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In any language, silence sounds just about the same. It carries a thunderous kick, though, when it comes from Duolingo, the world’s most popular language-learning app, and its famously irreverent social media presence. Facing heavy backlash online after unveiling its new AI-first policy, Duolingo went dark over the weekend on the social media channels where it cultivated an enormous following with quirky posts. The company even took down all of its posts on TikTok and Instagram, where it has 6.7 and 4.1 million followers, respectively, after both accounts were flooded with negative feedback. After days of silence, the company on Tuesday posted a bizarre video message on TikTok and Instagram whose meaning is hard to decipher. Duolingo had been riding high before CEO Luis von Ahn announced on LinkedIn that the company is phasing out human contractors, looking for AI use in hiring and in performance reviews, and that “headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.” The company ended 2024 with $748 million in revenue, up 41% year over year, and it had more than 116 million monthly active users and 9.5 million paying subscribers as of March. The previous month, the company had executed its most successful social media campaign ever, with the death (by Cybertruck) of the brand’s mascot, Duo the owl, and his eventual resurrection two weeks later. Duolingo has had such a tremendous year—with its stock near an all-time high, closing at $526 a share on Tuesday—that it recently raised its sales forecast for 2025. But that was before the backlash. Duolingo previously faced criticism for quietly laying off 10% of its contractor base and introducing some AI features in late 2023, but it barely went beyond a semiviral post on Reddit. Now that Duolingo is cutting out all its human contractors whose work can technically be done by AI, and relying on more AI-generated language lessons, the response is far more pronounced. Although earlier TikTok videos are not currently visible, a Fast Company article from May 12 captured a flavor of the reaction: “The top comments on virtually every recent post have nothing to do with the video or the company—and everything to do with the company’s embrace of AI. For example, a Duolingo TikTok video jumping on board the “Mama, may I have a cookie” trend saw replies like ‘Mama, may I have real people running the company 💔’ (with 69,000 likes) and ‘How about NO ai, keep your employees.’ Another video that tied into the How to Train Your Dragon character Hiccup brought comments like ‘Was firing all your employees and replacing them with AI also a hiccup?’” This weekend expunged all its videos and photos on TikTok and Instagram, and ceased putting out new content on all other channels. “Let’s just say we’re experimenting with silence,” a spokesperson for Duolingo told Fast Company over email. “Sometimes, the best way to make noise is to disappear first.” If that last line sounds like a cryptic Don Draperism, it recalls one of the more famous pieces of advice from Mad Men: “If you don’t like what is being said, change the conversation.” Over the past several days, the silence made it seem like Duolingo was gearing up for another of its signature viral stunts. Sure enough, on Tuesday, one arrived. Duolingo’s first video drop in days has the degraded, stuttering feel of a Max Headroom video made by the hackers at Anonymous. In it, a supposed member of the company’s social team appears in a three-eyed Duo mask and black hoodie to complain about the corporate overlords ruining the empire the heroic social media crew built. “Everything came crashing down after one single post about AI,” our interlocutor says, a winking nod to the cause of the backlash. The problem, however, wasn’t “one single post” about AI, but the company’s policies around AI. If the problem were just a cute post that went sideways, it could be solved with another cute post. But this is something Duolingo can’t cute-post its way out of. It’s the double-edged sword of a company becoming famous for its fun, massively popular social media presence: When social media turns on you, it’s a lot more noticeable. Creating a kooky, personality-driven brand identity online has zero downside until the moment a company must respond to an actual backlash in the exact same digital town square where it conducted all that brand-building business. Now, Duolingo has thrust itself into what looks like a can’t-win double-bind, whereby posting through it might seem callous and tone-deaf, but seriously addressing the controversy would be a jarring disruption that plays like it was filmed at gunpoint. Wendy’s, who kind of pioneered the unhinged corporate brand account in the early 2010s, faced a similar dilemma last year. When the company appeared to float the idea of implementing surge pricing on its burgers, fans revolted on social media. Some responded to typically cheeky Wendy’s posts by mocking the brand’s attempt to harness internet humor at a time when the internet was mad at that brand. In the case of Wendy’s, the company quickly denied plans to implement surge pricing, and disgruntled fans moved on nearly as quickly. Duolingo, on the other hand, has not yet meaningfully addressed the policies that inspired the backlash. Now, its social media team is trying to have it both ways. They’re taking an ironic, postmodern approach to address a serious issue, instead of breezing past it. Without the company confronting the controversy elsewhere, though, the subtext of every cute social post is that the customers unhappy with Duolingo’s AI direction are not worth taking seriously. “We can’t just move on and pretend everything’s fine,” the mask-wearing Duolingo employee says at one point in the new video. He’s flicking at the idea of taking accountability for the AI fallout, but in the video, it’s meant to be a rejoinder from the Duolingo social team to the faceless entities above who’ve made them look bad. It’s difficult to parse the exact message here. The video is somehow simultaneously defensive, satirical, avoidant, and flippant. Though it may be the opening salvo in a broader message, for now it seems like a half-baked rush response to a very real issue—the Duolingo brand version of just moving on and pretending everything’s fine. Judging by the eyeroll-y comments on the brand’s TikTok post, though, users can sense as much. It doesn’t take a language-learning app to know how to read between the lines. View the full article

At the Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA), we enable high level women to mentor each other to enable each leader to achieve personal and professional happiness through sisterhood. As the nonprofit organization’s founder, chair, and CEO, I am honored to interview and share insights from some of the thought leaders who are part of our peer-to-peer mentoring. Our insights today come from Susan Holliday, board director and adviser, who speaks about her global career in the insurance industry, spotting new risks and turning them into opportunities. Q: Your career has addressed various issues related to the insurance industry. What are some recent challenges? Susan Holliday: I entered the insurance industry by chance, as so many people do. It is a fascinating sector because you learn about global challenges from climate change to driverless cars, pandemics, geopolitical risks, and new technologies, to name just a few. New risks bring new opportunities in insuring the risks for people, companies, and governments. Q: Can you give me some examples? Holliday: Yes, a new risk that became insurable during my career, specifically after the 9/11 tragedy, was terrorism. More recently, cyberinsurance doubled in premiums between 2017 and 2020 and then again 2020 to 2022. The two new opportunities I’m most excited about are AI along with crypto and blockchain. There are many new risks for people and companies around these issues, and at the same time, the insurance sector can make use of these new technologies in different ways to be more efficient and to help their clients manage risk. This is also an opportunity to develop new insurance products to cover the risks. I see the market going the same way as cyber. In order to get insurance, companies will have to show they are meeting certain risk management standards, and the insurance is also going to focus on monitoring and prevention, not just paying claims after there is a problem. Q: You mention crypto and blockchain. That’s not talked about nearly as much as AI. Why now? Holliday: I’m doing a lot of work in this space now, because it is becoming more mainstream and soon all sorts of companies will be getting involved with it in some way. This is driven by several factors: real use cases getting implemented, a more friendly stance towards crypto from the current U.S. administration, and some new legislation being proposed or passed in various parts of the world, like Europe, Singapore, and Australia. This means a wider range of companies that have never thought about crypto, and are probably terrified by Bitcoin, are going to want to explore and fully understand the upside and downside risks. There are important opportunities for the insurance sector too. In some cases, using blockchain or crypto can actually reduce risks. There are new risks such as losing the keys to a wallet which means you can’t access your cryptocurrency, or someone who has the keys can steal it. New insurance products are going to be created, along with risk management standards to be able to actually buy the insurance, so it will improve security overall. Q: What kind of use cases are you expecting? Holliday: We have seen some companies invest in Bitcoin as part of their treasury management. Individual investors have more opportunities to invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies now because there are a number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available, which means the investor can get exposure without having to deal with a wallet, keeping control of the keys and custody. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies based on a fiat currency such as the dollar or the euro. Stablecoins are increasingly being used for international payments, and legislation on stablecoins has been passed in the EU, UK, and some Asian countries and there are currently bills in the U.S. House and Senate. This is likely to increase the use of stablecoins. Blockchains are decentralized digital ledgers which use cryptography to process transactions in blocks. Blockchains are the underlying technology that allow crypto currencies to function. An early use case for blockchain was traceability and authentication of high value assets, such as diamonds. It can also be used to ensure data integrity or authenticate transactions such as a land registry and several governments in different parts of the world have launched initiatives in this area. Recent changes in the U.S. administration’s approach to the regulation of crypto tokens mean that companies are likely to consider issuing or selling tokens, which is already common in gaming companies. We have seen luxury goods and fashion companies use tokens to drive customer loyalty and engagement, although there is still uncertainty over investor acceptance and future regulatory developments. A relatively early use case for blockchain was for smart, self-executing index-based (parametric) insurance contracts. As GenAI picks up steam and we see the prospect of agentic AI, we are likely to see this technology being deployed more frequently as we see AI agents transacting with each other. Q: That is a lot of change especially for those uneducated in the topic. What is your advice? Holliday: The message is, even if you have no intention of ever investing in Bitcoin, business leaders need to keep an eye on that is going on in the crypto and blockchain space because it’s going to impact many sectors and industries. Larraine Segil is founder, chair, and CEO of The Exceptional Women Alliance. View the full article

