better use of your new system: A smart speaker. I cannot emphasize enough how great it feels to turn your bedroom lights off while tucked snugly under the covers. Voice-controlled speakers like Google Nest and Amazon Echo devices are excellent for this. A smart display. The one downside to smart lights is that you can't use switches on the walls the same way anymore (more on that later). But a smart display can be a huge improvement. Google Nest Hubs or Amazon Echo Show devices can put an array of controls for your smart lights in a prominent place so anyone in your home can not only turn lights on and off with a tap, but change lighting levels or color scenes. Some smartphone widgets. While all of the above are convenient, more often than not, you'll probably have your phone on you. Some smart light manufacturers build robust widgets for iPhone and Android devices, so you can tap a button on your home screen to turn your lights on and off. It's worth checking to see which features a company supports before committing to an ecosystem. The last things you'll need to set up your smart lights are time and patience. While the process has gotten a lot simpler than it was even a few years ago, you might need to spend a bit of time fiddling with room names, syncing services, and testing out a few commands. Fortunately, you usually only need to do this once. I've even moved to a new home and kept my old setup largely intact. What you can do with smart lights"Okay, sure, smart lights are getting cheaper, but are they really worth the extra money over simple bulbs and a wall switch that's worked for decades?" I hear you cry. And I'm here to tell you, absolutely, yes. I've used a lot of new tech over the years that's fun at first, but annoying once the novelty wears off. But smart lights are one of the few areas where I never want to go back. Here are a few of the ways I make use of smart lights on a regular basis: Change lights with the sun. During the day, the bright, cool light coming in from your windows has a different quality than the warm, dimmer lights you're used to from lamps. With smart lights, you can set your bulbs to automatically adjust based on a set schedule (or your local sunrise/sunset) to ease the lighting conditions in your home. Set the mood for date night... Sometimes, all it takes to turn a regular Tuesday night into a romantic evening is a simple shift in mood lighting. I have a few scenes in my Philips Hue app saved for when I want to create some nice ambiance for my partner when we're having a chill evening in. …or for self-care. Similar to the above, one of my favorite Hue scenes is an animation that mimics the flickering of candlelight. Set the lights in your bathroom to this scene, draw a warm bath, toss in a bath bomb, and have the most relaxing night in. Simulate activity while you're away. One of the best ways to make a local burglar think twice about trying to enter your home is to convince them someone is there. With lighting schedules, you can set your home to turn lights on and off even while you're away. Turn lights on automatically for you. Ever trip over things in the dark while you're bringing in groceries? No more. Most smart light ecosystems allow you to automatically turn on certain lights when you enter a geofenced area (like your home). Alternatively, some suites like Philips Hue have motion-sensing features so you can turn lights on when you enter a room, without relying on tools like GPS. With automation services like IFTTT, you can even set up more complex controls—e.g., flashing lights when your doorbell rings, or blinking a light in your office when you get an email from your boss. Smart light switches make it all even easier LIFX Smart Switch, 2 Button in-Wall Wi-Fi Smart Touch Switch (White) $23.90 at Amazon $49.99 Save $26.09 Learn More Learn More $23.90 at Amazon $49.99 Save $26.09 When I first set up smart lights in my home, my loved ones were mostly on board, but there was one point of contention: the light switch. People are still generally used to flipping switches when they enter a room. With smart lights, they generally need to stay on all the time, and you even need to retrain your muscle memory a bit to not forget and accidentally turn them off manually. There are two main ways to fix this in the smart home world, and which one you need can depend on how much effort you want to put in (and, frankly, whether you rent or own your home): In-wall smart light switches. Some smart light switches, like this one from LIFX can be installed directly in place of your existing light switches. This one lets you turn a light on or off from the wall switch, without cutting off the ability to turn it back on from a voice command or smart phone app. Since it also replaces the old switch, there's less need to adjust your muscle memory. Remote control switches. If you don't want to (or can't) replace your in-wall light switches, companies like Philips Hue offer a handy alternative in the form of remote switches. These provide buttons you can use to turn on/off or dim lights from a battery-powered remote. This model in particular comes with a plate you can stick on your wall next to your regular switch, while the remote is removable so you can take it with you around the room. It uses sticky pads and magnets for mounting, so you can safely put it up in an apartment and take it with you when you move. Strictly speaking, smart light switches are optional. That's part of the appeal of smart lights, after all. But if you live in a home with multiple people, and if you have guests over who might not have access to your lighting controls, a physical switch can be a handy addition. View the full article

Corporate finance is undergoing a transformative shift, particularly for small to mid-sized businesses. Recent findings from Visa’s third annual Growth Corporates Working Capital Index indicate that working capital is now a pivotal growth engine rather than merely a buffer against risks. This evolution offers a wealth of opportunities for small business owners, allowing them to leverage new tools and strategies for better liquidity management. Visa’s Index, which surveyed over 1,400 CFOs and Treasurers across 10 industries and 23 countries, highlights two distinct profiles of finance leaders emerging in this landscape: the Strategic Planner and the Adaptable Accelerator. Both types are utilizing technology and financial tools to navigate challenges and seize opportunities. The Strategic Planner adopts a long-term view, not just safeguarding capital but actively utilizing it for growth and supplier relationship building. On the other hand, the Adaptable Accelerator is focused on immediate needs, quickly deploying working capital solutions to manage volatility or to seize unforeseen growth opportunities. Notably, usage of corporate