Is Google Sunsetting Gmail In 2024? New Hoax Leaves Users Confused

 Rumors are going strong on social media about Google’s journey with Gmail coming to an end. And that too as early as this year.

If you paid witness to such a shocking hoax that’s fast spreading online too then we can confirm that it’s not true by any means. The Android maker is addressing the need for users to calm down after the hoax emphasizing the company’s goodbye to Gmail.

Many versions of this hoax can be found online on the Twitter (X) app. But Google has rest assured everyone to take it easy and that it’s not going anywhere. However, a clause also mentions how users would now be defaulted to new views on Gmail. So other than those cases where you had specifically requested for the basic HTML version, nothing is going to change.

The search engine giant just made updates to its respective support page too instead of this hoax and how it will now change to Standard display after the issuance of a deadline date.

Reports by users on tech outlet Hacker News mentioned how they got emails from the company that signaled the feature was now coming to a close and that obviously created a state of panic across the board.

Screenshots: DIW - Gmail web

Google says it wants to make it very clear about where its Gmail stands right now to avoid last-minute panic. Users can expect to see their mobile and desktop web Gmail Basic HTML views getting disabled from the start of January this year. The basic HTML views on display right now are from old variants of Gmail that had been replaced by modern versions close to a decade ago. They don’t entail complete Gmail features.

Today, when users make the effort to access HTML variants, the company rolls out messages stating how the variant is designed for slower connectivity and those having legacy browsers. Therefore, it’s now asking users to confirm whether or not they want to make use of standard variants or not.

The latest HTML variant has a few new features like chat, grammar checks, shortcuts for the keyboard, and any kind of rich formatting tools. But we can see how it will serve as something super useful in those scenarios where you happen to be in an area with low connections.

The same would be the case if users wish to look at emails without having more bells and whistles attached. For now, it’s still not clear if Google wishes to add a new variant for situations where there is low connectivity.

For the time being, the search engine giant is focusing more on the likes of adding AI-based technology to a wide array of its offerings. And Gmail seems to be a part of that list. In the past month, we saw the company roll out Duet AI features to assist users in generating emails when in a rush.

Meanwhile, last week, we saw it giving Bard the chance to incorporate several Google accounts so queries can be asked regarding email history.

Google Chrome’s Latest ‘Help Me Write’ Assistant Uses AI To Make Better Text Suggestions

 Google just rolled out a useful AI writing tool called ‘Help Me Write’ that can be found on the Chrome Browser.

The latest initiative makes text suggestions depending upon the context of the website it comes face to face with.

The new AI writing assistant can be found on Chrome and it provides ideas that assist users in producing things like reviews and inquires. Moreover, this feature is up for grabs in the English language only for those located in the US for now. But with time, we can see it do wonders for more people.

The tool first made headwaves after being unveiled by the Android maker in January of this year. And after the successful launch carried out this week, many cannot wait to get their hands on it.

The tool helps with producing all kinds of things like online reviews and inquiries as well as classified advertisements as well.

Google promises that with this new tool, writing is bound to become so much simpler for users. This has to do with the fact that it makes use of the firm’s Gemini model dubbed Help Me Write. The latter produces text depending on the context of websites that they happen to be browsing and the writing text field that it encountered at that moment in time.

For instance, when a user opts to sell items online, the Help Me Write tool could take on small product descriptions and expand those into something more polished and detailed in nature.

A recent blog post was generated by the company in this regard about how the tool can comprehend the context of pages that users happen to be on that make such relevant types of suggestions about content.

For instance, when you write reviews for track shoes, Google Chrome pulls out key points from a certain product’s page that show support for a recommendation. In this way, it gets more valuable for shoppers keen on making a purchase.

Google rolled out plenty of examples about how the Help Me Write tool works and what users can expect after utilizing it.

The latest Help Me Write AI feature assists in producing content through the use of contextual cues.

For instance, it would give rise to suggestions depending on the type of content available online and the specific text field that users might be interacting with.

