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Health and finance see up to 60% CTR drops as AI Overviews disrupt search
Gone are the days when Google ranking mattered above all else. Today, even if brand sites rank on Google’s first page, it doesn’t guarantee clicks. Since May 2024, when Google officially rebranded its AI-powered feature to AI Overviews at its I/O conference, the search landscape has undergone a shift. The feature, which displays AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, was first launched in the United States and has since expanded to over 100 countries, altering how users interact with search results.
The impact has been swift and severe. According to research, organic click-through rates for queries featuring AI Overviews fell 61% since mid-2024, while paid Click-Through Rates (CTRs) plunged 68%. Even more concerning for marketers, queries without AI Overviews saw organic CTRs drop 41%, suggesting that users are simply clicking less everywhere, likely due to the rise of ChatGPT and other AI platforms alongside social search. A Pew Research Center study found that users who encountered an AI Overview clicked on website links just 8% of the time, compared to 15% for those who didn’t see an AI Overview. The links displayed within AI Overviews themselves saw minimal engagement, with click-through rates of just 1%.
The Rise of Online Micro Expressions and What They Signal About Gen Z Mindsets
If you look at how Gen Z communicates today, it almost feels like the internet has learned a new language. A language made of hints. Half sentences. Phrases with em dash (that people secretly hate). A reaction emoji dropped at the right moment. A meme that means ten different things depending on who sees it. These tiny signals tell you more about what the youth is thinking than any full length caption ever could.
What is interesting is that Gen Z is not doing this because they have nothing to say. They are doing it because they have too much to say, and the old ways of saying things do not fit anymore. A long post feels heavy. A paragraph feels unnecessary. But a micro expression feels honest. Clean. It gets straight to the feeling without the drama of full explanation.
44% of Indian consumers expect to spend more time on social media
DoubleVerify, a software platform to verify media quality, optimise ad performance and prove campaign outcomes, has released its 2025 Global Insights: How Consumers and Marketers Use Walled Gardens report. The comprehensive study offers platform-level insights into how social media continues to reshape digital advertising, commerce and news consumption worldwide.
The report underscores the increasing centrality of video-centric, closed digital ecosystems—commonly referred to as walled gardens—and the growing demand from advertisers for accountability, transparency and performance within these environments.
“The appeal of advertising across social media platforms lies in their ability to blend entertainment, community and personalised experiences across both user-generated content and ads,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DV. “As advertisers ramp up investments across these platforms, they’re also demanding campaign effectiveness and accountability. That’s why maximising media quality, efficiency and performance across video-centric walled gardens remains a top priority for DV — evidenced by our recent innovations including DV Authentic AdVantage™. Ultimately, the takeaway from our Global Insights Report is clear: while walled gardens promise scale and performance, sustainable value ultimately depends on transparency and trust.”
Snapchat Launches ‘Animate It’ AI Video Generation Lens
Snapchat released ‘Animate It‘ on December 22, 2025. The company described it as the platform’s first open-prompt video generation Lens.
Users enter text prompts to create short, animated videos in seconds. The feature relies on Snap’s internally developed AI video model and is exclusive to paid Lens+ subscribers.
You access the Lens by searching for “Animate It” in the Snapchat camera. You then tap the caption field to input a custom prompt or select from suggested ones.
The AI generates a personalized animated clip that you can share on Snapchat or export elsewhere.
The launch marks Snapchat’s entry into user-facing generative video tools. Snap has developed its own AI models rather than relying on third-party providers.
Industry observers note this as part of broader efforts by social platforms to integrate advanced media creation features.
Instagram Implements New Limits on Hashtag Use
Instagram has announced a new restriction on hashtag use in posts, as it continues to examine changes in user behavior relating to tags, while also seeking ways to limit spammers and scammers in the app.
Instagram has noted many times before that hashtags are no longer as important as they once were for content discovery, with AI algorithms now playing a bigger part in highlighting the most relevant content to each user.
But they can still help in guiding users towards related content, and sorting content based on relevant topics.
Swiggy Instamart ventures offline with pilot experiential store in Gurugram
Swiggy’s Instamart has launched its first-ever offline experiential store in Gurugram, allowing customers to physically interact with a curated selection of products typically available only through the app.
The pilot initiative, which opened recently at M3M 65th Avenue, spans approximately 400 square feet, a fraction of the size of Instamart’s typical 4,000-square-foot dark stores, and stocks a limited inventory of 100 to 200 stock-keeping units (SKUs).
Focus areas include fresh fruits and vegetables, pulses, new product launches, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, and Instamart’s private-label items. Unlike the platform’s core model of 10- to 15-minute app-based deliveries from over 15,000-20,000 SKUs in dark stores, this outlet emphasises hands-on exploration.
India’s digital entertainment landscape is witnessing the rapid rise of a new format—microdramas—ultra-short, high-intensity vertical stories that are fast moving from social media novelty to a serious business opportunity. What began as bite-sized clips inspired by Chinese and Korean content has, within a year, evolved into a structured content economy estimated at nearly $500 million in India, industry executives told CNBC-TV18.
Microdramas explode into a $500 million market as Tier 2, Tier 3 India drives the next content boom
The format’s growth is being powered not by metros alone, but by deep demand from Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, where audiences are binge-watching vernacular microdramas and, crucially, showing early signs of willingness to pay.
Zepto Cafe Tests AI Agent That Can Place Orders For Users
Indian quick commerce platforms are beginning to test a shift from assistive artificial intelligence (AI) to delegated action. Zepto’s internal experiment, which allows a large language model (LLM) to place Zepto Cafe orders using natural-language instructions, goes beyond a chatbot feature or discovery tool. Instead, it represents an early test of agentic commerce, where AI systems execute transactions on a user’s behalf.
However, what stands out is not the technology itself but how cautiously Zepto is deploying it. By keeping the system off its consumer-facing app and website, the company signals that once AI systems act autonomously, the core questions shift from convenience to consent, accountability, and liability. Notably, when an AI system places an order, errors are no longer suggestions gone wrong but completed transactions involving money, inventory, and delivery.
