Vertical entertainment: Growing ‘up’?
Human eyes tend to see horizontally rather than vertically, and, hence, photograph copies, cinema-hall screens and television sets have traditionally been designed in a horizontal format for ages for a better viewing experience. However, the invention of smart mobile phone devices in 1992, having vertical or portrait orientations of small screens, gradually changed the viewing habits of people. Vertical screens of smartphones are considered more user-friendly. Admittedly, the vertical screen allows a user to operate the device with just one hand and is now considered an ideal solution for presenting content and offering functionalities. Vertical viewing on mobile handset screens gained immense traction amongst the users worldwide over the years; hence, entertainment content providers gradually started curating niche, dedicated and specialised entertainment content precisely designed for viewing on mobile phone screens in a vertical format.
Google Shares Coming AI-Powered Ad Innovations
Google has previewed a range of coming ad innovations, powered by artificial intelligence, as it looks to evolve its ad options in line with discovery trends, and help marketers maximize the opportunities of improved systematic understanding of consumer preferences.
In her annual letter, Google’s General Manager of Ads and Commerce Vidhya Srinivasan has shared some insight into Google’s planning, and where you can expect to see more innovation throughout this year.
First off, Srinivasan shares details of Google’s latest ads in AI responses, with a new ad option that will showcase relevant products based on an AI answer.
OpenAI introduces lockdown mode in ChatGPT to boost security
OpenAI is rolling out a new ‘Lockdown Mode’ for ChatGPT, aimed at protecting users and organisations handling highly sensitive information from advanced cyber threats.
The feature is an optional, advanced security setting that tightly restricts how ChatGPT interacts with external systems, reducing the risk of prompt-injection attacks and data leaks. According to the company, Lockdown Mode is designed for high-risk users such as enterprises, researchers, and security-sensitive professionals rather than the general public.
LinkedIn Launches AI-Powered SMB Subscription Hub
In response to feedback from its small-business partners, LinkedIn has announced a new premium on-platform subscription hub designed to provide small businesses (SMBs) with perks and tools specific to their needs when seeking clients, proving credibility, hiring new employees and more.
LinkedIn’s “Premium All-in-One” SMB hub stems from conversations LinkedIn has had with SMB owners, with many sharing a similar sentiment: “Growth is hard, time is scarce,” the company relays in its announcement.
Targeting LinkedIn’s 18 million SMBs, All-in-One requires a single subscription priced at $99 per month.
Subscribers will automatically receive $100 in advertising credits, and a $50 boost credit, along with daily prospect recommendations, search filters, personalized insights, and an AI-writing assistant.
India becomes ChatGPT’s second-biggest market with 100 million weekly users
India now has 100 million weekly active users of ChatGPT, making it one of the platform’s largest markets, according to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
Altman shared the figure ahead of the government-hosted India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where global tech leaders are gathering to discuss the future of artificial intelligence.
In an article published in The Times of India, Altman described India as a key driver of ChatGPT’s global expansion, and said the country is now the generative AI chatbot’s second-largest market after the United States.
The numbers underline how quickly the chatbot has become part of daily digital life in India. Globally, the platform crossed 800 million weekly active users by October 2025, and is expected to approach 900 million.
Quick Commerce orders surge 48% during Valentine’s sales
Quick commerce platforms emerged as the biggest winners this Valentine’s season, recording a 48% year-on-year jump in order volumes, according to data released by Unicommerce.
The analysis, based on over 15 million order items processed on Unicommerce’s flagship platform Uniware across quick commerce platforms, marketplaces and D2C brand websites between February 1 and 10, 2026, highlights the growing role of impulse buying and instant deliveries in occasion-led shopping.
While overall e-commerce volumes grew by approximately 17% compared to the same period last year, quick commerce significantly outpaced other channels. D2C brand websites saw around 16% growth in order volumes, while marketplaces recorded roughly 14% growth.
Google Ads no longer runs on keywords. It runs on intent.
If you’re still building Google Ads around keywords, you’re behind. Here’s what that means for eligibility, structure, and PPC strategy.
Most PPC teams still build campaigns the same way: pull a keyword list, set match types, and organize ad groups around search terms. It’s muscle memory.
But Google’s auction no longer works that way.
Search now behaves more like a conversation than a lookup. In AI Mode, users ask follow-up questions and refine what they’re trying to solve. AI Overviews reason through an answer first, then determine which ads support that answer.
In Google Ads, the auction isn’t triggered by a keyword anymore – it’s triggered by inferred intent.
If you’re still structuring campaigns around exact and phrase match, you’re planning for a system that no longer exists. The new foundation is intent: not the words people type, but the goals behind them.
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