China produces 75% of the world’s batteries. South Korea and Japan control much of the remaining supply chain. With tariffs looming over the industry, the U.S. is in a unique position, having both urgency and opportunity to strengthen domestic battery production for myriad uses. The reality is that American battery manufacturers lag their Asian counterparts. Companies here are attempting to catch up by rushing to follow Asia’s manufacturing formula, but that strategy won’t hold up in the long term. The only way to surpass these larger Asian competitors is to move on from outdated manufacturing methods and materials and focus on what defines American leadership: innovation. Playing catch-up won’t cut it It’s clear China and other Asian countries today have the advantage when it comes to battery manufacturing. Their factories are larger, their supply chains are better developed, and their experience and know-how mean batteries can be produced cheaper and quicker. It takes far less time to start up a battery factory there than in the U.S. The U.S. is in the midst of building up factories. Compared to Asia, however, the country still struggles with slower factory construction, longer time to start up, and more expensive batteries with lower yields, often producing lower-performing products. The U.S. won’t be able to reach the same production levels and will continue to fall behind if we just keep playing catch-up. The innovation game Sticking to old-school battery manufacturing methods won’t win the battery race. Instead, the U.S. can reclaim a leadership position only by playing an entirely different game and proving the solutions of existing product chokepoints: cost, safety, and performance. Battery architectures have remained fundamentally unchanged over the past 30 years. While the industry has made remarkable progress in energy density and cycle life, the same decades-old battery design principles still dictate what a battery is and can do. Process improvements and add-ons alone can’t address these design limitations—think updating an app without ever upgrading the operating system. By redefining how a battery is made from the beginning, the U.S. can leapfrog competition and create a new foundation others can build on. 3 innovation factors Easier said than done, of course. To see real improvements, we must focus on three innovation factors: cost, performance, and safety. Today’s solutions often compromise one to improve another, but we can’t afford to make that sacrifice. If we can advance all three in parallel, there’s no question we can pull ahead in the battery race. Closing this gap isn’t just critical for U.S. competitiveness. By leading in battery innovation, the U.S. can set the pace for the global industry, creating technologies and frameworks that will drive progress for partners around the world. 1. Reduce costs While battery costs have dropped dramatically over the past few years, the price of production—and adoption—still holds back widespread electrification. But swapping in cheaper materials or production shortcuts can impact safety and performance. Instead, innovation must be the driver of cost reduction through “simplifications.” For U.S. battery makers, this could look like novel manufacturing methods, better material utilization in cell design, or waste reduction through improved closed-loop recycling processes. 2. Boost performance Today’s consumers and commercial workloads demand more energy and power than ever. Drivers want longer EV range and faster charging, without the drop in performance during cold weather. Meanwhile, manufacturers face mounting pressure to find sustainable solutions that reduce dependency on certain materials and improve recyclability to combat volatile supply chains. Tech innovation can meet these demands. For example, emerging electrolyte chemistries can enable faster charge cycles and lower temperature operations (up to -30° Celsius) without degrading battery life, and next-gen cell designs can pack more energy into smaller, lighter formats. 3. Prioritize safety Today, the battery industry is treating safety as a top priority—and for good reason. As EV adoption grows, so does the risk of battery fires and thermal runaway. Recalls are costly, and public trust is fragile. In energy storage systems, fire concerns from local residents are delaying siting and deployment. Battery fire incidents onboard airplanes and fatal e-bike fires are yet more headaches for an already beleaguered industry. We need battery innovations that don’t just contain fires but prevent them from happening in the first place. Current solutions, like cell-to-cell thermal barriers or battery management systems that monitor a battery’s health, often fail to address the root cause. Instead, our innovation focus should be on smarter battery technologies at the electrode level that block dangerous dendrite growth, prevent short circuits, and enable safe shutdowns of individual cells. Stop imitating, start disrupting The future of batteries won’t be built in yesterday’s factories. If the U.S. wants to pioneer a reimagined industry, we can’t settle for chasing Asia’s playbook. We need to simplify where possible, innovate where it counts, and rethink the battery from the ground up. That’s how we turn a game of catch-up into a strategy of disruption. While this challenge might feel steep, the good news is we’re not starting from zero. Tech leaders across the U.S. are already developing breakthroughs in chemistry, materials, and manufacturing that are redefining batteries. Indeed, we have worked on providing solutions for the last 14 years, and we are ready. With the right support and speed, these advancements can shift the industry and propel the global energy future forward. The race for battery dominance isn’t over, it’s just changing shape. Naoki Ota is president and CEO of 24M. View the full article

Tax and budget bill being debated in Congress includes $25bn for the project View the full article

Deputy prime minister’s ideas suggest deep divisions at top of UK government over economic policyView the full article

It should have been obvious that Google I/O 2025 would be jammed-packed, considering the company felt the need to hold a separate event to cover all of its Android news. But color me shocked that Google pulled off a nearly two hour-long presentation, full of announcements and reveals, mostly about AI. Not all AI announcements are equal, of course. Some of the news was geared towards enterprise users, and some towards developers. But many of the features discussed are on their way to consumers' devices too, some as soon as today. These are the updates I'm going to focus on here—you can expect to try out these features today, in the coming weeks, or at some point in the near future. Gemini Live is coming to the iPhoneEarlier this year, Google rolled out Gemini Live for all Android users via the Gemini app. The feature lets you share your camera feed or screen with Gemini, so it can help answer questions about what you're seeing. As of today, Google is now bringing the feature out to iPhones with the Gemini app as well. As long as you have the app, you can share your camera and screen with the AI, no matter what platform you're on. AI Mode is the future of Google SearchGoogle has been testing AI Mode in Search since March. The feature essentially turns Google Search into more of a Gemini experience, allowing you to stack multiple questions into one complex request. According to Google, it's AI can handle breaking down your query and searching the web for the most relevant sources. The result, in theory, is a complete report answering all aspects of your search, including links to sources and images. AI Mode is rolling out for all users—not just testers—over the coming weeks. But it's not just the AI Mode experience that Google has been testing. The company also announced new AI Mode features at I/O. Cram multiple searches into oneFirst, there's Deep Search, which multiplies the number of searches AI Mode typically would make for your query and generates an "expert-level fully-cited report" for you. I would still fact check it thoroughly, seeing as AI has a habit of hallucinating. AI Mode is also getting Gemini Live access, so you can share your screen or camera in Search. Use "Agent Mode" as a real world personal assistantProject Mariner is also coming to AI Mode. Google says you'll have access to "agentic capabilities," which basically means you can rely on the AI to complete tasks for you. For example, you'll be able to ask AI Mode to find you "affordable tickets for this Saturday’s Reds game in the lower level," and not only will the bot do the searching for you, it'll fill out the necessary forms. Google says that functionality will apply to event tickets, restaurant reservations, and local appointments. You can see that in action with Agent Mode, which will theoretically be able to execute complex tasks on your behalf. We don't know a lot about how that will work yet, but we do have a clear example from the Google I/O stage. During the presentation, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai tasked Gemini's Agent Mode with finding an apartment with in-unit laundry, keeping to a certain budget. Gemini then got to work, opening the browser, pulling up Zillow, searching for apartments, and booking a tour. AI Mode will pull from your previous search history in order to deliver you more relevant results. That includes results that apply to your whereabouts—say, local recommendations for an upcoming trip—as well as preferences (if you tend to book outdoor dining spots, AI Mode may recommend outdoor dining when you ask to find dinner reservations). New Gemini features coming to WorkspaceGoogle announced a number of new Gemini features at I/O, some of which are coming to Workspace. One of the features Google focused on most was Personalized smart replies in Gmail. While Gmail has an AI-powered smart reply feature already, this one goes a step further, and bases its responses on all of your Google data. The goal is to generate a reply that sounds like you wrote it, and includes all the questions or comments you might reasonably have for the email in question. In practice, I'm not sure why I'd want to let AI do all of my communicating for me, but the feature will be available later this year, and for paid subscribers first. If you use Google Meet with a paid plan, expect to see live speech translation start to roll out today. The feature automatically dubs over speakers on a call in a target language, like an instant universal translator. Let's say you speak English and your meeting partner speaks Spanish: You hear them begin to speak in Spanish, before an AI voice takes over with the English translation. 'Try it on'Google doesn't want you returning the clothes you order online anymore. The company announced a new feature called "try it on" that uses AI to show you what you'd look like wearing whatever clothing item you're thinking about buying. This isn't a mere concept, either: Google is rolling out "try it on" today to Google Search lab users. If you want to learn more about the feature and how to use it, check out our full guide. Android XRAs the rumors suggested, Google talked a bit about Android XR, the company's software experience for glasses and headsets. Most of the news it shared was previously announced, but we did see some interesting features in action. For example when using one of the future glasses with Android XR built in, you'll be able to access a subtle HUD that can show you everything from photos to messages to Google Maps. (Personally, the main draw here for me would be AR Google Maps while walking around a new city.) On stage, we also saw a live demo of speech translation, which Android XR overlaying an English translation on screen as two presenters spoke in different languages. While there's no true timeline on when you can try Android XR, Google's big news is that it is working with both Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on making glasses with the service built in. Veo 3, Imagen 4, and FlowGoogle unveiled two new AI generation models at I/O this year: Imagen 4 (images) and Veo 3 (video). Imagen 4 now generates higher-quality images with more detail than Imagen 3, Google's previous image generation model. However, the company specifically noted Imagen 4's improvements with text generation. If you ask the model to generate a poster, for example, Google says that the text will be both accurate to the request, as well as stylistic. Google kicked off the show with videos generated by Veo 3, so it's safe to say the company is quite proud of its video generation model. While the results are crisp, colorful, and occasionally jam-packed with elements, it definitely still suffers from the usual quirks and issues with AI-generated video. But the bigger story here is "Flow," Google's new AI video editor. Flow uses Veo 3 to generate videos, which you can then assemble like any oother non-linear editor. You can use Imagen 4 to generate an element you want in a shot, then ask Flow to add it to the next clip. In addition to the ability to cut or expand a shot, you can control the camera movement of each shot independently. It's the most "impressive" this tech has seemed to me, but outside of a high-tech story board, I can't imagine the use for this. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I certainly don't want to watch AI-generated videos, even if they are created via tools similar to the ones human video creators use. Veo 3 is only available to Google AI Ultra subscribers, though Flow is available in limited capacity with Veo 2 to AI Pro subscribers. Two new Chrome featuresChrome users can look forward to two new features following Google I/O. First, Google is bringing Gemini directly to the browser—no need to open the Gemini site. Second, Chrome can now update your old passwords on your behalf. This feature is launching later this year, though you'll need to wait for the websites themselves to offer support. A new way to pay for AIFinally, Google is offering new subscriptions to access its AI features. Google AI Premium is now AI Pro, and remains largely the same, minus the new ability to access Flow and Gemini in Chrome. It still costs $20 per month. The new subscription is Google AI Ultra, which costs a whopping $250 a month. For that price, you get everything in Google AI Pro, but with the highest limits for all of the AI models, including Gemini, Flow, Whisk, and NotebookLM. You get access to Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think (the company's newest and most advanced reasoning model), Veo 3, Project Mariner, YouTube Premium, and 30TB of cloud storage. What a deal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Memorial Day sale is in full swing, and you can find more than just the usual appliances and tools on sale. There are discounts on many tech products for audiophiles as well, from Beats headphones, to the Sonos Arc Soundbar, and the beloved Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, which have dropped in price after the release of the WH-1000XM6. If you're looking for bargains on budget headphones and earbuds, I've rounded up the best ones that you can find under $100, whether you're looking for earbuds, bone conduction headsets, or open-ear, in-ear, or over-the-ear headphones. Here are the best deals I found. Bluetooth 5.3 Open-Ear, Mic, MP3 Mode Built-in 32GB, 10Hrs Playtime, IP68 Waterproof. FEICO Bone Conduction Headphones $49.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $83.92 Save $33.93 Get Deal Get Deal $49.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $83.92 Save $33.93 40H Play Bluetooth 5.4 Headphones with Smart Digital Display Design Fit Sports Running, Workout TOZO OpenEarRing Open Ear Headphones $29.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $30.00 Get Deal Get Deal $29.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $30.00 45H Playtime, Wireless Charging Case, IPX8 Waterproof Stereo Headphones in Ear Built in Mic Headset TOZO T10 Earbuds $18.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $38.99 Save $20.01 Get Deal Get Deal $18.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $38.99 Save $20.01 48hrs Play Back Sport Earphones with LED Display Over-Ear Buds with Earhooks Built-in Mic Headset fo bmanl Wireless Earbuds $25.48 at Amazon $49.99 Save $24.51 Get Deal Get Deal $25.48 at Amazon $49.99 Save $24.51 253H Battery, ENC Mic, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C Charging Case, IPX5 Waterproof, Noise Isolating TREBLAB X4 Earbuds $39.99 at Amazon $59.97 Save $19.98 Get Deal Get Deal $39.99 at Amazon $59.97 Save $19.98 Adjustable Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, Reduce Noise by Up to 98%, 50H Playtime, Hi-Res Soundcore by Anker Space A40 $44.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $35.01 Get Deal Get Deal $44.98 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.99 Save $35.01 JBL Pure Bass Sound, Up to 30 hours of battery life, IP67 Waterproof and Dustproof, Ambient Aware & JBL Endurance Race TWS $49.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.95 Save $30.00 Get Deal Get Deal $49.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $79.95 Save $30.00 145H Battery, Waterproof & Sweatproof Bluetooth Earbuds, Mics for Calls TREBLAB X3 Pro $59.97 at Amazon $99.97 Save $40.00 Get Deal Get Deal $59.97 at Amazon $99.97 Save $40.00 60H Playtime, Hi-Res Audio Custom EQ via App Deep Bass Comfort Fit Ear Cups TOZO HT2 Headphones $33.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $26.00 Get Deal Get Deal $33.99 at Amazon $59.99 Save $26.00 Signature-HD Sound, Deep Bass, 35H Battery, Comfortable, Foldable Over Ear. TREBLAB Z2 Headphones $89.92 at Amazon $129.97 Save $40.05 Get Deal Get Deal $89.92 at Amazon $129.97 Save $40.05 SEE 7 MORE Try bone conduction and open ear headphones at up to 50% offNot everyone can afford Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 headphones. If you're curious to see how bone conduction headphones feel before committing to a premium model, try the Feico Bone Conduction Headphones, which are $49.99 right now, down from $83.92. A fun feature: You can save MP3 songs directly to the headphones so you can listen to music underwater (Bluetooth signals can't penetrate water). Open-ear headphones are great for hearing your surroundings while your out and about. The Tozo OpenEarRing are now just $29.99 (originally $59.99), offering a lightweight option with 40 hours of battery. A range of earbuds at up to 51% off, including a pair with unheard of battery lifeIf you're looking to spend the least possible on a decent set of earbuds, consider the Tozo T10s, which are $18.98 (originally $38.99). Impressively at this price point, they include an IPX8 waterproof rating, stereo sound, and EQ presets in their companion app. Earhook earbuds are good if you prioritize a secure fit. The Bmanl Wireless Earbuds are $25.49 (originally $49.99) are comfortable to wear and can go 8 hours on a single charge (and up to 48 hours with the charging case). Speaking of battery life, if that's important to you, you will love the Trelab X4 earbuds, currently going for $39.99 (originally $59.97). I've never heard of any earbuds getting even close to 253 hours of juice, but somehow these IPX5 waterproof earbuds with noise isolation for calls pull that off, going for 11 hours between charges, plus another 242 hours from the charging case. Dang! I can vouch for the Soundcore by Anker Space A40, which I've used for a year—they have the best ANC I've experienced among all of the budget earbuds I've tested. You can get them for $44.98 (originally $79.99). JBL is a well-known brand for earbuds. Its sporty earbuds, the JBL Endurance Race TWS, are $49.95 (originally $79.95) and offer an IP67 waterproof rating, 30 hours of battery life, and an ambient aware feature so you can better hear your surroundings. The Trelab X3 Pro offer a good balance of great battery life (totaling 145 hours, including the charging case), a sporty design with earhooks and a waterproof rating, and good microphones for calls. You can get them for $59.97 (originally $99.97). These over-ear headphones are up to 43% offIt's not every day you can get over-ear headphones with ANC, 60 hours of battery, high-resolution audio, and a companion app with EQ presets for $33.99 (originally $59.99). You can get exactly that with the Tozo HT2 Headphones. If you want headphones from a more established brand, get the Trelab Z2 for $89.95 (originally $129.97). They're ANC, have 35 hours of battery, are foldable and come with a case, and include a bass-boosting mode. View the full article

