In this weeks digital news, OpenAI reveals they are working on a new project labeled ‘Project Strawberry’. Which is speculated to enable the company’s AI to not just generate answers to queries. But to plan ahead enough to navigate the internet autonomously and reliably, to perform what OpenAI terms “deep research,”. Google and Meta collaborate on a secret ad deal. The deal originally entailed targeting teenagers, going against Google’s own rules against personalising ads for minors. After an investigation by Google the project was cancelled. Both parties have denied any wrongdoing.
A new job role could be seen to emerge in the digital world. The demand for AI Restauranteurs are growing, the role involves guiding AI to ensure that generative AI produces personalised, high-quality results to queries. Deliveroo reveals a ‘reinforced value’ preposition, in a bid to become a subscription first business. With a goal to become subscriber driven by 2026, Deliveroo has revamped and renewed its loyalty proposition to create a tier for “every customer”.
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What is ‘Project Strawberry’? OpenAI’s new rumoured project
OpenAI have rumoured to have started their new project in it’s mission to build artificial general intelligence. In a post published on X/Twitter on the 7th August. OpenAI’s Sam Alderman has got the AI community excited after speculation of a new project. Alderman posted a image of strawberries shooting out of a ceramic pot with the caption “I love summer in the garden”. The project, details of which have not been previously reported, comes as the Microsoft-backed startup races to show that the types of models it offers are capable of delivering advanced reasoning capabilities.
Google and Meta strike secret ads deal to target teenagers
Google and Meta secretly collaborated to target advertisements for Instagram at teenagers on YouTube, circumventing Google’s own rules against personalising ads for minors. The project, launched with the help of Spark Foundry, used a loophole by targeting a group labelled as “unknown,” which Google knew included many under-18 users. Despite Google’s policies prohibiting such targeting, the campaign proceeded, disguised to avoid detection. This partnership aimed to boost Meta’s appeal among younger users as it faced competition from TikTok. The project was eventually cancelled after Google launched an investigation. Both companies deny wrongdoing.
Google found in violation of antitrust law
Google have been found to have violated the antitrust law in the search market. With a federal judge ruling that they have taken part in monopolistic practices, including paid default agreements. The court found Google to have abused their dominant position by paying to ensure default status on devices and browsers, using user data to reinforce its search engine dominance and illegally protecting its monopoly over search advertising.
Google warns: URL parameters create crawl issues
Google’s Gary Illyes, warned of URL parameters causing issues in terms of crawler inefficiencies in a recent episode of the Search Off The Record podcast. In the same week that SEOs started noticing parameters in rank tracking tools seemingly related to auto-tagging in Google Merchant Centre. This serves as a reminder to site owners to have best practices in place to avoid URL parameters being crawled and indexed – such as having canonical tags in place to help Google understand which page is the original, being mindful or how faceted navigation and filter options affect URLs, and considering how the site architecture is structured to establish relationships between product variations.
AI Restauranteur: a new role in an online world
AI’s role in digital marketing is growing. And while previous roles like PPC, doctor, pilot, and teacher remain crucial, a new role, the PPC restaurateur, is emerging. This role involves guiding AI like a restaurateur guides a chef, ensuring that generative AI produces personalised, high-quality results by providing clear direction and context. The PPC restaurateur balances data-driven decisions with human creativity, adaptability, and ethical considerations. Much like a restaurateur balances the art and science of running a restaurant. This role is essential for maximising AI’s potential and creating authentic, impactful marketing campaigns.
Deliveroo reveals ‘reinforced value’ in bid to become a subscription first business
Deliveroo renews its loyalty proposition in a bid to become subscription first business. Deliveroo’s goal to become subscriber driven by 2026 has seen the business investing in ‘reinforced value’. The food delivery service are creating a tier for ‘every customer’ in a bid to increase customer retention rates. Following increased prices of food over the last two years. Deliveroo have always kept ahead of the curve which has enabled them to dominate in their field, so the move towards a subscriber driven business could set an interesting precedent.
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