Nearly one-third of major news publishers have blocked generative AI tools from reading their content. But that’s a drastic measure which could also exclude their results from conventional search engines. Microsoft has just given publishers the option to block access by Bing Chat without also removing their content from search results. We’ll see if competitors do the same.
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday filed its long-awaited anti-trust suit against Amazon, charging the company with oodles of anti-competitive actions to maintain an illegal monopoly. Seventeen state attorneys general joined the fun. Feel free to read the 172-page filing and compose a summary haiku.
Streaming video companies have belatedly recognized that advertising can be more profitable than subscriptions, and are pushing paid subscribers to switch. Amazon just introduced its own typically arrogant twist on the concept, unilaterally placing all Prime Video customers in an ad-supported plan unless they choose to pay $2.99 per month more than their current $14.99 monthly Prime member fee.
After years of thinking they were in the business of selling things to people, retailers have realized they’re actually in the business of selling people to advertisers. Retail media networks are the most obvious result, but why stop at ads sold directly by the retailer? Walmart has hooked up with Disney Advertising to test letting advertisers on Disney+, Hulu, and other Disney outlets use Walmart audience information to improve targeting and measure results.