TikTok’s “What’s Next Report 2024,” its fourth annual trends forecast, aims to “arm marketers” with knowledge of the social platform community’s favorites “to shape the year ahead.” Curiosity was the No. 1 “trend force,” with users attesting TikTok “introduces them to new topics.” Unconventional storytelling (which TikTok calls “Storytelling Unhinged”) was the No. 2 trend, with creators employing unusual brand engagement techniques to keep viewers watching “past the first few seconds.” A makeup video viewed half a billion times, animal clips, ASMR with fried chicken and Selena Gomez touting her skincare routine were among TikTok videos most-viewed by U.S. audiences. Continue reading Discovery, ‘Unhinged’ Storytelling Top TikTok Trends of 2023

YouTube is following in Netflix’s footsteps as the latest streamer to expand into games. YouTube Premium subscribers on mobile and desktops will be able to access a suite of games it has branded “Playables.” A total of 37 mini-games can be found using the Explore tab for those who opt-in. Titles include “Angry Birds Showdown,” “Daily Solitaire,” “Brain Out,” and “Daily Crossword.” The streaming games don’t need to be downloaded or installed, but can be played directly from YouTube’s servers. YouTube says the games will initially be available through March 28, making the effort seem somewhat experimental. Continue reading YouTube Experiments with Streaming Video Game Playables

Google’s Bard AI chatbot is getting smarter regarding video queries. Specifically, a new YouTube extension is now able to answer questions about the content of individual videos without requiring playback. “We’re expanding the YouTube extension to understand some video content so you can have a richer conversation with Bard about it,” Google wrote on Bard’s changelog. In September, Google released a YouTube extension that made it easier to find specific videos. This update allows Bard to operate more interactively, sharing detailed information as it relates to YouTube’s visual content. Continue reading Google’s Bard AI Is Getting Smarter About YouTube Content

YouTube Music is testing the first in a series of AI-related music experiments. Dream Track for Shorts and the Music AI tools suite were built in collaboration with Google DeepMind’s Lyria music model to allow both original and emulative song creation. Dream Track lets users combine text prompts with the selection of a participating artist to create sound for a YouTube Short of up to 30 seconds featuring an AI simulation of the performer’s voice. Music AI can generate new music from scratch, change audio from one style or instrument to another or add vocal accompaniments. Continue reading YouTube AI Music Generator Mimics Stars with Their Approval

More U.S. adults say they regularly get news from TikTok, according to a Pew Research study that says this bucks the general trend of news consumption declining or remaining flat at other social media sites over the past few years. Since 2020, regular TikTok news consumption among American adults has more than quadrupled to 14 percent, from 3 percent, Pew finds. Among younger adults, news consumption is even higher, with 32 percent of those ages 18 to 29 claiming to regularly get news on TikTok. This compares with 15 percent of those 30 to 49. Continue reading TikTok on the Rise as News Source, Facebook and X Decline

Sweden-based digital music service Spotify has redesigned its television user interface to make it look and feel more like the platform’s desktop and mobile experiences, a move its users have been waiting for. The frequently played content now appears at the top of the interface, while playlists and favorites are also easily accessed. A playback queue that opens from the side of the screen lets you see what’s playing and program what’s coming up, and you can easily switch accounts by toggling profile options. A dark mode option has been added for the television interface as well. Continue reading Spotify Redesigns TV Interface to Better Match Its Mobile App

YouTube is testing artificial intelligence features with YouTube viewing Premium customers and the long-form video experience. Paid subscribers on mobile platforms who opt-in can participate in the two experimental tests for AI-assisted functions that include help with the comments section and a chatbot tool that lets viewers get answers to questions about videos and recommendations for related content. To help viewers “dive deeper into content” without interrupting playback, a conversational “Ask” icon will appear beneath videos in progress, inviting questions or letting viewers select suggested prompts. Responses include answers and related content recommendations. Continue reading YouTube Premium Testing GenAI Tools for Long-Form Video