cards for these purposes has tripled globally, signaling a shift toward agility in finance. Lauren Hewings, Visa’s Head of Working Capital Solutioning, stated, “Our 2025-2026 Index underscores that working capital management is no longer defensive. Finance leaders are unlocking an average of $19 million in savings while accelerating supplier payments and transforming receivables.” This statistic can be game-changing for small business owners who often feel the pinch of cash flow constraints. Efficient cash management significantly impacts small businesses, and the Index reveals promising strategies. By leveraging AI and digital tools, CFOs and Treasurers have reported as much as $19 million in savings through better management of liquidity. In fact, over half of Growth Corporates have begun using AI for enhanced forecasting and workflow automation. This approach has led to an impressive increase in cash flow visibility and a marked decrease in financial uncertainty. Small businesses are particularly well-positioned to derive benefits from this trend. The ability to pay suppliers faster, negotiate better terms, and utilize AI-driven insights could mean the difference between thriving and just surviving in a competitive market. Visa’s research shows that 53% of finance leaders use corporate and virtual cards to enhance cash flow. This trend underscores a noteworthy pivot: more businesses are recognizing corporate cards not just as transactional tools but as strategic instruments for financial growth. However, as with any emerging strategy, there are challenges. Visa’s Index notes a significant increase in loan rejection rates, now sitting at 27% globally, complicating financing options for many businesses. Small business owners may find themselves frustrated by traditional banks, which often lag in providing digital-first tailored offerings. The shift in financial needs means that a re-evaluation of partnerships with financial service providers may be necessary to align with immediate business goals. The Index also highlighted that small and mid-sized companies are increasingly demanding simplified digital solutions and on-demand financing that aligns with real-time cash flow. For business owners, this means seeking out partners that can offer flexibility and match the pace of today’s fast-evolving marketplace. The advantages of pivoting strategies in working capital management are clear. Finance leaders embracing these shifts are outperforming their peers, demonstrating enhanced efficiency and innovation. With veteran CFOs twice as likely to leverage corporate cards strategically, it becomes apparent that experience in finance significantly influences organizational outcomes. In this new era of financial management, small business owners can potentially enhance liquidity while maximizing their growth capabilities by rethinking their approach to working capital. Embracing technology and understanding the profiles of effective financial leaders can help smaller firms navigate a complex financial landscape, ultimately fostering resilience and driving growth. To explore the full report and benchmark your operations, visit Visa’s dedicated site: Visa Working Capital Index. The findings not only provide insights into managing liquidity but also offer a roadmap for small businesses aiming to thrive in today’s volatile economic climate. Image via Envato This article, "CFOs Shift Focus: Working Capital Transforms into Growth Engine" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Corporate finance is undergoing a transformative shift, particularly for small to mid-sized businesses. Recent findings from Visa’s third annual Growth Corporates Working Capital Index indicate that working capital is now a pivotal growth engine rather than merely a buffer against risks. This evolution offers a wealth of opportunities for small business owners, allowing them to leverage new tools and strategies for better liquidity management. Visa’s Index, which surveyed over 1,400 CFOs and Treasurers across 10 industries and 23 countries, highlights two distinct profiles of finance leaders emerging in this landscape: the Strategic Planner and the Adaptable Accelerator. Both types are utilizing technology and financial tools to navigate challenges and seize opportunities. The Strategic Planner adopts a long-term view, not just safeguarding capital but actively utilizing it for growth and supplier relationship building. On the other hand, the Adaptable Accelerator is focused on immediate needs, quickly deploying working capital solutions to manage volatility or to seize unforeseen growth opportunities. Notably, usage of corporate cards for these purposes has tripled globally, signaling a shift toward agility in finance. Lauren Hewings, Visa’s Head of Working Capital Solutioning, stated, “Our 2025-2026 Index underscores that working capital management is no longer defensive. Finance leaders are unlocking an average of $19 million in savings while accelerating supplier payments and transforming receivables.” This statistic can be game-changing for small business owners who often feel the pinch of cash flow constraints. Efficient cash management significantly impacts small businesses, and the Index reveals promising strategies. By leveraging AI and digital tools, CFOs and Treasurers have reported as much as $19 million in savings through better management of liquidity. In fact, over half of Growth Corporates have begun using AI for enhanced forecasting and workflow automation. This approach has led to an impressive increase in cash flow visibility and a marked decrease in financial uncertainty. Small businesses are particularly well-positioned to derive benefits from this trend. The ability to pay suppliers faster, negotiate better terms, and utilize AI-driven insights could mean the difference between thriving and just surviving in a competitive market. Visa’s research shows that 53% of finance leaders use corporate and virtual cards to enhance cash flow. This trend underscores a noteworthy pivot: more businesses are recognizing corporate cards not just as transactional tools but as strategic instruments for financial growth. However, as with any emerging strategy, there are challenges. Visa’s Index notes a significant increase in loan rejection rates, now sitting at 27% globally, complicating financing options for many businesses. Small business owners may find themselves frustrated by traditional banks, which often lag in providing digital-first tailored offerings. The shift in financial needs means that a re-evaluation of partnerships with financial service providers may be necessary to align with immediate business goals. The Index also highlighted that small and mid-sized companies are increasingly demanding simplified digital solutions and on-demand financing that aligns with