Google announced a lot of new stuff today at I/O, but few things were more eye-watering than the company's new Google AI Ultra subscription. At $250 per month, it's by far the most expensive subscription Google has yet launched. So it makes sense it comes with everything. And I mean everything. For starters, subscribers at this tier get to use Gemini Ultra, which includes the new Veo 3 video generation model that can also generate sounds alongside video, to...some effect. This tier will also be the first to get access to the upcoming 2.5 Pro Deep Think reasoning model that Google says can "consider multiple hypotheses before responding." It also brings access to tools like Flow and Whisk that provide editing tools on top of Veo and Imagen's video and image-generating capabilities. Technically, these plans are part of the Google One subscription family, so they're not solely focused on AI features. On top of the above mentioned features, you'll also get 30TB of storage across all the services attached to your Google account (like Gmail, Photos, and Drive). Google has also thrown in a YouTube Premium individual subscription at this new, highest tier. This makes it the only Google One plan that includes ad-free YouTube (as well as YouTube Music). Sorry, folks who are only paying $150 for the Google One Premium subscription with 30TB of storage and only Gemini Pro access. Google's previous plan, Google AI Premium, is now Google AI Pro. It still costs $20 per month, and comes with the same perks it did before. Now, however, users have access to a limited version of Flow with Veo 2, as well as Gemini in Chrome. View the full article

Starting with the client for life concept, executives from Rocket and CMG Financial described what is happening at their nonbanks to achieve future success. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re looking for a compact speaker that won’t flake out on sound or durability, this refurbished Sony SRS-XB100 wireless Bluetooth speaker is worth a closer look. It's on sale right now for $34.99 at StackSocial (down from its original $59.99 price), and this Grade “A” refurbished unit arrives in like-new condition and ships free across the contiguous U.S. It’s not brand-new—those are going for around $48 on Amazon—but this version comes with barely noticeable wear, if any, and still delivers the same sound and features you'd expect. Physically, the XB100 is built for portability. It’s just 3 inches wide and stands 3.8 inches tall, weighing under 10 ounces, which is light enough to toss in a backpack, clip onto a bag, or dangle from your wrist using the included lanyard. It's available in black for this deal (with other colors like blue, orange, and gray also out there) and feels intentionally designed to tag along anywhere. On the audio front, you’re working with a modest two-watt driver and a passive bass radiator that somehow squeezes out clean mono sound with a little low-end punch. Don’t expect deep bass drops, obviously, but it holds its own for podcasts, acoustic tracks, or background music during a hike. Controls are intuitive and built right into the base—everything from power and volume to Bluetooth pairing and playback. It connects using Bluetooth 5.3 and supports AAC and SBC audio codecs, which is pretty decent at this price point. Android users get a little bonus with Google Fast Pair, which cuts down the setup time to basically nothing. It’s also IP67 rated, so it’s waterproof and dustproof—you can rinse it off after a beach day or bring it poolside without worry. And with an estimated battery life of up to 16 hours, it’s designed to go the distance on one charge, notes this PCMag review. View the full article

It's 2025, and Google is now bringing its own agentic AI feature to the Gemini app. While the company has discussed agentic AI prototypes before, it now seems ready to take them mainstream. At the Google I/O 2025 keynote, Google discussed how the new feature can go out on the web on its own and perform tasks for you. Just like OpenAI's Operator, it can take a prompt, make a checklist of things that need to be done, and then do them for you. According to Google, Agent Mode combines features like live web browsing and deep research with data integration from Google apps to accomplish its online tasks. The model is supposedly capable of executing multistep actions, start to finish, with minimal oversight from the user. Credit: Google We still don't know a lot about how exactly the feature will work, but Google gave us an example on stage. Here, Sundar Pichai asked Gemini to find a new apartment for rent within a limited budget, and with access to built-in laundry. Gemini then made a task list for things to do, like opening a browser, navigating to Zillow, searching for listings that match, and even booking a tour. All of this is possible because Google is using MCP in the background. Model Context Protocol (introduced by Anthropic) is a new industry-wide protocol that web developers and apps can use to integrate directly with AI tools. In this example, Google can search through Zillow and book a tour using the protocol, which is much more reliable than spinning up a web browser and asking AI to click some buttons for you. Agentic capabilities aren't only limited to the Gemini app's Agent Mode. Google is also bringing a more modest version of them to Chrome, and Google Search. For example, Agentic features in AI mode can help you search for game tickets in the background. Credit: Google According to Google, Agent mode will be coming soon to the US as an early preview for the new Google AI Ultra plan, which costs $250 per month. There's no word on wider availability yet. View the full article

