Google issues apology to India over AI controversy; Gemini’s reliability questioned
In a recent turn of events, Google found itself embroiled in a controversy surrounding its AI platform Gemini, prompting an apology to India following a wave of criticism and concerns. Google issued an apology to Prime Minister Modi after its AI platform, Gemini, was deemed ‘unreliable’ and returned unsubstantiated results in response to a query regarding the Prime Minister. According to statements attributed to Minister of State for IT & Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Indian government had issued a notice to Google seeking clarification regarding the discrepancies in Gemini’s responses. In a significant move, Google acknowledged the platform’s unreliability, extending an apology to Prime Minister Modi and the Indian government. This incident unfolded against the backdrop of mounting scrutiny over AI platforms operating in India, with the government announcing plans to mandate permits for their operation. Rajeev Chandrasekhar emphasized the importance of AI platforms respecting Indian consumers and highlighted the legal ramifications under Indian IT and criminal laws for spreading false information. Additionally, the controversy also surrounding Google’s AI chatbot Gemini intensified as it faced allegations of racial bias and historical inaccuracies.
Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities favour deals over expedited delivery
PwC India’s latest report on e-commerce shopping behavior in India unveils critical insights that businesses need to consider when navigating the country’s digital marketplace. The report, titled ‘How India shops online: Consumer preferences in the metropolises and tier 1-4 cities,’ presents data-driven findings that shed light on the evolving consumer landscape, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. One key revelation from the report is the noticeable disparity in consumer priorities between urban centers and smaller cities. While 50% of urban consumers prioritize expedited delivery services, a significant 54% of consumers in tier 2, 3, and 4 cities place greater importance on securing deals and offers. “The next phase of growth for ecommerce will be driven by the new digital savvy consumers of tier 2,3 and 4 cities in India. In contrast to urban dwellers, these individuals, constrained by limited access to physical stores and brand choices, consider online shopping a gateway to fulfill their aspirations” – Somick Goswami, partner and business transformation leader, PwC India, said. Furthermore, the report underscores the impact of societal changes, particularly among women in India, on consumer behavior. With increasing financial independence, there is a discernible trend towards more individualistic shopping habits. This shift signifies a departure from traditional collective decision-making processes, necessitating a reevaluation of marketing and product positioning strategies by businesses.Another significant finding pertains to the influence of fake reviews on consumer trust, especially within the health and wellness product category. Over 42% of consumers surveyed expressed reluctance to make purchases in this category due to concerns regarding the authenticity of product reviews. The report highlights the growing preference for mobile shopping experiences, with over 60% of consumers expressing a preference for shopping through apps over websites. Marketplace apps, in particular, are favored for their comprehensive product offerings spanning various categories. The report identifies YouTube as a prominent platform influencing consumer buying decisions.
Sexual wellness brands and influencers see 100% rise in social media presence
vHib.ai, an influencer marketing platform, reveals doctors and influencers in the sexual wellness, menstrual hygiene, and fertility segments have seen a 50 to 100% rise in their following on social media in the past year. Dr. Tanaya Narendra, who goes by her handle Millennial Doctor, saw a 133% rise in her follower count in the past one year. With more than 1.5 MN followers on her Instagram account, the doctor and author of Dr Cuterus spreads awareness about sexual health, safe sex, reproductive health, fertility, and more. “The conversation around sexual wellness is gradually steering from safe sex to sexual pleasure. There’s growing awareness about the pleasure inequality among men and women. People are actively seeking information about sexual and reproductive health,” Sachin Modi, chief executive officer and co-founder, vHub.ai said. vHub.ai is an AI-powered SaaS platform that helps brands find the right influencers to collaborate with for their social media campaigns. Social media users are resorting to the help of sincere influencers such as doctors to get their action in the bedroom right and pleasurable. The boom in follower counts is a reflection of the rising awareness about sexual and reproductive health. In 2020, India’s sexual wellness industry was valued at $1,153 MN. Growing at a CAGR of 5.8%, the industry is expected to cross $2,000 MN by 2030, according to a report.