real-time cash flow. For business owners, this means seeking out partners that can offer flexibility and match the pace of today’s fast-evolving marketplace. The advantages of pivoting strategies in working capital management are clear. Finance leaders embracing these shifts are outperforming their peers, demonstrating enhanced efficiency and innovation. With veteran CFOs twice as likely to leverage corporate cards strategically, it becomes apparent that experience in finance significantly influences organizational outcomes. In this new era of financial management, small business owners can potentially enhance liquidity while maximizing their growth capabilities by rethinking their approach to working capital. Embracing technology and understanding the profiles of effective financial leaders can help smaller firms navigate a complex financial landscape, ultimately fostering resilience and driving growth. To explore the full report and benchmark your operations, visit Visa’s dedicated site: Visa Working Capital Index. The findings not only provide insights into managing liquidity but also offer a roadmap for small businesses aiming to thrive in today’s volatile economic climate. Image via Envato This article, "CFOs Shift Focus: Working Capital Transforms into Growth Engine" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Engineering teams usually have a quality assurance (QA) process. Without it, they risk releasing work that hurts the user experience and creates unforeseen technical issues – including major SEO problems. That’s where SEO QA comes in. Adding SEO-specific checks to existing QA protocols helps teams catch and fix issues before they go live. But this step is less common than you’d think. Too often, it’s overlooked. This article outlines what it takes to build an effective SEO QA discipline and provides a checklist SEOs and QA engineers can use to cover their bases. Why SEO QA gets overlooked Unless SEO is fully integrated with engineering, SEO-specific QA often gets overlooked. As a result, SEOs may not flag problems until a tech audit – or worse, when they show up as organic KPI declines. This is especially common when SEO teams sit under marketing instead of product or engineering, since they’re excluded from regular milestones and lifecycle meetings. That makes it harder to communicate SEO’s importance, win buy-in, and establish it as part of everyday development. Having a QA team within engineering is also no longer a given. In agile environments, some teams prioritize speed over fully clean rollouts. Others rely on AI tools to automate QA or monitor for technical issues, instead of employing dedicated QA engineers. In short, there are plenty of reasons many teams lack a well-developed SEO QA practice. What are the benefits of SEO QA? For SEOs to be able to proactively find and resolve issues before they go out into the world, they need two things on a regular basis: Opportunities to view upcoming engineering tickets and flag any that may have potential SEO impact. (A great reason for an SEO representative to be a part of sprint planning meetings.) A chance to QA any of the flagged tickets before they hit production. This has a few key benefits for the business: Minimize the chances of deploying code that hurts SEO. Catch and correct errors that hit production before they register with search engines. Capitalize on SEO opportunities related to engineering work that’s already slotted for development. The last bullet is just as much of a reason to implement SEO QA as the first two. It’s not just about catching bugs, it’s about maximizing value while minimizing resources. When SEOs have a chance to see what’s coming up, it allows them to connect the dots between SEO roadmap items and upcoming engineering initiatives to find potential areas of overlap. In turn, the business reaps the SEO benefits of work that’s already in motion, rather than spending additional resources to achieve the same goal later. Best practices: The 4 Ws of SEO QA Alright, now that we’ve established why brands need SEO QA, let’s get into the logistics. Who should perform SEO QA? Ensure QA is performed by: A technical SEO. Or an engineer equipped with clear criteria shared by an SEO. What should they check? Define a checklist of core, critical SEO items that should be a part of QA for any ticket flagged as having potential SEO impact. Refine this checklist on an ongoing basis, tailoring it to the nuances of your web stack, so no one makes the same mistake twice. Automate “always-on” checklist items as much as possible to ease the resource burden over time. Supplement your checklist with any additional, project-specific SEO considerations outlined in product requirements documentation. Always check tracking, so no data is lost if GA4 or GTM issues arise. When should SEO QA happen? The cadence for SEO QA should mimic the site’s development release cycle and existing engineering QA processes. For instance: If your site deploys code on two-week sprints, SEO QA should follow the same cadence. After each release, run a crawl with JavaScript enabled. Sites on platforms like Shopify or WordPress may release – and QA – less often. Where should QA happen? Test in staging before anything goes to production. Some elements might need to be tested in production if they affect indexing or crawlability of content. Example: The staging site might have the robots.txt set to disallow all URLs, since you don’t want staging to get indexed. Implement monitoring tools as a safeguard that helps catch any errors that somehow make it to production. Google Search Console: Make sure your account is set up, notifications are coming through, and check for issues weekly. Third-party crawlers: Set up a weekly crawl in any SEO tool, such as Semrush, Ahrefs, or Sitebulb. Dedicated SEO monitoring toolsets: If you have the budget, certain third-party tools provide real-time auditing and monitoring. Building an SEO QA checklist When SEO requests development work, they write the acceptance criteria in the product requirements and review the work before release. But not all tickets that affect SEO go through that process, which makes an SEO QA checklist essential. The checklist can be used by any SEO or QA engineer on any release flagged for SEO impact. It’s a comprehensive list of core items, organized by category, to ensure issues don’t reach production. Crawling For pages to get indexed, search engines need to access URLs, crawl the content, and use it as context. That’s pretty fundamental to SEO, and a big reason we start here. Note: Crawl issues often impact large swaths of the site because changes can occur across an entire page template or subfolder. Robots.txt: New or removed disallows that might impact URLs you do or don’t want crawled. Are crawlers blocked from the site? Are there any subfolders or