Is YouTube accepting deep-fake content or restricting it? Both: YouTube announced it will require creators to label AI-generated content that realistically portrays events that never happened and people saying things they never said. YouTube is mostly relying on creators to be honest about labeling such content when they upload it, which seems unlikely to be effective. But it will also let people whose likenesses are copied to request the materials be removed.

SaaS purchase cycles have grown from 32 days in 2020 to 44 days in 2023, according to data from Vendr.  Other measures are similarly grim: acquisition costs have more doubled, multi-year agreements are down, and stack consolidation means net new purchases have dropped from 30% of deals to 19%.  One bright spot if you’re a seller: prices are higher because they’re easier to raise when you’re selling a renewal.

CDP and marketing cloud vendor Zeta Global announced an agreement to purchase LiveIntent, which helps companies do email-based advertising.  The deal will let Zeta expand its identity graph, enter the publisher monetization business, and accelerate its mobile and retail media products.  Zeta will pay $77.5 million in cash and $172.5 million in common stock, with potential for additional payments based on performance.