2.2 bn IoT connections expected to be on eSIM by 2030
The global Internet of Things (IoT) electronic eSIM market is expected to grow at a rapid pace of 43% annually to reach 2.2 billion by 2030, according to a recent report. By 2030, almost a third of the IoT connections will be on eSIM, it said. eSIM serves as a virtual SIM card that enables the activation of business mobile plans on the users’ device without the need for a physical SIM card. Businesses can benefit from eSIM in various ways. Convenience and cost-effectiveness are key advantages. By utilizing eSIM, multiple lines can be managed on a single device, eliminating the necessity for separate devices for work and personal use. This not only saves money but also offers the convenience of switching between lines on users’ phones. The growth of eSIM in IoT has been slower due to the restrictive mobile to mobile (M2M) eSIM specifications. Despite the demand, there were just under 200 MN eSIM connections in the IoT sector by the end of 2023. The new GSMA standards for IoT eSIM (SGD.31/32) are anticipated to extend the reach of eSIM to constrained devices, potentially driving significant growth in eSIM and later iSIM.
Automobile Cos Tap Social Media Influencers to Accelerate Sales
The Indian passenger vehicle industry — which saw a historic 27% growth in FY23 with sales of 3.90 MN vehicles, and growing since the pandemic — has floored the pedal by engaging numerous social media influencers to further accelerate sales. And the strategy seems to be working just fine: most automakers have been able to sell cars to an increasingly informed set of buyers who seemed to know pretty much everything about a vehicle before even stepping into a showroom. The content created by these influencers are consumed by prospective buyers across the country — driving an unprecedented market expansion, beyond the top-tier cities/towns. Maruti Suzuki is using influencers in a big way, especially in the last couple of years, to create awareness among target consumers and in newer markets. Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki said: “Car buying is a very engaging process and consumers do a lot of research before they decide. Influencers can play a very big role for auto companies in this decision-making process as they are looked upon as people with authenticity and as unbiased.” In the last couple of years, Maruti has used influencers in several of its key product launches such as Grand Vitara and Jimny. Ashish Gupta, brand director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said influencer collaborations have a tangible impact on sales. “By leveraging the reach and credibility of these individuals, we have witnessed a positive correlation with customer interest, test drives, and ultimately, sales.” Industry sources say there has been a 10x increase in budgets for digital content — Insta reels/YouTube — post Covid. At the same time, the number of influencers has also increased by 15X in the last couple of years. Popular auto influencer Gagan Choudhary of GaadiFy, who has 1.6 MN YouTube followers, said “The post-Covid growth in influencer marketing is fuelled by a focus by several brands on regional content creation.” “Influencers give more engagement and there is a strong element of trust by the audience once they themselves experience the things about a vehicle that are being spoken about in a video or reel,” he added.
Adobe introduces a GenAI tool for music production
Adobe is bolstering its music generation and editing capabilities on the back of generative AI. Recently, the company collaborated with researchers at the University of California and Carnegie Mellon to introduce Project Music GenAI Control, a platform that allows users to generate audio from text descriptions or reference melodies. The tool uses generative AI to assist users in creating and editing music without professional experience. Users can input text descriptions, customize music and remix clips, making it ideal for content creators. Further, the music generation tool enables customization of tempo, intensity, repeating patterns and structure. Adobe is expected to gain solid traction across content creators on the back of its latest launch.
