Latest news with #TikTok-like
The Verge
2 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Yelp is creating its own AI videos about restaurants
Yelp is going to use AI to stitch together user-posted content about restaurants, food, and nightlife businesses to make short videos about those businesses. The company initially started testing the AI-stitched videos last year, but they're now available nationwide on the iOS app's TikTok-like vertically scrolling home feed. Business operators can't currently see the videos that are generated for users, and Yelp users also can't currently opt out of having their photos or videos show up in Yelp's AI-stitched videos. Yelp relies on multiple generative AI tools to create the finished product, as OpenAI LLMs write the text descriptions and narrator's script, put together story topics, and proofread, while ElevenLabs is used to generate the narrator's voice and Amazon Transcribe creates the synchronized on-screen captions. You can get an idea of what they're like in the below video shared by Yelp. The vertical video blends together videos and images with an AI-generated voiceover and AI-generated captions to talk about things like the restaurant's food, cocktails, and ambiance. Yelp wants to make 'as many videos as possible,' Yelp CPO Craig Saldanha tells The Verge, but will only make them if a restaurant has enough reviews, photos, and videos to tell a compelling story. Yelp relies on personalized signals to determine when to actually show the videos to you. The videos themselves are not personalized, even though they are eventually refreshed — there is only one active AI-stitched video about a single business live at a time, according to Saldanha. If a user or a business feels that an AI-stitched video is inaccurate or offensive, Saldanha says they can report it by tapping the three dots in the top right corner of the video. Yelp does periodic audits 'at scale' as well. The AI-stitched videos follow other AI-focused features from Yelp, like review summaries and review filters. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jay Peters Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Apps Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Exclusive Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Axios
23-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Publishers race against Google Zero doomsday clock
Publishers are racing to readjust their businesses as the threat of "Google Zero" — a world where Google no longer distributes meaningful traffic to publishers — looms large. Why it matters: Traffic referrals from chatbots aren't expected to come close to offsetting traffic from traditional search. Publishers need to find new ways to make money now that one of their most reliable revenue streams is quickly evaporating. Driving the news: Wired is expanding its subscription offering with several new products at higher prices, including livestream AMAs with editors, audio narration for articles and new newsletters. Its new newsletters are Model Behavior by senior correspondent Kylie Robison covering AI and Made in China by senior writer Zeyi Yang and senior business editor Louise Matsakis. In an editor letter, Wired's global editorial director Katie Drummond framed the changes as a response to the " traffic apocalypse," citing the decline of Facebook traffic and Google search referrals. The solution is to "connect our humans to all of you humans," Drummond wrote. State of play: More media companies are investing in owned and operated channels and direct-to-reader products with newsletters, apps and events businesses. The Verge just released new site features that allow readers to directly follow its journalists and topics in a personalized feed on its homepage. The company is also launching new newsletters, including a daily flagship newsletter. Business Insider is investing in events, video and new products, including an AI-generated audio briefing, while pulling back from areas that were sensitive to search traffic like its SEO-driven commerce business, CEO Barbara Peng told Axios in June. Bustle Digital Group is expecting its most profitable year, driven by events with Nylon. It also launched an invite-only membership program. "Instead of being a website that publishes stories, we're now basically an events company," CEO Bryan Goldberg told Adweek. People launched a TikTok-like app in April with scrollable and swipeable original content, catering to fans of video-first mobile experiences over text-heavy articles. BuzzFeed is creating its own social media platform called BF Island where users can play with interactive and AI-powered features. Newsweek is launching more subscription products and expanding non-advertising revenue sources in an effort to hedge against search traffic losses. The big picture: Publishers are playing defense, building their own destinations and weaning themselves off platforms that use their content as training data. The goal is to own the audience connection and no longer be vulnerable to algorithmic and other platform shifts. Between the lines: Search traffic declines come as the publishing industry still grapples with the fallout of social media referrals. Social media traffic to news sites has cratered in recent years, as social apps prioritize short-form video over links. Traffic from search browsers now represents nearly three times the amount of referral traffic to publishers than social. Zoom out: Dozens of publishers have begun to strike content licensing deals with AI companies as a way to hedge against the revenue losses from traditional search. Those deals, which typically last between two and five years, aren't considered reliable enough for publishers to fully depend on them long term. What to watch: Google recently added a tool to its ad manager that allows publishers to collect micropayments from readers as its AI overviews erode referral traffic.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TikTok Continues to Face Challenges With its In-Stream Shopping Push
