Snapchat makes a push for Snapcodes as a marketing tool
Snapchat is pitching its Snapcodes QR codes as a key consideration for advertisers in order to facilitate more immersive, connective promotions and engage potential customers.
Snapcodes, which have been available as an advertiser option since 2017, enable brands to generate a custom, scannable QR code that Snapchat users can activate via their phone camera in order to glean more information about a brand or product.
Depending on the target market, that can be a valuable driver of engagement, and Snapchat is looking to highlight this as a branding option.
Snap said its Snapcodes are able to “transform simple scans into visually engaging and interactive experiences,” adding that these codes “empower brands to connect with their audience in new and meaningful ways.”
LinkedIn Introduces Video Playback Speed Controls
LinkedIn has added playback speed controls for in-stream videos, giving users a simple but meaningful new way to watch content on the platform. Viewers can now slow videos down or speed them up, making it easier to review detailed segments, move through familiar material faster, and choose a viewing pace that fits the moment. On the surface, that sounds like a small product update. In practice, it matters for users, creators, B2B marketers, sales teams, recruiters, educators, and brands that rely on LinkedIn as a professional publishing platform.
The reason is straightforward. Video on LinkedIn is no longer a side format. It has become one of the platform’s clearest growth areas. As video usage rises, small usability changes start affecting how content is consumed, how long people stay engaged, and what kind of videos make sense to publish. Playback speed controls do not change the fundamentals of good content. They do change the way users interact with it.
You Can Now Clone Yourself on YouTube With an AI Avatar Tool
AI avatars can even take your place in YouTube Shorts.
If you’re a YouTube creator, you can now create a digital twin with YouTube’s new avatar clone tool. It uses your likeness to create an avatar that can be featured in YouTube Shorts without you ever setting foot in front of the camera again.
“Avatars create a digital version of yourself so you can generate videos that look and sound like you, safely and securely,” Google writes in a post.
When asked about safeguards the app has in place to protect your likeness when using the feature, a Google spokesperson said: “Only the user themselves can create and control their avatar. No one else can use it. If videos are opt-ed in to remix, then other users can remix a video with the avatar, but they cannot control or change the avatar itself.”
Meta on track to surpass Google as world’s largest digital ad business in 2026
New Delhi: Meta Platforms is on track to overtake Alphabet’s Google as the world’s biggest digital advertising business by the end of 2026, according to fresh forecasts from eMarketer.
If that happens, it will be the first time in the research firm’s 14 years of tracking the sector that Google will lose the top position in global digital ad revenue.
eMarketer is a subscription-based market research company providing data, insights, and trends focused on digital marketing, media, and commerce.
eMarketer expects Meta to generate $243.46 billion in net ad revenue in 2026, narrowly ahead of Google’s projected $239.54 billion.
The gap between the two companies has been closing steadily. In 2025, Meta posted ad revenue of about $196.18 billion, while Google remained comfortably ahead with roughly $214 billion in comparable net terms.
eMarketer forecasts Meta’s worldwide ad revenue to grow 24.1% in 2026, up from 22.1% a year earlier, while Google’s growth is expected to stay at 11.9%. On that basis, Meta is projected to account for 26.8% of global digital ad spend, compared with Google’s 26.4%.
Together with Amazon, the three companies are expected to control 62.3% of the market.
The Gemini app can now generate interactive simulations and models
Gemini can transform your questions and complex topics into custom and interactive visualizations — directly within your chat.
Previously, responses were largely just text with static diagrams. Now, we’re delivering functional simulations that can help you better understand the topic you’re asking Gemini about. Whether you’re rotating a molecule or simulating a complex physics system, you can explore further with just one prompt.
When exploring how the moon orbits the Earth, you aren’t stuck with a fixed diagram. You can manually adjust sliders or input exact numbers for initial velocity and gravity strength to instantly see how those specific variables create a stable orbit.
This feature is now rolling out globally to all Gemini app users.
Head to gemini.google.com and select the Pro model in the prompt bar, then ask Gemini to “show me” or “help me visualize” a complex concept so you can see for yourself.
Claude Can Now Run Tasks on Your Behalf With New ‘Computer Use’ Feature
Artificial intelligence is becoming more independent and you can now use Claude to perform tasks on your behalf in a new research preview available for select subscription plans. You can tell Claude to do things for you, like send a file from your computer to your phone — without any setup.
Anthropic’s announcement comes after the viral sensation that is OpenClaw opened the floodgates, paving the way for more agentic AI tools that act more independently. The announcement for computer use in Claude came shortly after Nvidia launched its own reference stack for OpenClaw, NemoClaw, which adds more security measures.
Human content is 8x more likely than AI to rank #1 on Google
New Semrush data shows human-written pages dominate top Google rankings, while AI content appears in lower Page 1 positions.
Human-written content dominates Google’s top rankings, appearing in the No. 1 position 80% of the time versus just 9% for purely AI-generated pages, based on a Semrush analysis of 42,000 blog posts.
The details. Semrush analyzed 20,000 keywords and their top 10 results, classifying content with an AI detector.
- Human-written pages outperformed AI and mixed content across all top 10 positions.
- The gap was widest at Position 1, where human content was 8x more likely to rank.
- AI content appeared more often lower on Page 1, nearly doubling from Positions 1 to 4.
That’s our wrap for today.
“That’s our wrap for today. The big takeaway is clear: as AI tools like Claude and Gemini move from answering questions to actively performing tasks and creating interactive worlds, the ‘human’ element is becoming your most valuable asset. With Semrush confirming that human-written content is eight times more likely to hit that number-one spot on Google, the winning formula for 2026 is simple: leverage the machine’s efficiency, but double down on human expertise.
I’m your host, signing off. Stay ahead, and I’ll see you in the next one!
