Foursquare’s MarsBot has been reborn as BeeBot (basically).
It sounds like a glimpse at the future of computing (ambient computing!). The interface is your headphones (AirPods get the name drop) and information is fed to you via your location (using AI (obvs)).
Audio augmented reality
If you removed a channel from your marketing mix, what would you do with that budget / bandwidth / audience?
Unless what you’re selling is solely aimed at the base of Maslow’s pyramid then the purchase decision is an emotional one.
We are creatures of story. How your brand furthers, amplifies, or enhances the consumer’s personal story is the decision matrix.
via Gallup
Machine in the Ghost
Perplexity finally found its social network…kind of.
The Google-but-AI search engine inked a deal with Snapchat to be it’s in-app AI answer engine. For the low, low price of $400 million.
Starting in early 2026, Perplexity will appear in the popular Chat interface for Snapchatters around the world. Through this integration, Perplexity’s AI-powered answer engine will let Snapchatters ask questions and get clear, conversational answers drawn from verifiable sources, all within Snapchat.
Perplexity has been following the Google playbook and this is straight from the pay-for-default-status section.
The announcement noted:
Revenue from the partnership is expected to begin contributing in 2026.
I’m interested what the plan is to create that revenue. Snap has the most successful membership option of any social media platform. Will Perplexity Pro be added in?
Will this lay the groundwork for Snapchat Search Ads (a la TikTok)?
Will Perplexity function as a new data source for targeting and get a revenue share?
Similar to My AI, Snapchatter messages sent to Perplexity will help enhance personalization on Snapchat.
On the face of it, it’s a weird fit. But both platforms fill a similar role in their respective industries, not the main characters but also not nameless extras.