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. TikTok's plan to convert itself into a global eCommerce powerhouse continues to face challenges, with the platform's in-stream shopping options now struggling to gain significant ground in Indonesia, where TikTok had been seeing higher levels of shopping success. Last year, TikTok acquired local online retail provider Tokopedia, in order to comply with local regulations that limit social media companies from operating eCommerce platforms. The idea was that this would enable TikTok to both align with its legal requirements, while also piggybacking off of Tokopedia's success, with the shopping app having established itself as a key online commerce tool in the region. But reports suggest that it hasn't played out the way that TikTok hoped. According to Rest of World, TikTok has since pushed Tokopedia sellers to make TikTok-like content, which is very different from the static product shots they could add to Tokopedia. Sellers have also reported lower site visits, as well as higher fees and ad costs, which has prompted many of them to switch to other commerce platforms instead. So rather than building TikTok's online shopping presence, it's seemingly now taken it back a step. Which would be a particularly tough pill to swallow for TikTok, given that it paid $US840 million for Tokopedia, and TikTok had been gaining traction with its in-stream sales options in South East Asian markets. It hasn't, however, seen the same success in Western regions, where consumers continue to prefer to keep their shopping activity separate from their social and/or entertainment apps. For whatever reason, Western users haven't shown the same preference as Chinese digital consumers to cram as much functionality as they can into a single app, which is what's seen platforms like WeChat and TikTok become major money makers in the Chinese local market. And now, TikTok's sales push is stalling in other regions as well, and it'll be interesting to see whether TikTok looks to shift focus onto its ad business instead, if it can't gain real traction for its online shopping options. But then again, TikTok shopping is steadily rising, just not as fast as TikTok would like. Last month, TikTok reported that: 'Over the past year, our community of sellers has expanded into more than 750 categories, bringing shoppers an incredible selection of over 70 million products. So far in 2025, our growing community of shoppers, sellers, and creators has driven impressive momentum across the TikTok Shop platform. In the U.S., TikTok Shop sales have increased 120% compared to the same period last year.' So TikTok shopping is on the rise, but it's a far cry from the immediate success that the company saw with its shopping options in China. Indeed, shopping is now the top revenue stream for Douyin, the Chinese version of the app, with Douyin bringing in $US490 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2024 alone. By comparison, TikTok reportedly generated around $US33 billion in GMV, across all other markets. The numbers underline the potential, but also the challenge, in that TikTok has been pushing its shopping options for four years now, and they haven't gained at the same rate as they have in the Chinese market. But it's still potentially an area of opportunity. And while TikTok is facing pushback in some regions, it seems likely that it'll continue to plough on with its shopping options, with a view to tapping into that same potential in more regions. Challenges remain, but there's seemingly enough growth to keep TikTok focused on making this a thing, which is worth noting for online sellers. Recommended Reading TikTok Shares Data on Account Removals and Government Requests in 2024 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
6 side activities that could make GTA 6 insanely replayable
(Image via Rockstar Games) GTA 6 is shaping up to be the most ambitious entry in Rockstar's legendary series — and with the vast state of Leonida to explore, there's one thing every fan wants: replayability. Main story missions? Great. But what really makes a GTA game iconic are the random things you can do when you're not saving (or destroying) the world. So here are 6 side activities Rockstar could pack into GTA 6 to keep players hooked long after the credits roll. 1. Drug Dealing Jason and Lucia are clearly tied to the underworld, and GTA has flirted with drug dealing in the past. But imagine a full-on, evolving mini-economy—like managing supply chains, avoiding feds, striking deals with shady dealers. Think Breaking Bad meets GTA . Every region could have different rules, risks, and rewards. Not just sell-and-run— build an empire. GTA 6 To Feature A Rap Group That Looks A Lot Like The City Girls 2. Rap Battles & Music Production With Real Dimez and Only Raw Records part of the world, Rockstar has to lean into this. How cool would it be to spit bars in underground rap battles or produce viral tracks in a mini music-making sim? Custom beats, lyric choices, and performing at clubs could become a whole vibe. Let players live the hip-hop hustle. 