Main image courtesy of Yinka Ilori. Photo credit: Ed Reeves.
Weekly roundup
Neuroscents, AI content engines, and micro-resets
Here are the headlines we found interesting this week:
- Amazon is discontinuing Alexa’s celebrity voices, per The Verge, pausing this iteration of digital twins for hire.
- Fragrance is booming in the US according to Coty, per Yahoo Finance, as consumers embrace the mental and psychological perks of neuroscents.
- YouTube will shut down its Stories feature, and focus instead on Shorts according to TechCrunch. Short-form content online continues to dominate young users’ attention, stemming from the TikTok business empire.
- Speaking of TikTok: the app is introducing its own AI chatbot called “Tako,” per The Verge.
- Instacart is also embracing AI capabilities, adding a ChatGPT bot called Ask Instacart to help shoppers curate recipes, meal plans, and grocery lists in-app, per Marketing Dive.
- WPP and Nvidia released a new content engine that leverages generative AI to scale their creative output, they said in a statement. The influence and potential of AI continues to expand.
- Doctors are caring more closely for new mothers after they return home, attempting to prevent more pregnancy-related deaths in their post-partum stage, according to The New York Times.
- A win for sustainability: Walmart will stop using plastic mailers, letting customers bring their own bags to pickup instead according to TechCrunch.
- Actress Alyson Stoner uses “micro resets” to reclaim her busiest days, per Well + Good, another way to microdose happiness on a daily basis.
- Some retailers might consider catering to the hybrid workers, per The Wall Street Journal, as flexile work schedules gain popularity.
