Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup

CapCut Launches ‘Commerce Pro’ Package for Retail Promotions

ByteDance’s video editing app, CapCut, has introduced a new ‘Commerce Pro’ package aimed at retailers to enhance their online content creation. This package includes TikTok-aligned commerce tools, like creating video clips from a product URL, adding shoppable links, and using AI avatars for demonstrations. It also offers a ‘Virtual Try On’ feature to show products on AI models, scheduling and auto-publishing tools, and performance analytics. CapCut Commerce Pro is priced at $26/month or $250 annually, with a freemium option. The app is currently available in several countries, but due to TikTok’s uncertain future in the U.S. amid security concerns, CapCut’s availability there could be impacted if TikTok faces a ban.

X has published an updated holiday marketing tips guide

X (formerly Twitter) remains a potential platform for holiday marketing, with over 500 million monthly users. If your target audience is active on X, promoting there could enhance your campaign reach. To support brands, X has released a new holiday marketing guide that covers trends, key dates, and creative tips, which could be useful in planning effective promotions.

TikTok Launches Updated ‘TikTok Academy’ Marketing Education Platform

TikTok has updated its TikTok Academy platform with new and refreshed courses to help marketers improve their promotional skills on the app. Originally launched in 2022, TikTok Academy now offers enhanced content on a new interface, with courses covering all aspects of TikTok marketing, including the six ‘Creative Codes’ essential for effective outreach. The free, short courses provide valuable insights and tips for beginners and seasoned marketers alike, with qualification badges available for completion. This resource is especially useful as the holiday season approaches.

SearchGPT Launches As ChatGPT’s Real-Time Search Feature

OpenAI has added real-time web search to ChatGPT, allowing it to deliver up-to-date information, including news, sports, stock prices, and weather, with proper source attribution. This feature, available initially to ChatGPT Plus and Team users, provides results through a ‘Sources’ sidebar with verified links and supports manual or automatic search activation. Powered by a fine-tuned GPT-4 model, the search integrates content from partners like the Associated Press, Reuters, and more. Publishers can track traffic through UTM tags on ChatGPT referrals. While testing shows strong accuracy, there are some limitations, such as potential delays in recognising the latest updates and a bias towards official sources. Broader access for free users is expected in the coming months, and OpenAI plans to expand into areas like shopping and travel.

Google has updated its crawl budget guidelines, stressing the need to maintain consistent link structures between mobile and desktop websites.

Google has updated its crawl budget guidelines for large websites, emphasising consistent link structures between mobile and desktop versions. Sites with over 10,000 pages or indexing issues should ensure their mobile versions contain all desktop links, as Google’s mobile-first indexing only crawls mobile pages. Without link parity, new page discovery may slow, affecting SEO performance. If full link parity isn’t possible, Google recommends including all links in the sitemap. This update aims to optimise crawl efficiency for large sites, ensuring faster content indexing and improved visibility in search results.

A new app launched to help keep voters informed for elections

The My Ballot Ai app, founded by Mark Larman, aims to make voting information accessible by providing real-time answers on election topics, helping users make informed choices. Powered by Google Gemini, the app uses verified sources like the Google Civic API and BallotReady API to answer queries, displaying sources to ensure transparency. Users can explore sample ballots, with features planned for networking directly with candidates and engaging users through quizzes. The app was inspired by Larman’s experience feeling uninformed about judges on his ballot in 2020, and it targets young voters, who often find existing election resources unfriendly. The platform is currently U.S.-only, with plans to expand internationally.

Instagram Adds DM Filters to Assist Creators

Instagram has introduced new messaging filters for creator accounts to help them better manage their message requests. These filters allow creators to sort DMs based on factors like follower count, verified status, and whether the sender is a brand or another creator. A new ‘Story replies’ folder also separates these from regular messages, making it easier to locate collaboration requests. Instagram chief, Adam Mosseri, highlighted the feature’s aim to address the cluttered inboxes creators face as their audiences grow. This update reflects Instagram’s focus on helping creators manage interactions efficiently, ensuring they stay engaged on the platform as Meta prepares for the metaverse.

Meta’s Developing a New AI System to Detect Teens Lying About Their Age

Meta is developing an AI system to identify users who lie about their age on Facebook and Instagram, aiming to protect young users from harmful content. The tool, called an ‘adult classifier,’ will analyse account data, followers, and interactions to estimate users’ ages. Testing will begin on Instagram early next year. This move comes as various countries consider age restrictions on social media to protect teens, which could impact Meta’s user base. While Meta has asked app stores to enforce age restrictions, the responsibility has largely fallen back on platforms. This new AI detection tool adds to Meta’s existing age verification measures and protections for teen accounts.

Democrats’ Campaign Ad Spend 63% Higher Vs. Republicans’ Since July

Since July 22, Democrats have outspent Republicans by 63% on presidential campaign ads, totalling $1.37 billion compared to $913.9 million, according to Ad Impact. Kamala Harris’s campaign has spent $646.3 million, while Trump’s campaign has spent $358.8 million. In digital media, the spending gap is even larger, with Democrats investing $132.4 million on Facebook and $180.7 million on Google versus Republicans’ $24.7 million and $72.1 million, respectively. In key battleground states, Democrats also lead in TV ad spending, with $1.8 billion of the total $2.6 billion ad spend focused on these areas since Super Tuesday. Digital ads account for 18% of the overall spending, totalling $420 million.

Google fixes supplemental feed limitation in Merchant Centre Next

Google Merchant Center Next has updated its system to allow merchants to use pre-existing Google Sheets as supplemental feeds, removing a previous limitation that required creating new sheets from scratch. This change will save time for e-commerce managers and simplify feed management, enabling them to continue using existing spreadsheet templates. Merchants are encouraged to review their current supplemental feed setups to take advantage of this new functionality.