Digital Marketing: latest News from the World – September Part 1
Artificial intelligence
Global AI Summit 2024 continued to transform the data and AI landscape on final day
The third edition of the Global AI Summit (GAIN) concluded today, following a series of high-profile collaborations poised to drive AI innovation and growth.
Organized by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), GAIN brought together AI experts and business leaders from around the world. The final day began with a session exploring the technical foundations of explainable AI (systems that help humans interpret predictions made by machine learning models) featuring representatives from the Alan Turing Institute, Thales and Cognizant Technology Solutions.
Also celebrated on stage was the next generation of AI talent following this week’s International AI Olympiad, in which students from 25 countries competed to solve problems using the latest technologies. The competition was launched as a platform to help the next generation of AI experts and enthusiasts keep pace with the rapid changes in AI technology and exchange ideas.
The final day also focused on AI and education, with sessions dedicated to personalized learning with generative AI, as well as a discussion on how we can bridge the innovation gap between academia and industry.
What's new from Google to boost SEO
As the operating system is updated, new file formats are also updated and developed. These are created and adjusted to adapt to the needs or new technologies that appear. Google has just announced that images in AVIF format, which is quite new, are now fully supported by Google Search.
If you search on Google, you will find images in AVIF format, which is fairly new and whose support is limited. Some programs or WordPress itself do not support this format and a conversion is required.
To date, Google also did not natively support this new image format that is growing in popularity. If someone uploaded an AVIF image to their website, they had to make some adjustments for the image to be indexed. Now, this will no longer be necessary due to the changes that have just been introduced in the search engine.
Google now supports images in AVIF format
This is a modern image format based on the AVI1 compression codec for still images and image sequences. AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) has become more popular because of its high compression without loss of image quality. This format is shown to be far superior to conventional JPEG, PNG and WebP.
You should know that this system is based on the AV1 codec, offering a high compression. We are talking about smaller images than in other formats without loss of image quality. This format supports color depths up to 12 bits, allowing a wider range of colors and details.
Something very interesting is that it supports transparencies, such as PNG and WebP, something not supported by JPEG. On the other hand, it supports the creation of high quality animations. AVIF even supports YUV and RGB color spaces. It even supports limited and full color spaces, making it more flexible.
One aspect of AVIF’s success is that this new format supports advanced metadata. It can include information such as color profiles, depth information and other data relevant to the image. These aspects make it very interesting for professional applications, where data accuracy and control is vital.
Artificial intelligence
ASOS incorporates a chatbot with which you can haggle
Artificial intelligence has proven to be a great tool to improve processes and provide better customer service, even in practices that until now were exclusive to people. Asos, the British online fast fashion retailer, has integrated a new chatbot into its sales strategy in the United Kingdom for a particular practice: price haggling.
This new chatbot is Nibble, developed by London-based Nibble Technology, and has been implemented in Asos’ multi-brand outlet, allowing customers to haggle over the price of their products with the bot. At the moment, Asos has no plans to integrate this AI on its main site, ASOS.com.
With this, Asos joins the group of more than 300 brands and retailers from different industries and countries that have made use of the AI-powered chatbot, such as makeup brand Iconic London and U.S. furniture and décor firm Industry West.
How Nibble works
As reported by Nibble Technology, Nibble has been built from the ground up with the specific goal of the art of negotiation, implementing techniques based on user behavioral science and negotiation theory. With this, the bot is able to understand users’ motives and negotiation strategies and respond to these.
In addition to this, Nibble can be tailored to appear on specific products and categories, showing up with the “Negotiate” button near the “Add to cart” option. It is also possible to program the bot to activate if the mouse is over the buy button or if it detects that the user is about to leave the eCommerce and abandon their purchase.
Companies that integrate Nibble into their website must enter parameters into the tool, such as the range of discounts they can give and other factors that can affect the negotiation. Also, Nibble’s custom algorithms determine the offers they provide by considering different factors, such as the bot’s previous offer, the user’s last offer, the length of the negotiation, and so on.
To demonstrate how this bot works, George McGowan, a London-based software engineer, made use of Nibble to get an 8% discount on the purchase of an Eve Sleep mattress, achieving a price reduction from £940 to £870 (from about £1,116 to £1,033).
Through his account on X, McGowan told his experience with the bot and discovered that there is a limit to the savings that Nibble can offer. And is that before his offer of £ 500 for the mattress Nibble replied that the amount was too low and rejected this price firmly.
META
How to create the perfect reel to sell
Meta’s “The Performance Playbook” guide helps you create reels to sell on both Instagram and Facebook:
- Language of reels: combine audios and visuals that convey harmony, value and communication. It also recommends having a tone and a set of codes that your audience identifies them and you can create connection with them.
- Audio: music, sound effects, voice-over… Above all, sound effects dynamize transitions and videos in general.
- Editing: zoom in and zoom out to keep the attention, transitions to join clips, and that these clips are not long.
- Hooks: the first 3 seconds are key to grab the user’s attention. You can start by asking a question or just experiment and let creativity do its thing.
- User-generated: record in ordinary places like a living room, a garden and not in a studio. Ideas are more important than perfect execution, you can record with your cell phone. Instead of using models or actors, use people who can be identified by your audience: employees or yourself.
Artificial intelligence
Apple's artificial intelligence is a reality
Along with the iPhone 16, Apple has taken the opportunity to refresh many of the new features we saw from Apple Intelligence at the developer conference. Unfortunately, one of those details mentioned last June was that Apple’s AI would not be available in Spanish, and therefore would not reach Spain and Latin America.
