Good Evening! On Wednesday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq managed to achieve small increases (0.10% and 0.08%, respectively), maintaining the ongoing streak of success on Wall Street, while the Dow Jones decreased by 0.12%. Investors analyzed a recent set of company results during a rather uneventful week in terms of economic events.
THE AI FIGHT CONTINUES!
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) has declared its intention to expand the reach of its generative AI-driven search engine, Search Generative Experience (SGE), to over 100 nations and territories. Additionally, Google will now provide support for four additional languages (users can now do searches in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Indonesian). The firm now provides SGE services in a total of 129 nations and territories.
The fight that most forgot! This action emphasizes the company’s endeavor to swiftly implement its generative AI search and regain dominance in the market, competing against Microsoft’s Bing and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
What is special about SGE? Google’s SGE is an iteration of Google search that integrates generative AI functionalities, enabling users to inquire and get text replies that resemble natural conversation, along with photos and videos.
What about Google’s Bard? SGE and Google’s Bard are distinct entities. SGE functions as an AI-driven version of Google Search that generates results, while Bard is an AI-driven chatbot that generates responses. While you have the option to use both, SGE mainly concentrates on responding to search questions.
CRACKDOWN ON AD BLOCKERS
After YouTube implemented a worldwide crackdown on ad blockers, users are rapidly deleting these software applications. However, what is the reason for this? The company began the implementation of restrictions on ad blockers earlier this year as a “small experiment.” The Verge later received confirmation that the project is being expanded to incentivize viewers to either watch ads or subscribe to YouTube Premium for a monthly fee of $14.
How fast are we talking? AdGuard, a prominent participant in the ad-blocking industry, stated to Wired that it usually observes around 6,000 uninstallations every day. However, after the enforcement measures, the average number of occurrences has reached 11,000, with a peak of 52,000 on October 18.
Users aren’t backing down, though! Privacy groups contend that YouTube lacks the authority to prevent users from exercising their right to block the platform. Last month, Alexander Hanff, an expert, filed a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission, claiming that YouTube’s identification of ad blocks violates European Union digital privacy legislation. However, YouTube contends that the use of ad blockers on the platform constitutes a breach of its terms of service, and content producers depend on ad views to generate revenue from their content.