Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup

Instagram and TikTok outrank Google for Gen Z shoppers

A new survey from creator management platform GRIN reveals that Gen Z consumers (18-27) are more likely to discover products on Instagram (30.4%) and TikTok (23.2%) than on Google (18.8%). In contrast, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers still primarily rely on Google Search. This shift highlights how younger consumers favor social platforms for product discovery, making social search an essential part of modern marketing strategies. While SEO remains valuable, brands must adopt a multi-channel approach to reach consumers across different touchpoints. The survey, conducted among 1,000+ U.S. consumers aged 18-65+, underscores the growing role of social media in shaping purchasing behavior.

AI search is gaining traction, but it isn’t replacing Google

A new survey by Higher Visibility reveals that while 71.5% of people use AI tools for search, traditional search engines like Google and Bing remain dominant, with 79.8% preferring them for general information. Search behavior varies by generation—Gen Z leans on social media for product discovery, Millennials balance AI and traditional search, while Gen X and Baby Boomers favor classic search engines. Different platforms now dominate specific queries: AI tools for product comparisons, social media for discovery-based shopping, and Google Maps for local businesses. As Google’s click-through rates decline, the search landscape is becoming more fragmented, with AI, social media, and shopping platforms all playing a role in how people find information.

Spotify, Warner Music Group sign new deal to help deliver ‘further paid subscription tiers’

Spotify and Warner Music Group (WMG) have signed a multi-year deal covering recorded music and publishing, enabling expanded fan experiences, a richer music and video catalog, and new paid subscription tiers. The deal follows a similar agreement with Universal Music Group and aligns with Spotify’s push for innovation in 2025, including a rumored “superfan” premium tier. WMG’s Warner Chappell Music, which holds over 1 million copyrights, is part of the agreement. While financial details remain undisclosed, both companies emphasise supporting artists and increasing music’s value. The announcement comes as Spotify marks its first full year of profitability, reporting €1.4 billion in operating income for 2024 and a record 675 million monthly active users.

Why LinkedIn is spotlighting the average watch time metric to support its video push

LinkedIn is expanding its video capabilities with new tools and metrics, including average watch time tracking, improved video search, and full-screen vertical video on desktop. The platform prioritises connected content but introduces more unconnected content over time based on engagement, with a unique ability to resurface older videos. Creators report higher watch times on LinkedIn compared to TikTok and Instagram, making it appealing for B2B marketing, thought leadership, and sales conversions. However, some find the new watch time metric difficult to access. A key differentiator is demographic insights, allowing creators to see audience breakdowns by job title, location, and industry. These changes signal LinkedIn’s push to become a stronger video platform for professionals, brands, and marketers.

Google is adding digital watermarks to images edited with Magic Editor AI

Google is introducing digital watermarking for images edited with generative AI in Google Photos, starting with the Reimagine feature in Magic Editor on Pixel 9 devices. Using SynthID, developed by DeepMind, Google will embed invisible watermarks in AI-edited images without altering their appearance. This move addresses concerns over distinguishing real photos from AI-generated ones as synthetic images become more lifelike. Users can also check metadata via the “About this Image” feature. However, minor edits, like changing a small background detail, may not trigger the watermark. Google’s initiative aligns with its AI principles, aiming to enhance transparency around AI-edited content while ensuring users can identify altered images.

Pinterest Reports First $1B Quarter, Record Usage

Pinterest’s “joy revolution” strategy is proving successful, with the platform reaching its first-ever billion-dollar revenue quarter in Q4, bringing 2024’s total revenue to $3.6 billion—double its 2023 growth rate. Unlike entertainment-focused social media, Pinterest users actively search for products, driving a 90% increase in ad clicks. AI-powered tools enhance visual search, content understanding, and ad performance, contributing to record-breaking holiday sales. The platform now boasts 553 million monthly active users, with U.S. and Canadian users surpassing 100 million for the first time since the pandemic. As Pinterest invests in AI, sales, and marketing, its role as a key player in social commerce is solidifying, offering brands full-funnel advertising opportunities and increased conversions.

Google Analytics simplifies cost data import

Google simplified cost data imports in Analytics, now requiring only source, medium, and date, eliminating the need for campaign names and IDs. While this streamlines tracking and lowers barriers for advertisers, omitting campaign details means cost data will be aggregated, limiting granular insights. Marketers can still include campaign name and ID for more detailed reporting. This update makes it easier to monitor ad spend within Google Analytics while offering flexibility for those who prioritise speed over depth. For the most accurate insights, importing optional fields remains recommended, but for a quick setup, the new requirements are sufficient.

Google Search testing ‘AI Mode’

Google is reportedly testing a new search feature called “AI Mode,” which enhances search by intelligently organising information into digestible summaries with links for further exploration. Unlike traditional Google Search, AI Mode is designed for open-ended and exploratory queries, such as advice, comparisons, and follow-ups. It leverages Gemini 2.0 and can handle complex questions like meal planning, product comparisons, and hobby guides. First discovered in December through an Android APK finding, AI Mode could significantly change how users interact with search results, potentially reducing click-through rates to websites. As AI-generated overviews already impact site traffic, this new feature may further shift search behavior toward AI-curated responses rather than direct website visits.

Google launches new AI models and brings ‘thinking’ to Gemini

Google launched its Gemini 2.0 Pro Experimental model, part of a series of AI releases aimed at competing with the rising popularity of DeepSeek’s affordable AI models. The Gemini 2.0 Pro is designed to excel at coding and complex prompts, with enhanced reasoning and world knowledge. It can process up to 2 million tokens, equating to about 1.5 million words in one go, and can even execute code or use Google Search. Alongside this, Google unveiled the Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model for more accessible reasoning tasks, and introduced the Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite for a cost-efficient alternative to the previous version, offering improvements in performance at no additional cost.

Meta launches new program to improve speech and translation AI

Meta is launching the Language Technology Partner Program in collaboration with UNESCO to gather speech recordings, transcriptions, and other linguistic data to enhance AI models for speech recognition and translation. This program invites contributors to help integrate underserved languages, like Inuktut, into AI systems, which will eventually be open-sourced. In addition to this initiative, Meta is releasing an open-source machine translation benchmark, supporting seven languages, available through Hugging Face. While the program is framed as a philanthropic effort, Meta aims to upgrade its AI-powered assistant, Meta AI, and features like automatic translation for creators. Meta has faced criticism for its handling of non-English content, particularly regarding misinformation, but is working on improving its translation and moderation capabilities.