Small businesses are always operating within the most narrow of margins. Every sale counts, and every team member needs to not only wear multiple hats but perform at the top of their game, as resources remain slim. Key to small business longevity is visibility. Small business owners must know what their staff is working on and maintain open lines of communication in case priorities need to be shifted on a dime. These efforts are far more straightforward when processes haven’t yet been formalized, but scale in difficulty as new pieces of technology get added to a company’s back office operations. A reliable piece of scheduling software, embedded in a small business’s tech stack early on, can ensure that the early days of a company’s life are productive ones. Managers can maintain visibility, employees can stay on task, and the beginnings of workflows can be laid. In fact, the key to maximizing scheduling software is to treat it as if it were hired as a slew of administrative assistants: Issues With Traditional Scheduling Methods It’s worth starting with a look at the early days of a company’s scheduling efforts and how these manual methods cause more inefficiencies than they solve. Here’s a classic example: A salesperson has a productive chat with a new prospect, who expresses interest in moving forward with a deal—after they receive answers to a few questions. Normally, this wouldn’t require much more than a quick conversation between the salesperson and someone within the company who can provide the information they need, or step in and talk to the customer directly. If a small business is going after one customer at a time, the above process sounds great: direct, no room for misinterpretation or for any information to be lost in the shuffle. Of course, the goal for any small business is to scale, and before long, sales folks may become overwhelmed with clients, and it would be understandable if a message or two were to fall off their radar. Any small business will tell you that it’s imperative that they nurture new leads right away, meaning that any delay in communication could cost the company a significant amount of capital or customer good will—not to mention the fact that salespeople would be adding a fair amount of stress to their already-stressful jobs of keeping a new business afloat. Then there’s the amount of repetitive work such a haphazard system would require. Salespeople would be doing all the scheduling themselves, which, without a central hub for communications, would require emails, phone calls, direct messages, and whatever else fits a customer’s preference. That’s time they could be spending sourcing new leads or laying groundwork for sustainable growth. Moreover, perhaps worst of all, manual methods are often accompanied by data siloes between departments and individuals within an organization.This rings especially true for companies whose employees operate in different time zones, as manual processes limit the amount of time there can be overlap, relegating some conversations for the following day when they’re likely to be forgotten. Benefits of Scheduling Software Organizations of any size stand to benefit from scheduling software, small companies most of all because their time is at a premium. The automation capabilities of modern scheduling software can support a small business as an administrative assistant might do. For starters, it takes employees out of the middle of this process. Once they enter their availability into their own calendars, the software is ready to accept customer meetings, providing a screen where these customers can view open appointment times and slot themselves within whatever’s convenient. The system would then add the meeting to everyone’s calendars and send reminders automatically, including sending any attachments or forms to peruse beforehand. Behind the scenes, booking software can provide a boon to employees by keeping them on target and enhancing their capacity for taking on work. Tasks can be assigned to internal employees based on the needs customers have expressed, giving these team members time to prepare responses or offering an opportunity for follow-up and additional touchpoints. Each employee can work within custom-built modules based on role, location, workload, or however else companies want to slice it, further unlocking their ability to find information quickly and provide better customer service. Scheduling software can also play the role of an IT specialist, extending its usability. For example, a company may not want every one of its employees to be granted access to every piece of information stored on a company’s server, which is where booking software’s customizable permission settings come into play. Each employee can receive an individual login that displays only what they need to know and keeps them from inadvertently messing up someone else’s work. The software can also monitor logins and locations, providing even more visibility into how and when operations are taking place. The above is of particular importance within the healthcare industry, where privacy is paramount and HIPAA compliance requirements hang over every company’s head. But all companies can benefit from a higher level of security, as cyber threats have become increasingly common and complicated while customers are beginning to demand higher standards for data privacy. With the right piece of booking software, small business owners won’t need to enlist an IT specialist to monitor the bigger picture and keep everything safe. Involving Customers Small businesses can also benefit from involving their customers in the booking process—within reason, of course. Potential customers want to feel like they are a priority and that the company is willing to cater to their needs. Consider how scheduling software can extend a white glove experience—personalization that makes customers feel welcomed and supported from day one. The booking process can be customized for look and feel, as well as the URL used and what’s contained in emails and text messages, including how often these reminders are sent. Plus, because so much information is getting transferred and shared behind-the-scenes, customers will receive prompt and comprehensive responses to inquiries they’ve made, reducing the amount of back-and-forth required. In fact, when small businesses take advantage of automated scheduling software, they shouldn’t require as many meetings to close a deal. Demonstrating respect for customers’ time is a sure-fire way for a company to ingratiate itself. Another meaningful way for small businesses to pull in customers is to run the company on a unified suite of apps. It doesn’t immediately sound like this decision would have much of an impact on CX, but the implications, while less obvious, are significant. Potential customers are often in the process of shopping around for the perfect tech vendor, and a company whose systems talk to each other is a big selling point for their bolstered security and communication capabilities. It can help a small business operate with the efficiency of a much larger one carrying more resources because efforts aren’t wasted trying to reconcile data across different applications. Not even a team of admins can accomplish this feat so flawlessly. Schedule for Success If the people at a small business are the heart of the company, scheduling software acts as the backbone, supporting all efforts almost invisibly—that is, until it’s gone. The faster a small business adopts this level of infrastructure, the sooner it can start focusing on growth, both in company size and the capabilities of its employees, as if they had employed a small army of administrative assistants. When everyone is operating at maximum efficiency, there’s no telling what’s next. This article, "Let Booking Software Be Your Virtual Assistant" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Small businesses are always operating within the most narrow of margins. Every sale counts, and every team member needs to not only wear multiple hats but perform at the top of their game, as resources remain slim. Key to small business longevity is visibility. Small business owners must know what their staff is working on and maintain open lines of communication in case priorities need to be shifted on a dime. These efforts are far more straightforward when processes haven’t yet been formalized, but scale in difficulty as new pieces of technology get added to a company’s back office operations. A reliable piece of scheduling software, embedded in a small business’s tech stack early on, can ensure that the early days of a company’s life are productive ones. Managers can maintain visibility, employees can stay on task, and the beginnings of workflows can be laid. In fact, the key to maximizing scheduling software is to treat it as if it were hired as a slew of administrative assistants: Issues With Traditional Scheduling Methods It’s worth starting with a look at the early days of a company’s scheduling efforts and how these manual methods cause more inefficiencies than they solve. Here’s a classic example: A salesperson has a productive chat with a new prospect, who expresses interest in moving forward with a deal—after they receive answers to a few questions. Normally, this wouldn’t require much more than a quick conversation between the salesperson and someone within the company who can provide the information they need, or step in and talk to the customer directly. If a small business is going after one customer at a time, the above process sounds great: direct, no room for misinterpretation or for any information to be lost in the shuffle. Of course, the goal for any small business is to scale, and before long, sales folks may become overwhelmed with clients, and it would be understandable if a message or two were to fall off their radar. Any small business will tell you that it’s imperative that they nurture new leads right away, meaning that any delay in communication could cost the company a significant amount of capital or customer good will—not to mention the fact that salespeople would be adding a fair amount of stress to their already-stressful jobs of keeping a new business afloat. Then there’s the amount of repetitive work such a haphazard system would require. Salespeople would be doing all the scheduling themselves, which, without a central hub for communications, would require emails, phone calls, direct messages, and whatever else fits a customer’s preference. That’s time they could be spending sourcing new leads or laying groundwork for sustainable growth. Moreover, perhaps worst of all, manual methods are often accompanied by data siloes between departments and individuals within an organization.This rings especially true for companies whose employees operate in different time zones, as manual processes limit the amount of time there can be overlap, relegating some conversations for the following day when they’re likely to be forgotten. Benefits of Scheduling Software Organizations of any size stand to benefit from scheduling software, small companies most of all because their time is at a premium. The automation capabilities of modern scheduling software can support a small business as an administrative assistant might do. For starters, it takes employees out of the middle of this process. Once they enter their availability into their own calendars, the software is ready to accept customer meetings, providing a screen where these customers can view open appointment times and slot themselves within whatever’s convenient. The system would then add the meeting to everyone’s calendars and send reminders automatically, including sending any attachments or forms to peruse beforehand. Behind the scenes, booking software can provide a boon to employees by keeping them on target and enhancing their capacity for taking on work. Tasks can be assigned to internal employees based on the needs customers have expressed, giving these team members time to prepare responses or offering an opportunity for follow-up and additional touchpoints. Each employee can work within custom-built modules based on role, location, workload, or however else companies want to slice it, further unlocking their ability to find information quickly and provide better customer service. Scheduling software can also play the role of an IT specialist, extending its usability. For example, a company may not want every one of its employees to be granted access to every piece of information stored on a company’s server, which is where booking software’s customizable permission settings come into play. Each employee can receive an individual login that displays only what they need to know and keeps them from inadvertently messing up someone else’s work. The software can also monitor logins and locations, providing even more visibility into how and when operations are taking place. The above is of particular importance within the healthcare industry, where privacy is paramount and HIPAA compliance requirements hang over every company’s head. But all companies can benefit from a higher level of security, as cyber threats have become increasingly common and complicated while customers are beginning to demand higher standards for data privacy. With the right piece of booking software, small business owners won’t need to enlist an IT specialist to monitor the bigger picture and keep everything safe. Involving Customers Small businesses can also benefit from involving their customers in the booking process—within reason, of course. Potential customers want to feel like they are a priority and that the company is willing to cater to their needs. Consider how scheduling software can extend a white glove experience—personalization that makes customers feel welcomed and supported from day one. The booking process can be customized for look and feel, as well as the URL used and what’s contained in emails and text messages, including how often these reminders are sent. Plus, because so much information is getting transferred and shared behind-the-scenes, customers will receive prompt and comprehensive responses to inquiries they’ve made, reducing the amount of back-and-forth required. In fact, when small businesses take advantage of automated scheduling software, they shouldn’t require as many meetings to close a deal. Demonstrating respect for customers’ time is a sure-fire way for a company to ingratiate itself. Another meaningful way for small businesses to pull in customers is to run the company on a unified suite of apps. It doesn’t immediately sound like this decision would have much of an impact on CX, but the implications, while less obvious, are significant. Potential customers are often in the process of shopping around for the perfect tech vendor, and a company whose systems talk to each other is a big selling point for their bolstered security and communication capabilities. It can help a small business operate with the efficiency of a much larger one carrying more resources because efforts aren’t wasted trying to reconcile data across different applications. Not even a team of admins can accomplish this feat so flawlessly. Schedule for Success If the people at a small business are the heart of the company, scheduling software acts as the backbone, supporting all efforts almost invisibly—that is, until it’s gone. The faster a small business adopts this level of infrastructure, the sooner it can start focusing on growth, both in company size and the capabilities of its employees, as if they had employed a small army of administrative assistants. When everyone is operating at maximum efficiency, there’s no telling what’s next. This article, "Let Booking Software Be Your Virtual Assistant" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Even though the residential burglary rate has been dropping steadily in recent years (down 26% between 2019 and 2023), many of us still worry about being robbed or experiencing a home invasion. Alarm systems and other high-tech security are really effective—a study once found that 83% of criminals check for an alarm before selecting a house to rob—but they don’t actually stop someone from breaking into your home. If you want to prevent a determined criminal from getting inside in the first place, you don’t need to spend a fortune turning your house into some sort of smart home fortress—there are plenty of cheap, low-tech steps that will make it difficult for criminals to get into your safe space. Secure the garageIf your home has a garage with an automatic door, it almost certainly has a manual release mechanism designed to let you open the door from the inside during a power outage or malfunction. That’s an essential safety feature—but it can also be a vulnerability. As shown in this video, a patient and experienced thief can fish for that manual release, open the garage door, and gain access to your home that way. Securing the manual release is an easy way to make this a lot more difficult. There are two low-tech ways to do this: Install a garage shield. A garage shield is just a barrier installed between the manual release and the door, and simply (and effectively) prevents a coat hanger or other fishing tool from finding the manual release. You can DIY one of these with a piece of plywood if you’re relatively handy. Zip-tie the release. Most garage door manual release mechanisms can be held closed simply by threading a small zip-tie through the release. The zip-tie should be strong enough to resist the relatively weak pull of a fishing wire, but not strong enough to resist a hard yank on the release cord. You might want to test this a few times to ensure you can break the tie easily—the worst time to find out your manual release won’t work is during an active emergency. One more thing you should do to secure the garage? Use a keychain remote instead of one clipped to your car’s visor or sitting in the glovebox. A garage remote in your car is convenient for you and criminals, because they can break into your car to access the remote, then stroll into your house. If the garage remote is attached to your keys, it stays with you at all times, removing this invasion vector. Reinforce doors and windowsThe most vulnerable aspects of any home are the spots designed to allow entry of some sort—your doors and windows. Locks can be picked and glass can be broken, but a few simple, low-tech additions can enhance their resistance to intruders significantly: Reinforce door frames. One of the most effective ways to get through a locked door is simply battering it in or using a prybar to crack the frame. Reinforcing the door frame with a simple kit makes it a lot harder for thieves to do so. Use tamper-proof screws. If any screws are exposed on your door, replace them with tamper-proof versions to stop thieves from simply dismantling part or all of your door frame to gain entry. Add extra window locks. The locks that come with standard sash windows are fine, but not exactly unbeatable—plus, they’re either engaged or not, meaning your window is either closed or not. A hinged wedge lock can be positioned to allow the window to open enough to let some air flow into the room while preventing it from being opened far enough to grant entry, and can be swung open to allow normal use of the window. Consider foot locks and sliding locks. If you have sliders leading out to a patio or backyard, or sliding windows instead of sash windows, adding locks along the track is an easy way to reinforce them. It’s relatively easy to pry sliders off their tracks just enough to circumvent standard locking mechanisms, so a foot lock on a set of patio sliders or an adjustable security bar for a set of sliding windows will make it a lot more difficult to force entry. Secure air conditioners. If you have window AC units in your house, it’s almost trivial for thieves to push them in through the window itself to gain entry. You can (and should!) secure the unit to the window frame, and add window locks to ensure the sash can’t be moved from the outside. LandscapingSome straightforward landscaping and hardscaping choices can make it a lot more difficult for burglars to get inside: Keep entryways visible so thieves can’t work on your locks in privacy. Trim trees to prevent anyone from climbing up to your windows. Surround windows with thorny, painful plants. Don’t have a trellis or other ersatz ladder attached to your walls. And if you’ve got a dog or security system installed, adding a low-tech sign announcing them can be the first-line deterrent that makes thieves skip your house in the first place. Get a dogStudies have shown that dog ownership reduces the incidence of crime in various ways. A dog can be a deterrent, and can even drive off someone who successfully breaks in. And dog ownership in a neighborhood increases foot traffic and strengthens bonds between neighbors, making it more likely that someone will observe a break-in attempt and/or warn you about any suspicious activity they might spot. So, yes, getting a puppy will help keep people out of your house. View the full article