Threads has three times the daily iOS downloads over X
While app downloads don’t precisely indicate usage, they can offer insights into market trends. Currently, Instagram’s Threads is emerging as the dominant player as the platform is now experiencing triple the daily downloads of X (formerly Twitter) on iOS worldwide, and more than double the downloads on Google Play. While Threads witnessed a significant surge in downloads following its public launch in 2023, in the subsequent months, downloads fluctuated as Meta experimented with different strategies to promote the app. Initially, Meta showcased popular Threads content within the timelines of its other platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. However, as the initial boosts from these efforts waned, Threads’ downloads fluctuated, often returning to similar levels as X installs, particularly on iOS, based on data from Appfigures. towards late December, Threads experienced a surge, with over half a MN installations occurring daily on both Google Play and iOS platforms. Although there was a slight decline in iOS installations in January, the platform consistently outpaces X in daily downloads across both platforms, indicating a widening disparity. For instance, on February 25, 2024, Threads logged 486,803 installations on Google Play and 342,228 on iOS, according to data from Appfigures. In contrast, X garnered 225,408 downloads on Google Play and 112,625 on iOS during the same period. This signifies nearly triple the iOS downloads for Threads and more than double the downloads on Google Play compared to X. On February 22, the disparity was even more pronounced. Threads recorded 382,999 daily iOS installs compared to just 113,649 for X, exceeding triple the downloads. Similarly, on Google Play, Threads saw 660,882 downloads, while X had only 210,475, again more than triple. Over time, this trend may extend to monthly active users. It could emerge as the primary microblogging platform choice for most users.
Social Platform Performance Benchmarks for Brands
The latest Social Media Benchmarks report from Rival IQ can help to provide some additional context in this respect, with insights into the average engagement rates that brands in various industries are seeing across all of the major apps. First off, on Facebook. According to the data, the median engagement rate for all industries on Facebook is 0.063%, which is a slight rise on last year (0.060%). sports engagement lifts that average up, while influencers, higher education, and alcohol brands also continue to see relatively strong engagement in the app. Yet even the best performers are only getting a tiny percentage of their audience to engage with their posts. That likely points to reach being a better metric to measure, as most people simply don’t ever engage in social apps. brand awareness, and subsequent indirect action would probably suggest that it’s still worth the effort. But as fewer people actually look to actively participate in social apps, preferring to only consume content instead, it may be worth re-aligning your KPIs around other metrics, like actual sales, email sign-ups, etc., in order to track relative performance. Overall engagement rates on Instagram, meanwhile, declined slightly in 2023, down to 0.43%. Instagram engagement rates have actually been steadily decreasing for years now, with the same report showing average brand IG engagement was at 0.98% in 2021. So while the overall engagement percentage is still small, it’s actually dropped by more than half in a couple of years. Increasing competition, and again, changing trends in user consumption, aligned around Meta’s AI-based content recommendations, have led to fewer people seeing or directly interacting with brand updates. Rival IQ also seems to be firmly in the “never calling it X” camp, with “Twitter” average engagement at 0.029%. The platform formerly known as Twitter has never been a great driver of referral traffic, and this is only a slight drop-off in average engagement rate from last year (0.035%). And actually, given that X owner Elon Musk has made it very clear that he’s definitely not looking to assist brands with referral traffic. And finally, there’s TikTok, which, according to Rival IQ’s data, has seen a significant decline in brand engagement. TikTok’s average engagement rate last year was 5.69% per clip, so TikTok referrals have dropped by more than half, on average, over the course of a year. Though at the same time, brand engagement in the app is still well higher than the other platforms.
Generative AI is driving a high rate of job uncertainty for marketers
When it comes to job security, 87% of marketers are worried about technology replacing their jobs, as per a recent report from Gartner based on several recent surveys of marketers. Those concerns aren’t unfounded, as 26% of marketing leaders said they plan to reduce personnel due to generative AI in 2024. The findings also point to a martech burden: 61% of respondents said they have encountered technology or process changes in the past 12 months. However, generative AI use can lead to lower rates of burnout. Those who engage with the technology at high rates are 30% less likely to indicate high rates of burnout and are 40% less likely to leave their job in the next year, per Gartner. One takeaway is that while technology holds a great deal of usefulness for marketers, gaining the necessary skills remains a challenge: 63% of martech leaders reporting marketing cannot fully integrate or operate technologies in their stack while two thirds of marketers said that learning takes time away from day-to-day responsibilities.