We’re all Bard beginners right now, and so there are no foolish questions. Unsurprisingly, I’ve started out with Bard by asking it local business questions. As I chatted, I learned some useful things from and about Google’s nascent AI chat that you’ll need to know if this technology becomes part of your customers’ lives.

Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: WIX), a leading global SaaS platform to create, manage and grow an online presence, today announced expanded integrations with WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger where Wix users can now connect their business accounts directly with their Wix Inbox. By integrating these channels, business owners can more efficiently manage all communication and interactions with their customers from one inbox in one place.

This is the first Google core update of 2023 and the first in more than six months. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete.

Online-conversion Local Ads is a new cross-Google dedicated campaign subtype. Businesses can use this to promote products or services relevant to specific locations. You can advertise your business (or physical location) in the umfelt of your brand, directly on competitor Google Business Profile accounts or claim the space on your own listing to protect the customer journey.

The innovation, currently being piloted, connects Uberall’s Local Inventory solution with ChatGPT, allowing retailers to dynamically promote locally in-stock products online.

Meta is introducing two new tools on Instagram designed to open up additional avenues for advertising as the company grapples with weak advertising demand.

Though AR hasn’t demonstrated the world-changing capabilities that were touted in its circa-2017 hype cycle, it’s finding success in specific areas. Those include enterprise productivity and brand marketing, both of which were examined in recent ARtillery Intelligence reports.

With many Twitter users unhappy about the platform’s changes under Elon Musk, and amid a growing push towards a new approach to social networking, with alternative systems of moderation and management, Meta is looking to seize the opportunity, by launching its own, Twitter-like social app, which will be focused on short, text-based updates.

D-ID, the Israeli startup behind Deep Nostalgia, announced today that it’s launching the beta version of its new web app that allows users to talk face-to-face with photorealistic AI. The web app, called chat.D-ID, combines D-ID’s text-to-video streaming technology with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to make conversations with AI more accessible.

Soci (pronounced “soh-shee”), a marketing automation platform with customers including Ace Hardware, Jersey Mike’s, Pet Supplies Plus and Ford, today announced that it raised $120 million in a financing round led by JMI Equity with participation from Vertical Venture Partners, Blossom Street Ventures and Renew Group Private Limited.