parameters blocked that shouldn’t be? Are images or resources like JavaScript blocked? Meta robots tags: Unintended changes from index to noindex, standard to nofollow, or vice versa. Canonical tags: Were canonical URLs added, removed, or changed in ways that will cause issues? For example: Did Page 2+ of paginated listing pages canonicalize back to Page 1? Are filtered URLs properly canonicalized based on whether you want them indexed? HTTP status codes: 3{xx} (redirect), 4{xx} (not available), or 5{xx} (server) errors resulting from changes URL path: Changes to existing URLs that were not previously discussed with the SEO team. Redirects: Are new redirects working properly, or did something break existing redirects? Internal links: Are they coded using an <a href> tag, so crawlers can identify them? Content changes Are all of the following still available and correct? Navigation and footer. Breadcrumbs. SEO titles. Meta descriptions. Headings and other on-page copy. Internal and external links. Images, videos, and other media. Related and recommended items widget. User-generated content (especially reviews). E-E-A-T signals, including author bylines and bios. Hreflang and internationalization features. Structured data: Is it crawlable, parsable, accurate, and reflecting visible information on the page? (Note: Google’s Schema Markup Testing Tool won’t work on staging URLs since crawlers are (hopefully!) blocked.) Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. JavaScript and CSS You can see CSS issues because they visually impact the page. For JavaScript issues, you’ll need tools to understand whether crawlers can access critical content. Unless you’re already running a sitewide crawl with JavaScript enabled, test one or two pages from the affected template (i.e., blog, listing, product detail) using a tool like Rendering Difference Engine. Page elements applicable to the template are available and functioning as intended, including pop-outs, filtering, sort function, and pagination. Any page content that loads after a user interaction is available in HTML that search engines can crawl. If the site serves source HTML, are key elements of the page different in the rendered HTML, such as: Meta robots. Canonicals. Titles. Meta descriptions. Page copy. Internal links. External links. Mobile Google crawls mobile-first. So if you’re only checking on desktop, you’re skipping SEO QA. Does it look and function as it should? Are there any accessibility issues on a smaller screen? Is there consistency between the desktop and mobile versions of the site? Tracking If it’s not part of QA, broken tracking is a recipe for panic. The team will not find the issue until they see KPIs like organic traffic decline. Even worse, until it’s fixed, that’s historical data that you won’t get back. Before launch on staging, check if: All pages and templates have tracking code available. The day after launch, verify that: Internal analytics platform doesn’t show significant declines in KPIs or discrepancies with external reporting tools (e.g., GSC). Optional: A/B testing Not all A/B testing tools distinguish the control and variant for crawlers. They’re usually served one or the other version of the page randomly, which means your variant could impact SEO. Aside from the variable, the pages should be identical to a crawler. Refine over time With every round of QA, engineers and SEOs will learn nuances and find new connections. You’ll discover that certain types of updates are more likely to cause certain types of SEO issues, certain plugins are linked to certain types of problems, etc. Your SEO QA checklist is a living, breathing document and a place to document all of this to make SEO QA more effective – and avoid repeating mistakes – no matter who’s carrying it out. Start with the list below and make it your own over time. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In Lifehacker’s series, “A Guide to Automating Your Entire Home,” we’re highlighting all the ways you can power your home with autonomous technology, room by room. Whether you want to build a smart security system, turn a “dumb” device smart, or simply control your lights from your phone, this guide will help walk you through it. So, you want to start a smart home, but you don't know where to begin? Whether you're starting a smart home from scratch or figuring out how to configure the one you already have, the good news is that it's much less of a headache now than it used to be. Smart home tech has undergone significant simplification in recent years, partly due to the consolidation of platforms and standardization of connected protocols. You just choose your path based on the ecosystem you want to operate in, and then build out your repertoire of devices—things like video doorbells, security cameras, and smart lights—from there. It's all fairly straightforward at that point, so the important thing is choosing the right smart home ecosystem before you begin. The main players here are Google, Apple, and Amazon, which you'll want to choose by determining which control interface you'd prefer. That's because the Matter protocol that most modern smart devices work on is compatible with all three, so it's really the software experience that matters most here. That said, you will also occasionally also run into the Z-Wave and Zigbee protocols when setting up legacy devices, so it's important to double check your chosen ecosystem's support for these if you have a lot of old gear sitting around. (Usually, this relies less on your software and more on your hubs—or, in other words, the central devices that anchor your smart home devices together.) With that explained, let's run through everything you need to know to pick a smart home ecosystem. Google Home The Google Nest Audio. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker Anyone who is already deeply embedded in the Google ecosystem, whether through an Android device, Chromebook, or the Chrome browser, will probably find this ecosystem to be the most comfortable for them. The Google ecosystem is a smart home platform built entirely around the Google Home app and Google Assistant—soon to be Gemini. That means it seamlessly integrates with your Google account and other services, including Gmail, Google Photos, and YouTube, which is a huge plus for people that make heavy use of those apps. On a hardware/protocol level, devices like the Nest Hub smart display and Nest Wifi Pro mesh router are equipped with Matter, so again, they'll work with most current smart home devices. Additionally, they also serve as Thread border routers, with Thread being a low-power protocol that helps maintain your devices' connection throughout your smart home. Additional smart devices with Thread built in help extend that range, but these can help boost it if you notice it's