Kaiber, the AI-powered creative studio whose credits include music video collaborations with artists such as Kid Cudi and Linkin Park, has launched a mobile version of its creator tools designed to give musicians and graphic artists on-the-go access to its suite of GenAI tools offering text-to-video, image-to-video and video-to-video, “now with curated music to reimagine the music video creation process.” Users can select artist tracks to accompany visuals to build a music video “with as much or little AI collaboration as they wish.” Users can also upload their own music or audio and tap Kaiber for visuals. Continue reading Startup Kaiber Launches Mobile GenAI App for Music Videos

Google is rolling out a suite of AI-powered marketing tools designed to help small businesses make the most of the holiday sales season. Merchants can add a “small business” attribute to their Search and Maps results and generate advertising and promotional materials using something called Product Studio. “Eighty-four percent of people say supporting local and/or small businesses is important to them, so we’re making it easier to find them on Google,” the company writes. Products and businesses with the “small business” label “will make it easier for shoppers to narrow down their searches and be intentional about shopping.” Continue reading Google Debuts Generative AI Tools Aimed to Help Merchants

YouTube Music is rolling out an experimental feature that lets English-language users tap artificial intelligence to generate cover art for their playlists. Without leaving the app, creators can now “effortlessly explore from a range of visual themes and options to create one-of-a-kind cover art,” YouTube explains, adding the feature would be rolling out in different languages. That was one of a series of new personalization and discovery tools the streamer recently announced. The company is also adding “speed dial” so music fans can effortlessly revert to their favorite recent listening experiences. Continue reading YouTube Music Experiments with AI for Generating Cover Art

Elon Musk’s X social media service will soon launch two new monthly subscription tiers, a $16 X Premium+ plan with no ads, and a budget-priced $3 option with “most” of the same features “but no reduction in ads.” Musk had for some months been discussing new paid subscription options as part of an effort to fight spam and bots on the platform. In November, the company began offering an $8 monthly X Premium subscription (formerly Twitter Blue) that includes blue check verification and the promise of some boosted post exposure. Musk is also envisioning a digital wallet with financial services, business applications to compete with LinkedIn, and a news wire service. Continue reading X to Launch Paid Tiers in Next Move Toward ‘Everything App’

YouTube has introduced three dozen new features that do everything from improve mobile playback and search to expand creator tools. When the words “like and subscribe” are uttered by creators, the buttons will respond with animations. Bigger preview thumbnails and a “lock-screen” feature designed to prevent mishaps are also in the new toolset. The improvements build on the “new look and feel” YouTube debuted last year, adding “more modern design elements and features that helped our viewers feel more immersed,” the company says. Some of the improvements target smartphones and connected TVs, while others are for the web app. Continue reading YouTube Adds Dozens of Mobile Playback, Creator Controls

Captions, which leverages AI to help its customers produce “studio quality videos directly from their mobile devices,” has launched a new app called Lipdub that automatically translates and dubs content into 28 languages. The free download lets user dub anyone “and experience familiar voices and faces in a suite of new languages.” Lipdub’s translations not only duplicate what the company says is “the subject’s exact voice,” but also syncs lip movements to match. It also incorporates dialects and idioms, with options like Gen Z and Texas slang. Continue reading Captions Debuts AI Lipdub with Translation and Gen Z Slang

Earlier this year, Google introduced support for passkeys as part of a larger initiative to improve security and eventually eliminate the need for passwords. Since the launch, consumers have begun using passkeys across Google apps such as Search, YouTube and Maps. As the next step in establishing “a simpler and more secure way to sign into your accounts online,” and following positive feedback from early users, the company is offering passkeys as the default option across personal accounts. When signing into accounts, users will receive prompts for creating passkeys. Additionally, Google account settings will feature a toggle that reads “skip password when possible.” Continue reading Google Makes Passkeys Default Option on Personal Accounts

Some of the nation’s biggest streaming services have banded together to form a trade group, the Streaming Innovation Alliance, that will lobby at federal and state levels for policies that support their goals. Early members include Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, The Walt Disney Company, TelevisaUnivision, ViX, BET+ and the MPA. Signing on as advisors are Washington D.C. veterans Fred Upton, who headed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Mignon Clyburn, once acting chair of the FCC. The creation of the trade group comes as new online regulations loom. Continue reading Streaming Giants Form Trade Group as New Regulations Loom