The Google I/O 2025 keynote was all about Gemini and AI. But it's nice to see that the Chrome desktop browser got some new updates and features, too. While Gemini has been available in every web browser so far, until now, it's still very much just been a website. Meanwhile, over on Android, the Gemini app integrates deeply into the ecosystem. Thankfully for AI fanatics, it can now do that in Chrome, too. Plus, Google is adding some quality-of-life upgrades to the password management system, as the browser can now change your passwords for you, automating one of the most tedious but important security tasks there is. Gemini comes to Chrome on desktop Starting tomorrow, Gemini AI in Chrome will start rolling out to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US, but only in English. Google is starting slow here. The first version will allow users to ask Gemini to clarify information that's on a web page, or to summarize a page. But in the future, Google plans to add more features, allowing Gemini to navigate websites on your behalf and access multiple tabs at once. Gemini will be available in the Chrome toolbar. Clicking the sparkling icon will bring up a floating window that you're free to move anywhere you like. According to a demo provided to The Verge, the Gemini feature can be used between two tabs simultaneously. In the demo, the user accessed Gemini on a shopping page, got a summary of the product, and asked it some questions. Then, when they switched to another tab, they used Gemini to compare a new product with the one in the old tab. Later in the year, Google says Gemini will work across more than two tabs, as well. Chrome can now change your outdated passwords for you Credit: Google Google really wants to help you fix your bad, leaked passwords. Currently, when you use Google Password Manager to sign into a website with a password that needs changing, Google will ask you if you want to change your password. What's new is a button called Change it for me. When you're using a compatible website, you can use this new feature to have Google change your password in the background for you. This new password will then be added to your Google Password Manager. There's no mention that it uses AI, and it's set to launch later this year, but there is a catch. That's that websites needs to be updated on the developer's end for the feature to work, so it'll take a while before you see widespread adoption. Google is urging developers to adapt to its system before the feature ships, though, so larger website will hopefully get on board before then. Also, while the password change itself is automatic, the feature will always ask for your consent first before it changes a password. View the full article