3. Extreme Sports Challenges Vice City's beaches + Mount Kalaga's wilderness = a playground for adrenaline junkies. Picture dirt bike races through wetlands, base jumps off towers, illegal jet ski courses, or even wingsuit flying. Add leaderboards or online challenges, and this becomes a TikTok-worthy flex spot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo 4. Social Media Clout Missions We're in 2026—of course clout is currency. Let players grow fake IG/TikTok-like followings through viral stunts, live-streamed crimes, or wild moments captured in-game. Maybe going viral unlocks exclusive brand deals or side gigs. It's GTA meets influencer culture—and it could be hilarious . Things We NEED In GTA VI.. 5. Vice City Property Flipping GTA 6 could bring back property management — but with style. Buy cheap motels in Port Gellhorn, renovate strip clubs in Little Haiti, or run shady Airbnbs in the Keys. Stack cash, upgrade properties, and deal with… unusual tenants. It's a chill grind with big-time returns. 6. Vice City's Underground Fight Clubs Lucia's trained to fight. So where's the underground scene? Picture illegal fight clubs under strip clubs or abandoned warehouses. Bet on yourself. Climb the ranks. Earn respect. The combat system in GTA needs a glow-up anyway—this could be a fire way to do it. Side activities are what turn GTA from a one-and-done story into a sandbox of infinite chaos . If Rockstar leans into variety, depth, and a little bit of madness, GTA 6 might be the most replayable game in history. Let's hope they bring the heat—and the weird. Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TED's app launches a short-form video feature ahead of potential TikTok ban
With TikTok still facing the possibility of a ban in the U.S., the popularity of short-form video content continues to grow. The latest company to enter this space is TED, the non-profit best known for its TED Talks featuring prominent figures like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the late Pope Francis. On Wednesday, the company announced its new short-form video feature, aptly named 'TED Shorts.' The feature has gradually rolled out to users since the beginning of May. Available on both iOS and Android devices, TED Shorts can be found in the middle of the navigation bar. By tapping the button, users are taken to a swipeable vertical feed featuring short snippets of TED Talks and other original content. Users can like videos, leave comments, and share with friends. TED teamed up with Genuin, a no-code platform for generative video experiences, to power the TikTok-like feature. As Genuin explained to TechCrunch, TED's new feed will be personalized with AI, curating a selection of videos based on factors like personal interests, trending subjects, and other signals to surface the most relevant content for each viewer. TED Shorts is one of the more notable additions to the app, which hasn't seen a significant update in its 15-year history. Since its launch in 2010, the app has primarily served as a destination for users to access TED Talks and other content via their mobile devices, such as educational animations and 26 podcasts spanning various topics like business, climate, and health. The new feature offers a way for users to discover highlights of their favorite speakers before committing to a full-length video. This is also the first time users can engage with one another within the TED app, fostering a sense of community that may have been previously lacking. TED already has a substantial following on YouTube (26.1 million), TikTok (2.8 million), Instagram (8.1 million), and other social media channels, indicating a demand for short video content. The launch of TED Shorts comes at a crucial time as the app seeks to boost its growth. Head of Product Tricia Maia tells TechCrunch that the app had been deprioritized 'for several years,' which impacted its monthly active users and annual growth metrics. According to Appfigures, the app was downloaded 1 million times in 2024, a 17% decline compared to 1.2 million installs in 2023. To date, the company boasts more than 30 million app downloads globally. TED joins a growing number of companies adopting short-form video content as platforms compete for users' attention. Earlier this month, Netflix revealed that it's experimenting with a short video feed for its mobile app. Meanwhile, TikTok faces a potential ban in mid-June, although President Trump plans to extend the deadline for a third time as deal negotiations continue. Should U.S. users lose access to TikTok, they might seek alternative platforms, and TED hopes they'll turn to what it believes is higher-quality content compared to what's found on other apps. 'In an era of fragmented attention, people are actively seeking more thoughtful, less overwhelming ways to connect with new ideas, and with each other,' Maia said. '[TED Shorts] is our antidote to algorithm fatigue and doom-scrolling low-quality content.' The company plans to continue evolving TED Shorts over time to meet user needs while also exploring new ways to enhance community building. Maia added, 'We'll explore ways to add new community features, and expand community-driven features to other TED platforms, like our website … This could expand beyond video and mobile to a cross-platform community engagement experience where our audience won't just watch videos, but can participate in truly personalized, topic-driven digital communities on a global scale.' This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