lacking. As for the software experience, your Nest Hub smart displays and Google speakers will act as your smart home's control interface. Or, you could also use an Android device with hands-free "Hey, Google" activated to control your smart devices. iPhone users can tap into this ecosystem natively through iOS, too, although it relies on a combination of the Google app and Google Home apps. Additionally, you'll need an external Nest device, like a Nest Hub or a Google TV Streamer (4K), to act as an anchor. Android users are fully embedded into the ecosystem, meaning less of a reliance on Google's smart home apps, but there are ways to set up Shortcuts on iOS that partially replicate this experience. The best part about the Google smart home ecosystem is that it's compatible with third-party manufacturers, including some of the more obscure ones on the market, such as Rachio, a smart sprinkler controller, and Wiz, Philips Hue (Signify)'s budget-friendly line. Google also has the strongest track record for contextual voice commands, and the company will continue to build on it even as Gemini starts powering the helm. Google says that Gemini will bring more natural language conversations and deeper intelligence in automations. Even if you don't care for voice assistants, the Google Home ecosystem also has a robust smart home routines editor. It's a newer offering since Matter was rolled out, but it has helped enhance the relative tinkerability of the platform. Apple HomeKit The Apple HomePod mini serves as a hub for HomeKit. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker Apple HomeKit, controlled by the Apple Home app, is the preferred smart home ecosystem if you already have an iPhone, iPad, and/or Mac in your life. Apple relies on a combination of wifi, Bluetooth, and Thread for connections, and a specific Apple device is required to act as an anchor for your smart home control. This could be a HomePod (second generation), HomePod mini, or Apple TV 4K (second generation, or third generation with 128GB storage), all of which have the requisite components for acting as Thread routers. It's also worth noting that the iPhone 16 Pro functions as a Matter controller, but you'll still need a "core" device, such as a HomePod mini, to enable remote access, shared control within the household, automations, and routines, as well as end-to-end encrypted video. As is standard inside Apple's walled garden of highly curated but less-open apps, its smart home ecosystem adheres to the idea that it should be secure and well-managed. Apple is the curator of device compatibility within this ecosystem, so while it supports Matter, it also requires third parties to undergo a strict MFi certification process, which stands for "Made for iPhone/iPad." Apple maintains a list of devices that have been certified for use with its products. If you're already accustomed to this lifestyle, it's not a significant change from the status quo, but it can make building out your smart home with Apple seem limited compared to doing it with Google or Amazon. However, an upside to Apple's smart home ecosystem is that it's particularly privacy-focused, especially compared to Google and Amazon's ecosystems. HomeKit prioritizes local processing, relying on devices like the HomePod to execute routines and commands rather than pinging external servers. Apple will also allow you to encrypt security footage from HomeKit-compatible cameras, ensuring it is never transmitted to the company's servers. This contrasts with Google, which still heavily relies on cloud servers for video storage and advanced features, like face detection. The Gemini smarts coming to Google Home will also initially rely on cloud processing. Amazon Alexa The Amazon Echo Dot. Credit: Florence Ion/Lifehacker Amazon was the first to introduce consumer-ready smart home products, all the way back in 2014. Since the days of its first smart speaker and early forays into Alexa, the Amazon smart home ecosystem has become the most robust and expansive option compared to those of Google and Apple, even if it doesn't rely on a familiar interface you might be used to from your Android or iOS phone. Connection is primarily based on wifi, although some Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays also serve as Zigbee hubs. This low-power protocol has served as a de facto standard for many older smart home devices, but don't expect support for modern gear to be lacking. To that end, Amazon has fully embraced Matter from the get-go. Most of the Echo devices currently available also serve as Matter controllers and/or Thread border routers. Alexa-compatible devices are also generally more affordable compared to other offerings. Amazon's Alexa voice assistant runs the show, and its companion app is what you'll use to configure commands, set automations, and select services that are connected. However, the digital assistant has seen little consumer-facing action in recent years, with Amazon focusing on foundational improvements to its backend instead. We're still waiting for Amazon to provide more details about its long-term strategy for ambient computing, dubbed Alexa+, which is currently in early access. The idea is that Alexa will work in the background, turning on lights and adjusting the climate in your home without you having to utter a word. You can sign up to try out the contextual chatbot before it's live. When it does launch, Alexa+ will require a monthly subscription of $20 per month unless you're already an Amazon Prime member. A "classic" version of Alexa will still be available for basic voice commands, such as playing music, setting timers, and executing pre-configured routines. Matter: The smart home unifierWith the three major smart home ecosystems explained, let's dive more into their protocols. I've mentioned it a few times already, but the most important word to know when putting together a smart home or updating an existing one is Matter. Matter is a unifying protocol that took years of coordination between major companies and trade organizations, such as the Consumer Standards Alliance (CSA), to become the pre-eminent standard connecting the modern smart home. It is not an ecosystem, but rather a language that enables devices from various ecosystems to communicate with one another. Matter was introduced to solve a fragmentation problem that was affecting the adoption of the smart home. If you're not sure your smart devices will be able to communicate with each other, you might hold off on buying anything at all, which hurts the whole industry. Matter operates on top of existing network protocols, such as wifi and Thread. It works with all major smart home ecosystems, as well as some lesser-known ones. Although Matter is still in its nascent era, its existence can help you avoid getting locked into a specific