In addition to the barriers that the EU is putting to the implementation of Artificial Intelligence services, the language barrier was more than important, not only to offer service availability in the native language of the users, but also because many of the AI functions require specific inputs and commands in natural language.
However, Apple has confirmed when we will see Apple Intelligence, and therefore the new Siri, speak in a language other than English in some of its variants. We’ll have to wait. How long? A little while.
Apple Intelligence will speak English… coming soon
The company has announced that Apple Intelligence will arrive in Spanish and other languages such as Japanese or French next year. Without giving more specific details. Most likely we will have to wait until the next iPhone 17, with a previous announcement ahead of WWDC 2025.
Note that Apple has confirmed the arrival of Apple Intelligence in Spanish, but not in the countries where it is available. This means that although it will be available next year, it does not mean that it will reach users in Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries. Either by regulation or by specific functionalities that are not available in all countries.
For the moment, the only news is that in the next 12 months, the new smarter Siri will be able to speak in Spanish, but not that there is someone on the other side to hear it.
Social Networking
The guide to sell more and more on TikTok
Along with the iPhone 16, Apple has taken the opportunity to refresh many of the new features we saw from Apple Intelligence at the developer conference. Unfortunately, one of those details mentioned last June was that Apple’s AI would not be available in Spanish, and therefore would not reach Spain and Latin America.
In addition to the barriers that the EU is putting to the implementation of Artificial Intelligence services, the language barrier was more than important, not only to offer service availability in the native language of the users, but also because many of the AI functions require specific inputs and commands in natural language.
However, Apple has confirmed when we will see Apple Intelligence, and therefore the new Siri, speak in a language other than English in some of its variants. We’ll have to wait. How long? A little while.
Apple Intelligence will speak English… coming soon
The company has announced that Apple Intelligence will arrive in Spanish and other languages such as Japanese or French next year. Without giving more specific details. Most likely we will have to wait until the next iPhone 17, with a previous announcement ahead of WWDC 2025.
Note that Apple has confirmed the arrival of Apple Intelligence in Spanish, but not in the countries where it is available. This means that although it will be available next year, it does not mean that it will reach users in Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries. Either by regulation or by specific functionalities that are not available in all countries.
For the moment, the only news is that in the next 12 months, the new smarter Siri will be able to speak in Spanish, but not that there is someone on the other side to hear it.
Latest Tech and Digital Marketing Updates
📌Trouble for X. Brazil has blocked the social network because Elon Musk has refused to comply with a judge’s orders to suspend specific accounts.
📌Gemini is integrated into the address bar. As easy as typing “@Gemini,” selecting “Chat with Gemini” and you’re done.
📌Active Campaign and the new AI tool. They have launched “Generate Image.” You type in the ‘prompt’ and style you want. Take advantage of it to improve the design and impact of your emails.
📌Zara plans to bring Liveshopping to Europe. After its success in China, attracting an average of 800,000 viewers per program, they want to bring this model to Europe and the United States. A live-shopping strategy where you connect with your audience.
📌The end of PDF bills. From 2025 you will be fined if you continue to make invoices in PDF format. You will have to adopt electronic invoicing through authorized systems or a public solution managed by the Tax Agency.
📌At risk are two WordPress themes sold on ThemeForest, Betheme and Enfold. They present vulnerabilities and hackers could attack you. I recommend you upgrade to the latest version or consider replacing the affected software.
📌What’s new in YouTube Shorts editing: you’ll be able to add text, filters and emojis to your Shorts thumbnails from mobile format.
📌Well played, WordPress: they’ve beefed up the security of all plugins and themes with two major improvements: mandatory two-factor authentication and password input.
📌Chrome AI history: if you enable this new feature, you can search for terms related to the content of pages you’ve visited before, and the AI will show you the results you expect. Comes in handy when you don’t remember the name of a page, but you do remember its content.
📌And not all is well with Google…. The AI Overviews feature (the AI-generated summaries in search results) seems not to like news publishers for lack of transparency and fearing a possible reduction in traffic.
📌More ways to interact on Instagram. You can now leave comments on the stories of people you follow and follow you. These comments are public to the followers of the user who posted the story. You can disable this feature.
📌Temu, Max and Shein were the most downloaded apps in August in Spain. A clear trend of the popularity of e-commerce. Take advantage of these trends to orient your strategies and focus on the platforms where your audience is.
📌Google bans locksmith ads in Spain as of November 4. This is due to bad practices in the sector, such as scams and fraudulent clicks. Companies will have to focus on SEO strategies to maintain their visibility.
📌Meta has announced: WhatsApp and Messenger will be compatible with other messaging apps, such as Telegram and Skype. This will facilitate communication between users from different platforms.
📌And Meta restricts access to data in its ads tools, which may affect how advertisers create and manage their ads. To avoid problems, I recommend you review and adjust the custom audiences you use for your campaigns.
📌Zara is getting into sports. It has signed a sponsorship deal with Lastlap to sponsor the Zara Athleticz Speed Run in Madrid, and thus take the opportunity to promote its Zara Athleticz sportswear line.
📌YouTube Studio to improve your web traffic. It has added a new “website visits” objective in its Promotions section. This goal allows you to drive traffic directly to your website, converting views into organic traffic.
📌Reddit evolves its advertising platform to better serve advertisers. It offers real conversations with interested consumers, interest-based ad targeting and AI-powered advertising solutions.