Whether you run recurring webinars in Seattle, Washington, a nail salon in Duluth, Minnesota, handling sales for an organization, or a barber shop in Atlanta, Georgia, scheduling appointments remains the core of your business. Despite this fact, many businesses continue to use emails and phone calls or something even more prehistoric to handle the most important aspect of their operations. “Businesses continue to rely on pen and paper to jot down details and schedule meetings, which really doesn’t help in scaling up,” says Surekha Jagadish, head of Marketing for Zoho Bookings. Zoho’s automated scheduling software offers a way to cut down on no-shows and integrate other software for payments, marketing, customer experience and more. But first, take a look at the alternatives. Scheduling Alternatives and Bottlenecks Writing down appointments on registers when customers stop by or call on the phone, seems easy enough. But this system requires you to dedicate a manager or receptionist to those duties. Or you need to ask employees to take out time to manage appointments, the time they should be using to serve customers. Consider our barber shop and nail salon examples.Imagine leaving someone with shaving cream all over their face or only one hand pedicured to go and deal with scheduling issues. The alternative involves leaving the customer who wants to schedule the appointment in a limbo while you finish with your current customer. Either choice divides your staff’s and your own attention. But even options like email or chat platforms like Whatsapp fall short. Consider when customers ask for appointments via emails or chat platforms, someone must take time to corral all those incoming requests. Surekha points out how all these scheduling systems: Leave your prospects without a clear response about whether the appointment is scheduled or not. Fail to capitalize on the moment your prospects are most motivated to schedule an appointment with your business. Lead to additional complications when prospects need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Lead to prospect frustration because of lack of a prompt response. Lead to additional work for you and your staff. Limit your appointment scheduling to business hours even though this may not be the period of peak customer interest. “These are all the challenges that come even when they use normal email, your WhatsAppor any chat platform to schedule appointments,” says Surekha “Because there is a lot of communication happening back and forth, and figuring out who’s available and who’s not.” How Zoho Bookings Addresses These Pain Points Fortunately, Zoho’s software engineers devised a solution to all these problems – plus some you may not have even considered. Visit Zoho Bookings for a view of how scheduling should be. Once you embed the booking page on your website, prospects use the intuitive dashboard above to schedule, reschedule or cancel their own appointments. Consider the problems this solves. Scheduling now takes up next to none of your staff’s time. Forget sending confirmation emails or returning phone calls to confirm appointments. Most importantly, prospects now schedule appointments when they are most motivated – perhaps immediately upon seeing a marketing message. And that happens even if your staff has already closed up shop for the day and gone home to be with their families. Prospects see their appointments have been scheduled. And when you and your staff check the next day, you know it too. But the tool offers much more than a simple online calendar and appointment scheduling platform. Zoho calls Bookings its end to end appointment scheduling software. This comes from the fact that Zoho Bookings handles the process from the time a prospect enters your business through the time services are delivered. And, this process extends to helping understand what the customer thought of your service and how they can be made a return customer. To accomplish all this, Zoho Bookings interacts with payment providers, CRMs and other solutions both inside and outside Zoho, where necessary. But first, take a look at how Zoho Bookings works – and how this helps a wide variety of businesses with their scheduling needs. Zoho Bookings: An Overview To begin with, Zoho Bookings offers a simple and intuitive way to set up your scheduling for various services and prompts you to add details specific to your business. First, fill in the required details in the screen below. You begin by adding your business name and website. You also add the preferred currency for your business. Then move on to a page where you will be asked for relevant details about your company. All the while, a progress bar shows the number of tasks you’ve completed – and those still needing completion to fully set up and get you meeting ready. The above page asks for the industry that best describes your business. Select from a variety of options including HR, sales, marketing, finance, and more. Then select the specific customer needs you will be addressing with your services. This is AI-generated based on the industry you select. For example, suppose you run a software as a service solution. You need to set up appointments to walk clients through account setup. You might select “customer support” and then “technical support” as shown above. On the other hand, if you offer personalized Zumba training and want to use Zoho Bookings to set up one-on-one tutorials, you might choose “fitness” and then “personalized service.” Cool, huh? Now, look how Zoho Bookings helps you set up your availability. This allows customers and clients to pick times that work best for them. In the screen above, first set your time zone. For instance, if your business calls the U.S home, you might set the time zone to Eastern Standard Time for New York City or Pacific Standard Time for San Francisco. Next set hours and days of availability. Do you and your staff limit availability to weekdays and standard office hours – say 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.? Or do you offer some availability to customers or clients after hours or on weekends? Whatever the case, Zoho Bookings allows you to effortlessly plug in your availability, allowing customers to simply choose a day and time that works for them. “So once the app is set up, we would create a one-on-one service relevant to the industry they choose so they can book a sample appointment and get started,” explains Yogesh S., Senior Product Manager for Zoho Bookings. Types of Booking Services In addition to setting the business availability , Zoho Bookings also permits you to offer various types of meetings to customers or clients. This allows you to further customize your appointment options based on your business needs. One-On-One First, Zoho Bookings offers One-On-One meetings. “The one-on-one meeting is the most widely used while schedulingmeetings,” Yogesh S. explains. This session allows a single host to meet with one participant virtually or in person. Consider again our Atlanta barber shop. Use the setup screens above to establish your regular hours. Customers access the application and set appointments based on your availability. Imagine other virtual and in person uses for the app. A local podiatrist offers patients a simple way to set up appointments, for example. Or a life coach presents the opportunity to set up virtual consultations. Group Booking The group booking feature allows a single host to offer multiple clients or customers the opportunity to sign up for a class or other group interaction. Remember our Seattle-based webinar presenter? Use Zoho Bookings to set up times when you will be available to present your webinars, that are scheduled repetitively. Interested participants then use the application to choose and schedule a time that fits their availability too. If you’re a university department head, think about the options of using group booking to set up – say – online Spanish or math classes for the summer semester. Collective Booking “The collective booking is the reverse of group booking,” Yogesh S. says. Here, Zoho Booking offers the option of multiple hosts and a single participant or customer. Think about how this booking option might work when setting up panel interviews for screening job applicants. Or use it to set up a board meeting or similar group discussion. Consider this option also when your sales team needs to meet with a customer or client for a product demo or other sales call. Resource This last option offers a simplified method of booking anything from conference rooms to equipment rental, says Zoho. Use the resource booking feature to schedule use of offices or meeting rooms at your coworking space. Or automate the scheduling of space at businesses and organizations ranging from bars to churches to banquet halls for special events. Other Features Of course, Zoho Bookings offers many other features as well. For example, on the Zoho Bookings landing page above, you see how businesses can create various services. Customers visiting your landing page schedule appointments based on the type of service they want. In the case of the hypothetical sales organization above, we see clients initially have the opportunity to schedule discovery calls where sales people learn about their needs. Another option involves a more general sales meeting. Switching to the healthcare sector, imagine a family medical practice offering appointments for complete physicals, wellness visits or follow-up visits, for instance. Above, Zoho Bookings also offers several methods of sharing links to its appointment page with clients and customers. Consulting businesses, as one example, routinely send emails to their lists. Zoho Bookings offers the opportunity for them to add a link for prospects to click through and sign up for a one-time consulting session. But the software also offers another choice. Whether you are promoting your services as a periodontist or a web designer, simply allow patients or clients to book appointments through an embedded widget on your site. The company also offers a white label option so that your scheduling page need not look like it comes from a separate provider. The customizable booking page allows you to incorporate your own branding elements so that your customers recieve a seamless experience. AI integration helps match your embedded scheduling widget with your site’s overall appearance and branding. Zoho says more options for getting clients to the booking page are on the way. The software also offers email, SMS and calendar invite notifications. These remind your customer or client of upcoming appointments and hopefully reduce the incidence of no-shows. Zoho Bookings also offers interaction with a raft of other services both native and from other providers. For example, the software integrates with Zoho Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar. Integration with Zoho Meeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer flexibility when setting up online meetings. The software also integrates with payment and CRM options. These services allow you to take payments for virtual appointments and to send followup email marketing in the hopes of turning clients who book a call into repeat customers, for example. A few interesting Zoho Bookings’ features, are an in-built calendar that can showcase staff availability across days and weeks. Businesses can pick and choose the timeslot they want to share with specific customers, with the ability to copy and paste these timeslots across all email providers. Staff will also be able to send notifications and reminders via WhatsApp to their clients, shortly. Zoho prices its Bookings service at $6 per user per month for its basic package and $9 per user per month for companies with up to three locations or departments. Additional workspaces for more teams or locations can be paid for as add ons. And Zoho offers custom plans based on a business’s specific needs. Final Thoughts With 14 million appointments already scheduled, Zoho Bookings enjoys the trust of 29,000 plus customers thus far, the company says. Large concentrations of these clients inhabit the healthcare and education sectors as well as real estate. But the software lends itself to businesses of all kinds. Since Zoho created Bookings to accommodate the needs of healthcare businesses as well, they also made the software HIPAA compliant. Among companies proudly relying on Bookings, Zoho counts Spaghetti Agency, a UK digital marketing firm. Prior to using Zoho Bookings, Spaghetti Agency complained of too much back and forth with clients delaying the scheduling of calls. After adopting Bookings, the company reports saved time scheduling thanks to customers being able to see real-time availability while setting up appointments. Whether you operate a medical office in Poughkeepsie, New York, an online sales team In Toronto, Ontario or a beauty salon in Detroit, Michigan, you need scheduling software that works for you. Stop wasting time taking calls by phone or email. Adopt a booking application you can customize to fit your business. Learn more about Zoho Bookings and the whole Zoho ecosystem today. This article, "Schedule For Success with Zoho Bookings" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Whether you run recurring webinars in Seattle, Washington, a nail salon in Duluth, Minnesota, handling sales for an organization, or a barber shop in Atlanta, Georgia, scheduling appointments remains the core of your business. Despite this fact, many businesses continue to use emails and phone calls or something even more prehistoric to handle the most important aspect of their operations. “Businesses continue to rely on pen and paper to jot down details and schedule meetings, which really doesn’t help in scaling up,” says Surekha Jagadish, head of Marketing for Zoho Bookings. Zoho’s automated scheduling software offers a way to cut down on no-shows and integrate other software for payments, marketing, customer experience and more. But first, take a look at the alternatives. Scheduling Alternatives and Bottlenecks Writing down appointments on registers when customers stop by or call on the phone, seems easy enough. But this system requires you to dedicate a manager or receptionist to those duties. Or you need to ask employees to take out time to manage appointments, the time they should be using to serve customers. Consider our barber shop and nail salon examples.Imagine leaving someone with shaving cream all over their face or only one hand pedicured to go and deal with scheduling issues. The alternative involves leaving the customer who wants to schedule the appointment in a limbo while you finish with your current customer. Either choice divides your staff’s and your own attention. But even options like email or chat platforms like Whatsapp fall short. Consider when customers ask for appointments via emails or chat platforms, someone must take time to corral all those incoming requests. Surekha points out how all these scheduling systems: Leave your prospects without a clear response about whether the appointment is scheduled or not. Fail to capitalize on the moment your prospects are most motivated to schedule an appointment with your business. Lead to additional complications when prospects need to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Lead to prospect frustration because of lack of a prompt response. Lead to additional work for you and your staff. Limit your appointment scheduling to business hours even though this may not be the period of peak customer interest. “These are all the challenges that come even when they use normal email, your WhatsAppor any chat platform to schedule appointments,” says Surekha “Because there is a lot of communication happening back and forth, and figuring out who’s available and who’s not.” How Zoho Bookings Addresses These Pain Points Fortunately, Zoho’s software engineers devised a solution to all these problems – plus some you may not have even considered. Visit Zoho Bookings for a view of how scheduling should be. Once you embed the booking page on your website, prospects use the intuitive dashboard above to schedule, reschedule or cancel their own appointments. Consider the problems this solves. Scheduling now takes up next to none of your staff’s time. Forget sending confirmation emails or returning phone calls to confirm appointments. Most importantly, prospects now schedule appointments when they are most motivated – perhaps immediately upon seeing a marketing message. And that happens even if your staff has already closed up shop for the day and gone home to be with their families. Prospects see their appointments have been scheduled. And when you and your staff check the next day, you know it too. But the tool offers much more than a simple online calendar and appointment scheduling platform. Zoho calls Bookings its end to end appointment scheduling software. This comes from the fact that Zoho Bookings handles the process from the time a prospect enters your business through the time services are delivered. And, this process extends to helping understand what the customer thought of your service and how they can be made a return customer. To accomplish all this, Zoho Bookings interacts with payment providers, CRMs and other solutions both inside and outside Zoho, where necessary. But first, take a look at how Zoho Bookings works – and how this helps a wide variety of businesses with their scheduling needs. Zoho Bookings: An Overview To begin with, Zoho Bookings offers a simple and intuitive way to set up your scheduling for various services and prompts you to add details specific to your business. First, fill in the required details in the screen below. You begin by adding your business name and website. You also add the preferred currency for your business. Then move on to a page where you will be asked for relevant details about your company. All the while, a progress bar shows the number of tasks you’ve completed – and those still needing completion to fully set up and get you meeting ready. The above page asks for the industry that best describes your business. Select from a variety of options including HR, sales, marketing, finance, and more. Then select the specific customer needs you will be addressing with your services. This is AI-generated based on the industry you select. For example, suppose you run a software as a service solution. You need to set up appointments to walk clients through account setup. You might select “customer support” and then “technical support” as shown above. On the other hand, if you offer personalized Zumba training and want to use Zoho Bookings to set up one-on-one tutorials, you might choose “fitness” and then “personalized service.” Cool, huh? Now, look how Zoho Bookings helps you set up your availability. This allows customers and clients to pick times that work best for them. In the screen above, first set your time zone. For instance, if your business calls the U.S home, you might set the time zone to Eastern Standard Time for New York City or Pacific Standard Time for San Francisco. Next set hours and days of availability. Do you and your staff limit availability to weekdays and standard office hours – say 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.? Or do you offer some availability to customers or clients after hours or on weekends? Whatever the case, Zoho Bookings allows you to effortlessly plug in your availability, allowing customers to simply choose a day and time that works for them. “So once the app is set up, we would create a one-on-one service relevant to the industry they choose so they can book a sample appointment and get started,” explains Yogesh S., Senior Product Manager for Zoho Bookings. Types of Booking Services In addition to setting the business availability , Zoho Bookings also permits you to offer various types of meetings to customers or clients. This allows you to further customize your appointment options based on your business needs. One-On-One First, Zoho Bookings offers One-On-One meetings. “The one-on-one meeting is the most widely used while schedulingmeetings,” Yogesh S. explains. This session allows a single host to meet with one participant virtually or in person. Consider again our Atlanta barber shop. Use the setup screens above to establish your regular hours. Customers access the application and set appointments based on your availability. Imagine other virtual and in person uses for the app. A local podiatrist offers patients a simple way to set up appointments, for example. Or a life coach presents the opportunity to set up virtual consultations. Group Booking The group booking feature allows a single host to offer multiple clients or customers the opportunity to sign up for a class or other group interaction. Remember our Seattle-based webinar presenter? Use Zoho Bookings to set up times when you will be available to present your webinars, that are scheduled repetitively. Interested participants then use the application to choose and schedule a time that fits their availability too. If you’re a university department head, think about the options of using group booking to set up – say – online Spanish or math classes for the summer semester. Collective Booking “The collective booking is the reverse of group booking,” Yogesh S. says. Here, Zoho Booking offers the option of multiple hosts and a single participant or customer. Think about how this booking option might work when setting up panel interviews for screening job applicants. Or use it to set up a board meeting or similar group discussion. Consider this option also when your sales team needs to meet with a customer or client for a product demo or other sales call. Resource This last option offers a simplified method of booking anything from conference rooms to equipment rental, says Zoho. Use the resource booking feature to schedule use of offices or meeting rooms at your coworking space. Or automate the scheduling of space at businesses and organizations ranging from bars to churches to banquet halls for special events. Other Features Of course, Zoho Bookings offers many other features as well. For example, on the Zoho Bookings landing page above, you see how businesses can create various services. Customers visiting your landing page schedule appointments based on the type of service they want. In the case of the hypothetical sales organization above, we see clients initially have the opportunity to schedule discovery calls where sales people learn about their needs. Another option involves a more general sales meeting. Switching to the healthcare sector, imagine a family medical practice offering appointments for complete physicals, wellness visits or follow-up visits, for instance. Above, Zoho Bookings also offers several methods of sharing links to its appointment page with clients and customers. Consulting businesses, as one example, routinely send emails to their lists. Zoho Bookings offers the opportunity for them to add a link for prospects to click through and sign up for a one-time consulting session. But the software also offers another choice. Whether you are promoting your services as a periodontist or a web designer, simply allow patients or clients to book appointments through an embedded widget on your site. The company also offers a white label option so that your scheduling page need not look like it comes from a separate provider. The customizable booking page allows you to incorporate your own branding elements so that your customers recieve a seamless experience. AI integration helps match your embedded scheduling widget with your site’s overall appearance and branding. Zoho says more options for getting clients to the booking page are on the way. The software also offers email, SMS and calendar invite notifications. These remind your customer or client of upcoming appointments and hopefully reduce the incidence of no-shows. Zoho Bookings also offers interaction with a raft of other services both native and from other providers. For example, the software integrates with Zoho Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar. Integration with Zoho Meeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer flexibility when setting up online meetings. The software also integrates with payment and CRM options. These services allow you to take payments for virtual appointments and to send followup email marketing in the hopes of turning clients who book a call into repeat customers, for example. A few interesting Zoho Bookings’ features, are an in-built calendar that can showcase staff availability across days and weeks. Businesses can pick and choose the timeslot they want to share with specific customers, with the ability to copy and paste these timeslots across all email providers. Staff will also be able to send notifications and reminders via WhatsApp to their clients, shortly. Zoho prices its Bookings service at $6 per user per month for its basic package and $9 per user per month for companies with up to three locations or departments. Additional workspaces for more teams or locations can be paid for as add ons. And Zoho offers custom plans based on a business’s specific needs. Final Thoughts With 14 million appointments already scheduled, Zoho Bookings enjoys the trust of 29,000 plus customers thus far, the company says. Large concentrations of these clients inhabit the healthcare and education sectors as well as real estate. But the software lends itself to businesses of all kinds. Since Zoho created Bookings to accommodate the needs of healthcare businesses as well, they also made the software HIPAA compliant. Among companies proudly relying on Bookings, Zoho counts Spaghetti Agency, a UK digital marketing firm. Prior to using Zoho Bookings, Spaghetti Agency complained of too much back and forth with clients delaying the scheduling of calls. After adopting Bookings, the company reports saved time scheduling thanks to customers being able to see real-time availability while setting up appointments. Whether you operate a medical office in Poughkeepsie, New York, an online sales team In Toronto, Ontario or a beauty salon in Detroit, Michigan, you need scheduling software that works for you. Stop wasting time taking calls by phone or email. Adopt a booking application you can customize to fit your business. Learn more about Zoho Bookings and the whole Zoho ecosystem today. This article, "Schedule For Success with Zoho Bookings" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Adobe will be giving its priciest subscription tier an AI-first rebrand—and adding an even higher price tag. Adobe’s Creative Cloud All Apps subscription, which includes access to more than 20 Adobe apps, will soon be known as “Creative Cloud Pro,” the company announced last week. The renamed subscription plan will give users expanded access to Adobe’s AI-powered tools and apps, but for a price: For subscribers on an annual plan, the cost will increase from $59.99 to $69.99 monthly, or from $659.88 to $779.99 annually. Beginning on June 17th, any members of Creative Cloud All Apps will be automatically opted into Creative Cloud Pro. According to Adobe’s announcement of the plan, Creative Cloud Pro pricing will be effective at your next renewal on or after June 17. Currently, these changes are only rolling out in North America. This follows better-than-expected first quarter 2025 financial results for the software company, which reported a record revenue of $5.71 billion, equal to 10% year-over-year growth. Still, Adobe’s shares dropped after the report, as several experts and investors noted concerns that the company might be falling behind competitors with its AI efforts. Creative Cloud Pro appears to be the next step for Adobe to monetize its newly robust suite of AI tools by making them a mandatory investment for the company’s most dedicated users, even as it rolls out “made without generative AI” image labels. Here’s what to know about the new plan. What’s new on Creative Cloud Pro? To start, Creative Cloud Pro comes with all of the features that were included under the Creative All Apps umbrella. The plan includes a portfolio of more than 30,000 fonts, unlimited Creative Cloud libraries, millions of stock photos and videos, and 100GB of cloud storage. In addition to these perks, the upgraded plan will include several new AI features. First, users will gain unlimited access to “standard generative tools” like Photoshop’s Generative Fill, which can essentially “deep fake” anything within a composition, and Lightroom’s Generative Remove, which eliminates unwanted details in a photo. Creative Cloud Pro users will also have 4,000 monthly credits to use for Adobe’s class of “premium generative features,” like Premiere Pro’s Generative Extend, which uses AI to add frames to the beginning or end of any video. The rebranded subscription also includes the most recent Firefly app, which Adobe bills as its “one-stop shop for exploration and ideation with creative AI.” The app comes with Adobe’s new text-to-image generator Image Model 4, as well as its Firefly Video Model, which first entered public beta last month. Another feature called Firefly Boards allows teams to do some Pinterest-style moodboard brainstorming. For any Creative Cloud Pro users who have a different AI model of choice, they can also choose to import Google Imagen 3 and Veo 2, OpenAI image generation, or Flux 1.1 Pro into Firefly. More details on Creative Cloud Pro features are available here. How much will it cost for different kinds of users? Prices are set to rise across the board for all kinds of Creative Cloud All Apps users. For rolling subscribers (those not on an annual plan), prices will rise from $89.99 to $104.99. For teams, prices will jump from $89.99 to $99.99 per month. And for student and teacher plans, renewal prices are set to increase from $34.99 to $39.99 monthly. What if I don’t want to join this new plan? If you’re a current Creative Cloud All Apps user but don’t want to be automatically shuffled into Creative Cloud Pro, Adobe has created another subscription tier called “Creative Cloud Standard.” This tier is the same price as the former Creative Cloud All Apps ($54.99/month for annual users), but it comes with a bit less value. Whereas All Apps included 1,000 monthly credits for the aforementioned standard generative features, Creative Cloud Standard only includes 25 credits. It also limits access to premium features on mobile and web apps, and, of course, does not include premium generative features or Firefly. While Adobe’s webpage states that Creative Cloud Standard is “only available to existing customers,” an Adobe spokesperson clarified that new users can actually join this tier by contacting customer support. It’s a trade-off that essentially means you’ll be paying the same amount for a subscription with fewer bonuses, but it might be the option that makes the most sense for users who have no interest in Adobe’s AI features. On Reddit, plenty of users have already expressed displeasure with the new plan. It’s easy to see why. Adobe is automatically upgrading subscriptions to the more expensive Creative Cloud Pro tier, a UX pattern that makes it less likely for users to opt-out than if they had to make an active choice and tick a subscribe box, for instance. Both this and the Creative Cloud Standard journey for new users could be seen as dark patterns, which are UX pathways that manipulate users into taking actions that they may not have intended but are in the business interests of the company. The U.S. sued Adobe over its hard-to-cancel subscriptions last year. The goal of the auto upgrade, in combination with the decreased appeal of the Creative Cloud Standard tier due to its reduced features, seems to be to draw more daily active users into the company’s existing AI products. That’d be in close keeping with its recent focus on monetizing gen AI tools following its last earnings report, anyway, which was plagued with fears that Adobe isn’t staying ahead in the AI race. An Adobe spokesperson declined to comment on the reasoning behind the subscription tier rebrand and whether users will be personally notified before the change takes place. View the full article