ecosystem. The standard has also helped simplify setup, and it's more future-proof than the previous generation of smart home devices. Z-Wave and Zigbee: Old faithfulsZigbee and Z-Wave have been around for a long time, dating back to the early days of the smart home. Before wifi became a sufficient enough connector for low-power devices, these two protocols were the primary method of communication between them. If you were shopping for smart devices that required energy efficiency, such as a motion sensor or smart light switch, you would rely on either Zigbee or Z-Wave to connect. Zigbee and Z-Wave were designed to be energy-efficient, which is why many battery-powered smart gadgets use these protocols. Zigbee and Z-Wave also employ a mesh network architecture, which allows each device logged onto the network to act as a repeater to help extend the signal's range. This is exceptionally helpful in building out the smart home in large homes and hard-to-reach spots, such as basements and backyards. These protocols are still highly relevant if you're planning to build a robust, automated smart home, and they're often the best connection choice for battery-powered sensors and devices. Matter is merely the bridge that allows you to bring all your Zigbee and Z-Wave devices into a single app for control. Most recently released smart home hubs, such as this one from Aeotec, support both Zigbee and Z-Wave, in addition to Matter and wifi. Automations: The best part of having a smart homeThe allure of the smart home is that you could have everything, from your lights to your air conditioning, scheduled and programmed without having to command it beforehand. For each ecosystem, the fundamental logic of automations and routines is generally the same: They follow the "if this happens, then trigger this action" principle. In many cases, you don't need voice input to have these kinds of "ambient" actions working throughout your home. Each ecosystem has its own name for these. Amazon refers to them as "routines," while Apple and Google call them "automations." (Google used to call them routines, but it's transitioning away from that moniker.) The concept remains the same across the board. Google Home's automations are relatively straightforward. They can be triggered by a specific time of day or based on a combination of conditions. For instance, you can set up a "leaving home" automation that's based on your location. When your phone is detected outside a preset geofence, your Nest cameras can automatically turn on and start recording. At the same time, your lights could dim to a minimal level, and any doors with smart locks could be set to lock automatically. All of these settings can be easily configured right in the Google Home app. For users who need more sophisticated, conditional logic, Google also offers an online script editor to build custom routines. Apple HomeKit's Automations are more privacy-focused, as they occur on-device and rely on a hub, such as the HomePod mini or Apple TV 4K, for remote execution. You can easily set automations through the Apple Home app on iOS or iPadOS. Automations involve triggers such as a person arriving or leaving the home, a specific time of day, a HomeKit-compatible sensor being triggered, or a change in accessory status, like when a smart bulb turns on. And like Google's Routines, Apple's Automations can adjust scenes, which are preset combinations of device settings and individual accessories across the home. Amazon's Routines work similarly. They need a key trigger, whether it's a voice command, motion detection from a sensor, or a device status, like an open door. Alexa is great for controlling lights and smart plugs, playing music and podcasts on specific devices, and even sending messages to another Alexa-enabled device, whether it's an Echo smart speaker or the Alexa app on someone's phone. Amazon's Alexa routine builder has long been regarded as one of the most user-friendly options on the market. We'll see if it maintains that status when Alexa+ comes into the fold. Before the introduction of Matter, you had to be careful about which devices you brought into your smart home, as different ecosystems and brands often didn't work together. Matter's entire reason for existence was to unify the fragmented market, where an Apple HomeKit accessory would not work with a Google Home speaker. While Matter, as a protocol, doesn't handle automations, it does allow devices to communicate with a hub that works across various ecosystems. The hub can, for instance, enable a motion sensor from a different manufacturer to be used as a trigger for a smart light from a different ecosystem, with Matter acting as the bridge. How to choose the right smart home ecosystemUltimately, I can't tell you which is the best smart home ecosystem for you, because it's entirely up to your needs and preferences. If you are particularly privacy-focused, the Apple HomeKit ecosystem may be precisely what you want, even with its higher cost and fewer offerings. If you're a diehard iPhone and Mac user, it's also the way to go. The same applies to Android users who are already logged into a Google account and embedded into the ecosystem. If you're in a mixed-platform smart home, the best way to choose your unifying anchor is to consider which voice assistant you prefer to communicate with. If you're fine with Siri and prefer the idea of commands being executed on-device, stick with HomeKit. If you're a big fan of Google and you have existing Nest products, or even a Chromecast, that's the way to go. And if you'd rather have the simplest experience among the three, Amazon's Alexa remains the easiest to interface with. View the full article

Legal experts say the outcome of Slaughter v. The President, which considers The President's termination of a Federal Trade Commission member, could have profound implications for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook's litigation, which in turn could determine the future autonomy of the central bank. View the full article

Company appoints Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström co-chief executives as co-founder becomes executive chair View the full article

As a reminder, Google dropped its unofficial support of showing 100 search results per page, which caused issues for third party tracking tools and even Search Console itself. The theory with Search Console is that the scrapers were injecting artificial data into Google and thus the reporting. But is the same happening with Google Ads reporting?View the full article

OpenAI announced Instant Checkout in ChatGPT, allowing you to make purchases directly in ChatGPT. This is powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol that is built with Stripe.View the full article

