What changed in AI today

• Shoppable carousels let merchants turn two or more product images into swipeable, shoppable posts without recording video.
• Live shopping adds group deals, price cuts tied to group sales goals, and a second chance option to re-engage auction bidders.
• Merchants can sell auction and fixed-price items in one stream, reserve stock for livestreams, and set up recurring purchase subscriptions for eligible products.

Why it matters for marketers: Content teams can produce shoppable feed posts from existing product photos and test livestream promotions for U.K. sales without new video production.

• Hosts can send a single guest link to outsiders, including people without a WhatsApp account.
• Guests need host approval, wait in a waiting room, and can be removed at any time.
• Guests cannot see other participants' phone numbers, send messages, or add others to the call.
• Guests join from a computer browser for 1:1 and group calls of up to 32 people.

Why it matters for marketers: Content and events teams can share one link to run group calls with outside participants, though guests get limited features.

• Google's annual Frightgeist overview lists the most-searched Halloween costumes by U.S. region, plus kid, pet and couple costume lists.
• Top movie-inspired costumes include Buddy the Unicorn from "Buddy," Nikki from "Obsession" and Agamemnon from Nolan's "The Odyssey."
• A Trending Map shows the top costume trends for each U.S. state, and a most-searched horror movies list is included.

Why it matters for marketers: Content teams can align Halloween promotions and displays with regional costume search interest and the movie tie-ins driving it.

• Label applies to tracks 'altered or fully generated' with AI, such as using a generative model for composition and vocals.
• Rolling out starting now in the YouTube Music app, with the main YouTube app to follow later.
• Tapping the label on the player page opens a menu with more details about the AI use.
• Without a disclosure, YouTube says it may use 'other signals' to decide whether a song is AI-generated.

Why it matters for marketers: Music marketers using AI in production will need to disclose its use to music partners, since undisclosed tracks may still be flagged by YouTube.

• Reddit is bringing back its "Up the Vote" initiative with a dedicated on-platform resource for midterm election information.
• Its AI detection models have reportedly cut user exposure to spam and inauthentic content by 20%.
• Reddit says it now removes nearly 2 million fake upvotes daily.
• Candidates must run an in-app AMA before they can run election ads.

Why it matters for marketers: Marketers running political or election-adjacent campaigns on Reddit will need to schedule an AMA before any election ad goes live.

• Meta was one of 14 tech companies backing the operation, which removed 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups from Facebook and Instagram.
• The effort led to 28 arrests and shared leads on more than 30 scam centers.
• Targeted scams included romance scams, military impersonations and crypto investment fraud, according to Meta.
• The operation was hosted by the UK's National Crime Agency with the US Department of Justice and FBI.

Why it matters for marketers: Marketers running ads or relying on Meta platforms should expect tighter scam enforcement and more account removals, which may affect audience reach and trust signals.

• Ask YouTube, a conversational AI search tool, is now available to all U.S. users on desktop, mobile and Connected TV.
• The tool began testing in 2023 and lets users ask complex queries and refine them with follow-up questions.
• Results appear in an interactive format, according to YouTube, including for voice commands on TV.
• Pew Research reportedly found around half of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots, up from one-third in 2024.

Why it matters for marketers: Marketers should expect conversational, follow-up-driven discovery on YouTube, so video titles and descriptions may need to answer natural questions clearly.

• Bundle is called The X Subscription and folds in X Premium, Grok and Cursor under one plan
• Five tiers: free, Plus at $8, Premium at $30, Super at $100 and Ultra at $200 monthly
• Existing X Premium+ subscribers get a comparable plan costing the same or less, per the company
• Upgrades roll out gradually via X subscription settings; current plans can be kept

Why it matters for marketers: Marketers using Grok or Cursor should check how the bundled tiers and usage caps change access and costs for their teams.