A quick guide to must-read books on how AI is transforming project management, from automation to smarter decision-making. The post 10 Must-Read AI Project Management Books of 2025 appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Google I/O's 2025 keynote could have more reasonably been called The Google AI Show. Almost everything the company talked about was AI-powered, some of which is promised to arrive in the future, and some of which is available today. Features were spread across Google's whole range of products, but here are some of the ones you're actually likely to see. It's tough to talk about Gemini because it simultaneously refers to a set of models (like Gemini Flash, Gemini Pro, and Gemini Pro Deep Research), different versions of those models (the latest seems to be 2.5 for most of these), and different apps that these models are available through. There's the dedicated Gemini app, the voice assistant in things like Pixel phones and watches, as well as Gemini tools built into apps like Google Docs, Gmail, or Search. I'll do my best to specify which features are coming to what products, but keep in mind that sometimes Google tends to announce the same thing a few times. Agent Mode is coming to Gemini, Search, and moreThe Gemini app is getting a new Agent Mode that can perform tasks for you while you do something else. Google showed off an example of asking Gemini to find apartments in a city. The app then searches listings online, filters them by the criteria you set, and can offer to set up apartment tours for you. The most interesting aspect of this is that Google pitches this as a task you can have Gemini repeat regularly. So, for example, if you want Gemini to search for new apartments every week, the app can repeat the process, continuing with the information in previous iterations of the search. Agent Mode is similarly coming to Google Search for certain requests. Google uses the example of asking for tickets to an upcoming event. Google scours ticket listing sites, cross-references against your preferences, and presents the results. Gmail will pretend to be you when it replies to your emailsGmail has had smart replies for a while, but they can sound pretty generic (without intervention, anyway). It's a dead giveaway to your recipient that you're not really paying attention. To help you get away with quietly ghosting your friends, Gmail will soon be able to tailor its responses to you by referring to your past emails and even Drive documents. Google uses the example of a friend asking how you planned your recent vacation, a common thing we all email each other all the time. In this case, Gmail can draft a response based on your email history, with the advice you would be likely to give, and even write it how the AI thinks you would write it. Thought summaries will summarize how AI summarizes its thought processYes, you read that right. AI "reasoning" models typically work by taking your query, generating text that breaks it down into smaller parts, sending those parts to the AI again, then carrying out each step. That's a lot of instructions happening behind the scenes on your behalf. Usually, reasoning models (including Gemini) will have a little drop down to show you the steps it took in the interim. If even that is too much reading for you, Gemini will now summarize the summary of the thought process. In theory, this is to make it easier to understand why Gemini arrived at the answers it gives you. Native audio output will whisper to you (in your nightmares)This is technically a new feature of the Gemini API, which means developers can build on these tools in their apps. Native audio output will let developers generate natural-sounding speech. In its demo, Google showed off voices that could switch between multiple languages, which was pretty cool. What isn't so cool, however, is the model can also whisper. I do not yet know what the practical use-cases are for an AI-generated voice that can whisper, but I do know I won't be able to get it out of my head for a week. At best. Jules will fix your code's bugs in the background while you workLast year, Google announced Jules, a coding agent that can help you with your code, similar to Github's Copilot. Now, the public beta of Jules is available. Google says Jules can fix bugs while you're working on other tasks, bump dependency versions, and even provide an audio summary of the changes that it's made to your code. Google Search will let you virtually try on clothes while shopping onlineI'm not great at visualizing what a piece of clothing will look like on my particular body, so this new try-on feature might actually be useful. Google is launching a Search Labs experiment that lets you upload a full-length photo of yourself that Google will alter to show what the clothing will look like on you. The company is also integrating shopping tools that can buy items for you and even track for the best price. It will then be able to buy stuff for you via Google Pay, using your saved payment and shipping info. This one isn't available quite yet, and frankly we'd want to learn a little more about how the process works and how to prevent purchases you don't want before we'd recommend using it. New Veo and Imagen models will generate audio and videoVideo is, definitionally, a series of images played at a fast enough speed to convey a sense of motion. With that definition, I can confidently say that the demos of Google's new Veo 3 model does, in fact, show video. Whether that video is any good is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose. Google seems to be betting on users finding the video generated by Veo 3 (and, by association, the images from Imagen 4) to be worthwhile, because the company is also building a video editing suite around it. Flow is a video editing tool that ostensibly lets editors extend and re-generate clips to get the right look. Google also says that Veo 3 can generate sounds to go along with its video. For example, in the owl scene linked above, Veo also generates forest sound effects. We'll have to see how it generates these elements (can you edit individual sounds distinctly, for example?) but for now the demos speak for themselves. Veo 3 is now available in the Gemini app for Ultra subscribers. View the full article

Sometimes you need to quickly convert an image, audio file, or video, so you search for an online tool. The problem: many online conversion tools aren't safe to use, putting you at risk from malware or mining your data. Vert isn't like that. This is an open source, browser-based tool that can convert the most common image, audio, video, and document formats. It isn't clogged with ads and you don't need to create an account to use it. More importantly: the tool works (almost)entirely in your browser, meaning your files are never actually uploaded anywhere (save for video files, as I'll explain below). I tested this by opening the website, turning off my WiFi, and converting a large batch of images and documents. It worked. Converting files without uploading them is great from a privacy perspective, but it's also faster—you're not waiting for files to transfer back and forth from your machine to a server. To get started with Vert, head to the website and add the files you need to covert by dragging them from your file manager or using the upload button. (The homepage lists all of the supported file types, if you're curious—there are more than five dozen of them.) Next, you can choose a format and run the conversion, then click the download button to grab the converted file. Credit: Justin Pot You can alternatively convert all of your files to a single format and grab them all in a single ZIP file. Note that this will only work if all files dropped into the tool are of the same type—that is, video, image, document, or audio files. A mix of images and videos can't all be converted at once, for example, because there's no one format you could convert them to. It's also worth noting that video files cannot be converted without uploading them to a server, mostly because of how resource intensive doing so in a browser would be. The tool will warn you before uploading anything. According to the website, videos are deleted from the server after you download your file or an hour after you upload them, whichever comes first. It's possible to set up your own server, if this really concerns you. I think Vert is a very easy to use tool. I tested it with an EPUB file and was able to make both a Word document and a website. I also tested it with various images, audio files, and videos—it all worked well, and quickly. There are a few caveats. PDF files are not supported, for importing or exporting. And some of my older Word documents resulted in error messages, which was odd but not entirely unexpected (the files in question were over 20 years old). Overall, though, this is a very handy tool—one well worth bookmarking. View the full article

There are some real-world use cases out there where AI could genuinely be a useful tool that doesn't just act as a shortcut to something you could do on your own. Case in point: Google's new 'try it on' feature, which allows you to see how various outfits look on your body over your phone or computer. The company announced the feature at Google I/O 2025, and it uses a photo you upload to generate images of you in different clothes. This feature is available via Google Search Labs starting today. How to use Google's 'try it on' featureTo try out this new feature, go to Google's Search Labs page, sign in to your account, and opt in to the "try on" experiment. The next time you're using Google to shop, you'll see a 'try it on' icon next to different product listings. Tap this to get started. Google will ask you to upload a full-length photo of yourself, and once you do, the AI will generate images of you wearing the outfits you're checking out. It's worth noting that this will work best if you upload a photo of you that's been shot in good lighting and while you're wearing fitted clothing. Otherwise, Google's AI's will have a hard time mapping out your body's proportions, which may distort the final results. Once you've seen how you look in various outfits, you can share those photos with others for their opinions, or go right ahead and buy the clothes you liked. The catch here is that you're relying on the product photos themselves to be accurate. No matter how good Google's AI is, it can't really show you how something will look on you if the listing has misleading or inaccurate photos. Ask Google's AI to track prices and buy products for youDuring a demo at Google I/O 2025 showing off the "try it on" feature, the company also revealed that you'' eventually be able to ask Google's AI to buy products for you. Once you've selected an outfit you like, you can ask Google's shopping AI to track its price. When it hits the price you're looking for, Google will send you an alert, and you can ask the AI to buy it for you using information in your Google Wallet (or you can buy it manually). Google is calling this feature "agentic checkout," and the company said it'll roll out in the coming months. View the full article