OpenAI’s usage data reveals ChatGPT nearing mass adoption and redefining search intent, with major implications for marketers and brands. The post What OpenAI’s Research Reveals About The Future Of AI Search appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Google is testing not underlining the search result snippets when you hover your mouse cursor over the snippet. Generally, Google will add an underline to the title of the link (sometimes the whole snippet) when you hover over it. But here, Google is testing not doing that.View the full article

We know that most readers skim. We also know that search engines prefer clear and easy-to-understand content. Luckily, a good summary can help with both. A summary gives your reader the core ideas quickly, while also helping your chances of ranking your content. Learning how to write a summary helps you give your content the love it needs. Table of contents What is a summary? Why are summaries important? How to write an effective summary Dos and don’ts of writing summaries Examples of weak vs. strong summaries Summaries vs. intros, conclusions, titles, and meta descriptions Benefits and pitfalls of using AI for summaries Key takeaways A summary provides a concise overview of your content, helping readers and boosting SEO. Effective summaries improve readability and help readers quickly determine content value. To write a strong summary, identify key points, use clear language, and integrate keywords naturally. Summaries differ from titles, introductions, and conclusions as they target readers already engaged with the content. AI can assist in generating summaries, but always review and refine to ensure clarity and accuracy. What is a summary? If we are looking for the definition, we can say a summary is a short and focused overview of your content’s main points. A good summary answers three questions: What is this text about? Why should I care about it? What will I learn from reading it? Keep in mind, a summary is not a sales pitch or something in-depth. You need to strip it down and offer just the essentials for readers to understand in seconds. Expert insights Agnieszka Szuba: Yoast developer and researcher on summaries “Summaries can provide a lot of value to both human readers and bots. And with the help of AI features like Yoast AI Summarize, they can be created very easily. So adding a summary can be a quick way to boost the readability and engagement of your content.” Why are summaries important? Now that we know what summaries are, let’s answer the question of why they are so important. There are many answers to that question, but we’ll answer that here. Improves readability One of the main aspects of a good text is its readability, but it’s hard to judge a book by its cover. Before readers decide to invest their precious time in reading your content, they need to know if it is worth it. A well-written summary helps them understand the value of your content in seconds. They’ll also get an idea of how your writing is. Helps readers decide fast As we mentioned, the time aspect is very important today. Everyone is busy, and people need to know whether your content is worth their time. So busy visitors want to know: “Is this worth my time?” A clear summary can help speed up that decision process. Enhances SEO Not only readers but also search engines are looking to understand your content. Search engines see if content matches user intent, and a good summary can help them figure that out. A well-written summary mentions your target keywords naturally. Good ones increase the chance of your content appearing in highlighted search results like featured snippets. In addition, summaries may help reduce bounce rate because they can manage and set expectations for readers. How to write an effective summary Now that you know why summaries can be so helpful, let’s find out how to write effective ones. Identify the main points The most important thing is to identify the main points of the content that need to feature in the summary. To help you do this, ask yourself the following questions: What’s the primary message of the content? What are the two or three key takeaways? What does the reader need to know? Remember, keep it clean and simple. Avoid using examples, anecdotes, or secondary details that muddy the point you are trying to make. Be concise and clear Your summary needs to be as easy to understand as possible. Try to aim for three to five sentences (or 50 to 100 words). Cut filler words. Here’s an example: Wrong: “In this article, we’re going to be talking about some of the most important aspects of writing summaries, which can really make a big difference.” Right: “This guide covers three key rules for writing summaries: clarity, brevity, and keyword placement.” Use simple, direct language We’ve always been big fans of writing as clearly and simply as possible. One of those things to consider is jargon. Whenever you can, try to avoid using jargon. Write like you’re explaining it to a colleague over coffee. Integrate keywords naturally Your summary should include the main keywords of your article. For a summary of the article you’re reading now, the focus keyphrase would be “how to write a summary”. Also, try to fit in one or two related terms, but don’t force them. Always prioritize readability. Match your content’s tone The next thing to think about is making sure that the summary’s tone matches the content’s tone. For instance, a summary for a technical guide should be precise, while one for a lifestyle blog can be more conversational. Keep it consistent. Dos and don’ts of writing summaries For this article, we’ve created a helpful table that quickly outlines the main rules of writing summaries. Remember these! DoDon’tFocus on key takeaways onlyAdd extra details or tangentsKeep it short and scannableWrite dense paragraphsUse keywords naturallyStuff keywords awkwardlyMatch the tone of your contentSwitch to a different styleTest if it stands aloneAssume readers know the context Examples of weak vs. strong summaries We’ve shown you the theory of good and bad summaries, but now let’s review a couple of examples to see it in practice. A blog post (how-to guide) Topic: “How to Start a Podcast in 2025” Weak: “Starting a podcast can be hard, but this post gives you some tips on equipment, topics, and editing to help you get going.” Strong: “Launch your podcast in 5 steps: Choose a niche, pick budget-friendly gear (under $200), record like a pro, edit with free tools, and grow your audience. Avoid rookie mistakes with our checklist.” Why it works: Numbers (“5 steps”) set clear expectations Specifics (“budget-friendly gear,” “free tools”) add value Actionable (“avoid rookie mistakes”) hints at practical advice A product page (e-commerce) Product: “Ergonomic Office Chair – Model X200” Weak: “The Model X200 is a great chair for people who sit a lot. It has features that make