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🔍 Google's intelligent Search box ends 25 years of the search bar
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- Google has rolled out the intelligent Search box, the first major update to its search bar in over 25 years, announced by Head of Search Liz Reid at Google I/O and available wherever AI Mode runs.
- The box expands as people type to fit long queries and prompts, with buttons to upload files, images, documents, and Chrome tabs for multi-modal searches across every country and language where AI Mode works.
- Variations including the expandable search box and research model teases were tested over the past year before this official launch, which Google calls the biggest upgrade to its Search box in more than 25 years.
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📈 TikTok's middle class is gaining power
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- TikTok's "micro" creators with 5,000 to 50,000 followers are charging brands much higher fees for partnership deals, while bigger creators are losing pricing power, according to data from influencer marketing platform Upfluence.
- Creators with 15,000 to 50,000 followers saw average fees rise 125% year-on-year in the first quarter, while "macro" creators (150,000 to 500,000 followers) fell 29% and "mega" creators above 500,000 followers dropped 18%.
- Brands including Lowe's, whose creator network now counts 27,000 members made up mostly of micro influencers, and Duolingo, which is building a "creator army" of paid ambassadors posting from burner accounts, are driving the shift.
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📱 TikTok World 2026 puts AI at the center of brand growth
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- At TikTok World 2026, the platform rolled out a wide set of advertiser tools that place AI at the core of brand growth, spanning creator discovery, search, commerce and campaign automation.
- New features include Creator AI Search in TikTok One, Dreamina Seedance 2.0 inside Symphony, TopReach Creative Sequencing, Branded Buzz, Search Hubs, Smart+ updates, Market Scope modules and developer tools for AI agents.
- Creator AI Search reads campaign briefs and suggests creator talent, Smart+ Auto Selection picks assets likely to perform, and a new TikTok Ads Model Context Protocol server lets developers build agentic tools into advertiser workflows.
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💸 Shutterstock to pay $35M in FTC cancellation case
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- Shutterstock has agreed to a $35 million FTC settlement over subscription plans that regulators say misled buyers with unclear renewal terms and made cancellation hard, pending court approval in the Southern District of New York.
- The FTC says on-demand packs marketed as "Best for a one-time project" renewed after the last download or after a year until early 2024, while annual paid monthly plans carried cancellation fees.
- Customers faced an eight-screen online cancellation flow plus broken phone and email processes, and in 2020 could not finish early cancellation online, instead having to reach support by phone, chat, or email.
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📵 Fashion Nova sued over early-morning promo texts
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- Fashion Nova is facing a lawsuit in Northern California from a shopper who says the retailer sent her promotional texts before 8 a.m., breaking federal rules on the timing of marketing messages.
- Plaintiff Charleen Shavies received eight texts between June and August promoting discounts and linking to the website, with one arriving at 7:24 a.m., despite never giving permission or buying anything in 18 months.
- The suit cites the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, which allows damages of $500 per violation or $1,500 if willful, and seeks class-action status covering recipients over the past four years.
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