🔔 Amazon Leads

2.5 minute read ⚡

Today’s Insights

  • Amazon is expanding ad solutions to non-Amazon sellers

  • OpenAI’s search product “is coming”

  • Google and Hubspot’s acquisition talks have ended

  • LinkedIn to launch AI ad campaign creation tool this fall

  • Google is citing Reddit & Quora less in AI Overviews

Feature

📢 Amazon introduces ads for non-Amazon sellers

Amazon's new beta feature enables businesses that do not sell products on its platform, to generate leads through display ads across the company’s vast network.

With “Sponsored Display Lead Generation”, customers sign up for information directly within the ad, appearing on Amazon properties like Twitch and IMDb, as well as third-party sites.

The ad type enables brands to collect leads without redirecting the audience from their current browsing or shopping activities.

Amazon (13.9%) was already catching up in terms of U.S. digital ad market share from Google (25.6%) & Meta (21.3%) and is looking for ways to expand its footprint further. The company also recently announced details of its own cookie-less targeting solution.

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More Headlines

🔍 OpenAI search product is 'coming,' Atlantic CEO says

The Atlantic CEO, Nicholas Thompson, confirmed to The Verge that OpenAI is working on a search product and that content from his company will be included. "OpenAI has said that they’re going to build a search product and… we have allowed them to include The Atlantic."

💼 HubSpot shares dropped 12% after Google parent Alphabet withdrew from acquisition talks

Alphabet has halted acquisition talks with the software company which never reached the due diligence stage. It is thought that regulatory scrutiny could have caused the talks to break down - given the recent challenges of Amazon (with iRobot) and Microsoft (with Activision).

⚖️ X's paid verification violates the EU Digital Services Act, Meta could face similar repercussions

The EU Commission has ruled that X's sale of verification ticks breaches the Digital Services Act (DSA), risking fines of up to 6% of its revenue and potential bans on its X Premium package in EU states. Elon Musk plans to challenge the decision in court, claiming the EU's demands infringe on free speech.

💳 X has added another U.S. money transmitter license

The approval is a step towards Musk's vision of transforming X into an “everything app”. With 31 states now approved, the company still needs "payment processor" licenses to enable full transactional capabilities. Despite challenges and a scaled-back timeline, Musk is still aiming to offer comprehensive banking services on X.

👥 YouTube tests new Reddit-style ‘Community Spaces’ feature

Available for select accounts, Community Spaces are new pages for conversations between content creators and viewers - combining features from Reddit, Instagram Broadcast Channels, and Facebook Groups. The idea is to enable greater levels of engagement beyond the regular comments section.

🎥 YouTube Shorts has added a range of TikTok-style features

YouTubers can now create ‘remixes’ from other videos, use auto-generated captions and AI-powered voiceovers to bring YouTube’s feature set more in line with TikTok. YouTube will also add a new tool that simplifies Shorts creation from long-form videos.

📈 LinkedIn to launch AI ad campaign tool, ‘Accelerate’, this fall

Taking the lead from the other major advertising platforms, LinkedIn is looking to streamline ad campaigns with AI.

🛒 Amazon's new AI Shopping Assistant, Rufus is now available across the U.S

Rufus offers personalized product recommendations, customer insights, and expert advice directly within the Amazon mobile app. Rufus is powered by an internal large language model trained on Amazon's catalog, customer reviews, and web data.

📺 Amazon introduces sponsored TV Ads in the UK

Following a successful rollout in the U.S., Amazon is offering brands a fresh avenue to target streaming audiences on streaming platforms through its extensive data for targeted ad delivery. Brands eligible include those in the Amazon Brand Registry, vendors, agencies, and U.S. brands not selling on Amazon, with exceptions for categories like health and personal care.

Insights

Google AI Overviews drop to new lows, citing Quora and Reddit less

According to one study, Google's AI Overviews now show for less than 7% of queries, a significant drop since mid-April, with major declines in education, entertainment, and e-commerce searches.

While citations from Reddit and Quora within AI Overviews have dropped by 85.71% and 99.69%, respectively.

— You’re all caught up —