it comfortable and good for your back.” Strong: “Reduce back pain with the Model X200: Adjustable lumbar support, breathable mesh, and 360° armrests. Rated #1 for home offices under $300. Free shipping + 30-day trial.” Why it works: Highlights benefits (not just features) Includes social proof (“Rated #1”) Adds urgency (“30-day trial”) A research report (B2B) Topic: “2025 Digital Marketing Trends: AI and Automation” Weak: “This report looks at how AI is changing marketing. It covers trends and stats that businesses should know about.” Strong: “78% of marketers now use AI for content creation (up from 42% in 2023). This report breaks down: Top AI tools for ROI in 2025 How automation cuts campaign costs by 30% Case studies from brands like Nike and HubSpot.” Why it works: Leads with a stat to grab attention Bullet points improve scannability Names brands for credibility News article Topic: “New Study Links Screen Time to Sleep Disorders in Teens” Weak: “A new study shows that teens who use screens before bed might have trouble sleeping. Researchers say this is a growing problem.” Strong: “Teens with 3+ hours of nightly screen time are 5x more likely to develop insomnia, per a Harvard Medical School study. Key findings: Blue light delays melatonin by 90 minutes. Social media (not gaming) is the worst offender. Solutions: ‘Screen curfews’ and orange-light filters.” Why it works: Quantifies risk (“5x more likely”) Debunks myths (“social media vs. gaming”) Offers solutions (not just problems) Case study Topic: “How Company Z Increased Sales by 200% with Email Marketing” Weak: “Company Z used email marketing to grow their sales. This case study explains what they did and the results they got.” Strong: “Company Z turned $5K/month into $15K/month in 6 months using: Segmented lists (3x higher open rates) Abandoned-cart emails (recovered 12% of lost sales) A/B-tested subject lines (‘Your cart misses you’ won) Steps and templates included.” Why it works: Leads with results (“$5K to $15K”). Uses numbers to prove impact. Teases actionable content (“templates included”). What did we learn from these examples? Start with the most valuable info (stats, results, or a bold claim). Use numbers (steps, percentages, time) to add credibility. Match the format to the content type (bullets for reports, emojis for social media). Avoid vague language (“some tips” → “3 proven strategies”). Here’s a pro tip for you: Test your summary by asking yourself if it would make you click/read more. Does it work even if you skip the full content? Summaries vs. intros, conclusions, titles, and meta descriptions There are other options to help readers and search engines quickly understand your content. What’s the difference between these? Titles and meta descriptions are for getting people to click from the SERP, while summaries are for readers already on your content. ElementPurposeLengthAudienceExampleTitleGrabs attention; tells readers (and search engines) what the content is about.50-60 chars (SEO ideal)Searchers + readers“How to Write a Summary in 5 Steps (With Examples)”IntroductionHooks the reader; sets up the topic and why it matters.1-3 paragraphsReaders (and search engines)“Struggling to keep readers engaged? A strong summary can double your content’s impact—here’s how to write one.”SummaryCondenses main points for quick understanding.3-5 sentencesReaders who skim“Learn the 5 rules for summaries: cut fluff, lead with key points, use keywords, and match your content’s tone.”ConclusionWraps up; often includes a CTA or final thought.1 paragraphReaders who finish the piece“Now that you know how to summarize effectively, try rewriting an old post’s summary and track the difference in engagement.”Meta desc.Encourages clicks from search results.~150-160 charsSearch engines + potential visitors“Master the art of writing summaries with this step-by-step guide. Improve readability, SEO, and reader retention in minutes.” Benefits and pitfalls of using AI for summaries One of the best ways of using AI in your work is to use it to summarize content. It’s almost what it was designed to do. AI tools like Yoast AI Summarize can draft summaries in seconds. Of course, you need to keep an eye on the outcome and adjust where needed. Benefits There are many benefits to using AI to generate summaries. The AI is fast: AI can generate a summary almost instantly It’s consistent: The AI works very consistently based on your rules It’s an additional content check: If it stumbles, your content’s points are not clear Pitfalls Using AI has a lot of benefits, but also risks. Results might lack nuance or miss a certain emphasis or humor It can also come out sounding very robotic or boring It might focus on the wrong things, so it could highlight minor points instead of critical ones Best practices for using AI to generate summaries Always use AI as a starting point, then compare the AI summary to your key messages. If it needs adjusting, edit the summary for accuracy, tone, and flow. Then test it to learn if it makes sense alone. In the real world, this would mean installing an AI plugin on your WordPress site or using Yoast SEO’s AI Summarize feature. Open an article on your site and add the Yoast AI Summary block. Have it generate a summary based on your article. Check the outcome and refine it to sound human and align with your goals. Conclusion A strong summary aims to please two different consumers: first, the readers who want quick answers and search engines that reward clarity and readability. Writing a good summary is all about keeping it short, direct, and keyword aware. Avoid fluff and focus on the key takeaways. Today, it’s fine to use AI to help you with summaries, but always check them. If you are not happy, edit them. Here’s a nice exercise: Find an old post, write a new summary based on these learnings, and see if engagement picks up. Often, it’s the small tweaks that have the biggest impact. The post How to write an effective summary for your content appeared first on Yoast. 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Google is testing a blue progress bar under the Shopping Ads carousel in the search results. As you scroll the carousel to see more products, the blue progress bar will indicate how much of the carousel is remaining to be seen.View the full article

Special committee investigating auto parts group’s financing also examines whether collateral was ‘commingled’View the full article

Google added a new report to the Google AdSense reporting named traffic source breakdown. This report helps you understand the origins of your page traffic. It also categorizes traffic based on whether it arrived directly to your page, or from popular and classified platforms.View the full article

The philanthropist is as close as the world’s strongmen get to a cross-border demonView the full article