Projects that employ contractors or work with suppliers and service providers need to manage their procurement process. This is usually started by an invitation to tender that the organization initiating the project will send out. Why do they send an invitation to tender, what is it and who uses it? We will answer those questions below. We’ll also outline what goes into a thorough invitation to tender and then illustrate the process with an example to make it clear. What Is an Invitation to Tender? Let’s start with a definition. An invitation to tender is a formal document issued by a company or organization to invite suppliers, contractors or service providers to submit a bid or proposal for the supply of specific goods, services or work. It’s typically used in procurement processes, especially for large or complex projects that require competitive bidding. The reason to use an invitation to tender is that it ensures transparency and fairness in supplier selection. It also encourages competitive pricing and innovation. The process also helps to identify the most capable and cost-effective vendors. In short, this is a critical part of a structured procurement process, designed to solicit competitive and compliant offers from qualified vendors. An invitation to tender also plays a significant role in shaping a project’s Gantt chart by defining key milestones, timelines and tasks crucial to the project’s success. When using a Gantt chart featured in project management software, the scope, deliverables and milestones outlined in the invitation to tender become a visual and dynamic tool for managing a project’s flow. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust Gantt charts that create clear timelines and deadlines, define key milestones, scope and deliverables with risk and budget management features. Use these Gantt charts to schedule tasks, resources and costs. Plus, link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns and filter for the critical path. Get started with ProjectManager for free. /wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gantt-CTA-2025.jpgLearn more When Is an Invitation to Tender Typically Used? An invitation to tender is commonly employed when a project requires formal proposals and competitive bidding to ensure transparency, value for money and quality. They’re typically used in industries and situations where multiple suppliers or contractors can meet the project’s requirements and the best option needs to be selected based on price, quality and capability. Below are several key areas where it is used. Construction Projects: Invitation to tender are frequently used in the construction industry to invite contractors to bid on building or renovation projects. These tenders help organizations select the most suitable company based on cost estimates, experience and the ability to meet deadlines and specifications. Government Procurement: Government agencies use an invitation to tender to ensure that public funds are spent efficiently and transparently. By inviting multiple suppliers or service providers to bid on government contracts, the process ensures fairness and accountability in procuring goods and services for the public sector. Infrastructure Development: Large-scale infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges or energy facilities often require an ITT to ensure contractors or vendors are selected properly. The complexity and scale of these projects make it essential to select capable suppliers who can meet the technical and safety standards required. IT Systems or Consultancy Services: When organizations require specialized IT systems or consultancy services, an invitation to tender is issued to invite firms to submit proposals. It typically outlines the scope of the service, technical specifications and project timelines, ensuring that only qualified professionals or firms are considered for the job. What Should Be Included In an Invitation to Tender? An invitation to tender must be thorough, clear and structured to ensure all potential bidders have the information needed to submit accurate and competitive proposals. A well-prepared one sets the foundation for a successful procurement process by reducing misunderstandings, ensuring compliance and attracting qualified bidders. Below are the key components that should be included. Introduction and Background This section provides an overview of the issuing organization and the context of the tender. It explains the project’s purpose, the business need behind it and any relevant background information that helps bidders understand the bigger picture. Scope of Work The scope of work outlines the specific tasks, deliverables and expectations associated with the project. It should be detailed and clearly define what the supplier is responsible for, including any performance standards, milestones or technical requirements. Instructions to Bidders This part of the invitation to tender offers detailed guidance on how to submit a tender. It includes the submission process, formatting requirements, deadlines, contact information for queries and any protocols for site visits or clarification meetings. Evaluation Criteria This section explains how the submitted tenders will be assessed. It usually outlines the weightings for cost, quality, experience, methodology and other relevant factors, helping bidders understand how their proposals will be scored and selected. Legal and Commercial Terms Here, the ITT should define contractual conditions such as payment terms, liabilities, warranties, confidentiality agreements and compliance with laws or standards. This ensures that all bidders agree to the same legal framework. Required Documentation This lists all forms, certificates and supporting documents that must accompany the bid. These could include financial statements, case studies, insurance policies, licenses or references, depending on the nature of the project. Tender Timeline The timeline should include all critical dates in the tendering process, including the release of the invitation to tender, deadline for questions, submission due date, evaluation period and announcement of the selected bidder. This helps all parties plan accordingly and ensures transparency throughout the process. Invitation Tender vs. Request for Proposal An invitation to tender and a request for proposal are both formal procurement documents used to solicit bids from external vendors or contractors, but they serve different purposes and are used in different project scenarios. Understanding the distinction between the two helps organizations choose the right method based on the project’s complexity, the clarity of requirements and the level of vendor input needed. An invitation to tender is typically used when the project requirements are clearly defined and the organization knows exactly what it wants to procure. The focus is on price and compliance, with minimal need for innovation or input from the supplier. They are more rigid and are common in government, construction and infrastructure projects. A request for proposal is used when the project scope is more complex or open-ended, and the organization seeks vendor expertise to define the best approach. It invites suppliers to propose creative solutions or methodologies to meet an overall goal, allowing for more flexibility and collaboration. This is best for projects requiring strategy, design, technology or custom services. They also tend to be more technical and not focused on price alone. Invitation to Tender Example This invitation to tender (ITT) example provides a structured format for soliciting bids from contractors for a residential construction project. It outlines the project background, scope of work, submission requirements, evaluation criteria and key contractual details. This sample serves as a practical reference for organizations looking to issue a clear and professional ITT document in construction or similar industries. You can download this ITT sample by clicking the image below. /wp-content/uploads/2025/05/invitation-to-tender-example.png Related Project Management Templates Some templates can help with the invitation to tender process. Below are three of them from the over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that can be downloaded immediately from our site. They cover all aspects of managing a project. Request for Information Template Download this free request for information template for Word to collect general information from potential vendors, suppliers or service providers before launching a formal procurement process. It helps project managers, procurement teams or decision-makers understand the market, evaluate capabilities and identify possible solutions to meet their business needs. Request for Proposal Template Use this free request for proposal template for Word to solicit detailed proposals from potential vendors or service providers for a specific project, product or service. It outlines the project requirements, evaluation criteria and submission guidelines to ensure consistency in vendor responses and facilitate informed decision-making. Request for Quote Template A request for quote is a formal document organizations use to solicit price quotations from suppliers or vendors for specific products, services or work. Unlike a request for proposal, which asks for detailed solutions, this free request for quote template for Word primarily focuses on costs, delivery terms and availability. How ProjectManager Helps Manage Projects Procurement is part of the larger project management process. Templates are helpful as relationships are created with vendors and suppliers. But once those services are contracted and the project is being planned, executed and tracked, templates won’t cut it. These static documents aren’t intended for that dynamic process. Project management software, on the other hand, is designed to deliver projects successfully. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with multiple project views that allow teams to use the tools that are right for them, be that Gantt charts, task lists, kanban boards or calendar views. Keep Teams Productive With Robust Resource Features Procurement requires efficient resource management to get the most out of what you have. That includes the proper scheduling with Gantt charts, but also knowing the availability, skill sets and pay rates of the team, which is set when onboarding. This leads to more efficient resource allocation. To ensure that resources are balanced, a color-coded workload page makes it easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized. Balance the team’s workload without leaving the chart to keep everyone working at capacity without burning them out. The team page is a valuable tool to view the daily or weekly activity of the team. It can be filtered by progress or priority, and tasks can be updated right from that page when changes are made. Plus, free guest licenses keep vendors, suppliers and contractors in the loop. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Team-Light-2554x1372-1.png Track Projects With Real-Time Dashboards and Reports The ability to manage project teams and the various suppliers, vendors and contractors involves powerful tracking tools. The summary dashboard can be viewed by project managers, teams and others (with free guest licenses) to get an overview and keep everyone updated in one place. It features team summary, breakdown, project pulse and workstream to stay current on comments. A project or portfolio dashboard tracks time, cost, workload and more on easy-to-read graphs and charts and customizable reports zero in on key metrics such as status, variance, workload, timesheets and more. They can also be filtered and shared with stakeholders to keep them updated on progress. Secure timesheets help with tracking labor costs to avoid overspending on the budget. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Team-summary-better-data-light-mode-home-screen-dashboard.png Related Project Management Content There’s more to project management than an invitation to tender, though that’s an important part of the procurement process. For readers who want to learn more about how procurement fits into the larger project management process, below are some recent blogs. Construction Bidding Basics: Mastering Construction Bids Contract Bidding Process: A Quick Guide 16 Bid Proposal Templates for Word and Excel How to Write a Bid Proposal (Templates Included) ProjectManager is award-winning 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. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post What Is an Invitation to Tender in Project Management? appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Discrepancies between servicer and investor systems have been rare recently but the dollar amounts involved magnify the impact, according to PMSI's CEO. View the full article

The last time we talked about 23andMe’s bankruptcy sale, we suggested you might want to delete your genetic data from the site, since we didn’t know who would end up owning it. Now, a buyer has been announced, and they’re promising to “prioritize the privacy, security and ethical use” of customer data and to keep offering the company’s services uninterrupted. This is all—probably—good news. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic, anyway. Regeneron will be 23andMe’s new owner23andMe’s new buyer, paying $256 million for the company’s assets, is Regeneron. Regeneron is a biotech company perhaps best known for developing an antibody treatment for COVID early in the pandemic. (Donald The President was given a dose when he first came down with the virus.) That treatment never made it all the way to market, but the company does market other antibody- and protein-based treatments for conditions like Ebola virus, genetic disorders, and cancers. Regeneron’s website states that they “are shaping the next frontier of medicine with data-powered insights from the Regeneron Genetics Center® and pioneering genetic medicine platforms, enabling us to identify innovative targets and complementary approaches to potentially treat or cure diseases.” That explains why they’re interested in 23andMe, since it provides a trove of genetic data. Many 23andMe users had also signed up to provide more of their personal medical information for research purposes (this was a separate thing that you would have had to opt in to provide). Regeneron says they plan to “continue all consumer genome services uninterrupted,” rather than shut down the company. Lemonaid health, also owned by 23andMe, is not included in the sale. What this means for your data and privacyImportantly, Regeneron says they will respect the company’s privacy policy (“and applicable laws”) and the 23andMe press release also says that Regeneron will not be making any changes to the privacy policy. The sale, which still needs to be approved by a bankruptcy court, will also include a court-appointed “consumer privacy ombudsman” whose job is to make sure that everyone’s data is treated appropriately. Regeneron says that they’re ready to work with this ombudsman and will detail all their privacy-related plans. While we don’t yet know what the future holds, this all has me tentatively optimistic. Yes, a corporation has your data and intends to profit from it; but that was also true of 23andMe in its heyday. The policies about privacy and consent that you agreed to when contributing your data will still be in effect. The 23andMe community seems to be cautiously optimistic. In a r/23andme Reddit thread about the sale, one redditor, who identifies themselves as an academic biomedical researcher, says “I would rather [Regeneron] have my data than an insurance provider or just random [venture capitalist].” Another redditor says, “So there really is not [a] best case scenario here, there's just ‘wait and see’ and bad. And this is more of a ‘wait and see’ than a bad.” And another says “I know people side eye big pharma (rightfully in most circumstances) but this is a much better outcome than many other situations.” View the full article