For different kinds of writing tasks like producing online reviews and classified ads, it would enhance composition by displaying an expansion of small-scale descriptions into something more detailed in nature.

Lastly, it ensures content produced is quality-controlled and the best out there today. It draws from different types of product details regarding a certain webpage so that it can make the most informative content that potential readers can benefit from.

Interestingly, it can assist marketers in leveraging the tool to produce things like advertisements or online listings.

Google’s New Policy Changes Come Into Play As Ban On Impersonation And False Affiliation Ads Set To Begin Next Month

 Search engine giant Google has just rolled out a series of changes to its Misrepresentation policy related to ads on the platform.

The company confirmed today how the goal is to address all kinds of issues involving deceiving practices where impersonation and fake affiliations were taking place at large.

A new statement from Google was also published in this regard where they mentioned how Google Ads would be updating its Unacceptable business endeavors as a part of its Misrepresentation policy that entails grabbing users' attentio

n by giving them data or funds through fake affiliations or by ads by public figures or brands that make it all seem so real.

The policy change is set to begin as early as next month when Google Ads will begin rolling out new policies to limit those ads that falsely claim links with well-known names of famous personalities so that they can manipulate the users out there. There has been a little delay for some French advertisers who have till April 2024 to comply with such changes.

The search engine giant says that anyone violating this policy is said to be committing a serious offense. Moreover, accounts that are in clear violation would be suspended and banned shortly and would not be allowed to market their ads through its platform.

The entire overview of this misrepresentation policy for Google Ads was also laid down by the company so advertisers are well aware of what’s acceptable now and what’s not.

To be more specific, the policy has gone on to state how there are a series of unacceptable practices including the likes of concealing data regarding a certain business and impersonating a lineup of brands.

Advertising goods and services would not be delivered and any services that were marketed would be done in a manner that endangers a person’s health and safety too. Meanwhile, phishing techniques used for collecting people’s data would no longer be allowed either.

The company is all set to take serious action against all accounts receiving warnings, settlements, and direct complaints linked to the malpractice of businesses. In the same way, the tech giant says advertisers were provided with stark warnings and told to show integrity or they would now be facing serious consequences.

The company mentioned how 

Google says it wishes to keep good relations with all of its stakeholders and since advertisers play an integral part in its success, they hope such changes can ensure appeals will be heard and no discrimination of any kind takes place.

it would be taking into consideration any appeals generated in its direction for reinstatements for cases that it feels are exceptional to the rule. While advertisers could face serious scrutiny in this regard, the complete goal on this front has to do with creating bigger trust amongst apps, users, and advertisers.

But how do changes made to Google Ads’ policy impact advertisers? Well, there are several ways through which that can happen.

For starters, marketers would make sure ads aren’t making deceptive claims about famous brands or are designed to manipulate others. The policy stated how anyone violating the policy might have suspended accounts and could be banned as a whole from Google Ads completely.

Lastly, the policy goes on to mention how practices such as giving rise to goods and services that can’t be delivered are forbidden as are attempts designed to carry out phishing.

Google has reiterated that it hopes such changes make it easier to carry out appeals so that those advertisers who feel like they’ve been mistreated would now be able to carry out appeals and have their voices heard through the misrepresentation policy.

The Arrival Of Gemini 1.5 - Google Unveils Its Latest Iteration Of Its Conversational AI System

 Google just unveiled Gemini 1.5, its latest rendition of the conversational AI system. The product is said to entail a greater array of advances in better efficiency, long-form reasoning, and enhanced performance.

The latest system was detailed in a post by Google’s AI head that entailed a large figure of architecture enhancements, ensuring the core model can perform on the same level as the big Gemini 1.0 Ultra endeavor, without using extra computing resources. This latter was rolled out in the past week.

The biggest leap comes at a time when there’s a huge window for carrying out experiments that the company says have to do with long-form context comprehension. The standard model of Gemini analyzes several prompts within a small 128k token context. With this new upgrade, the model will have a large number of data to process which can now be done quicker than before.

This huge leap arose at a time when we saw the firm’s CEO analyze and classify as well as summarize a huge figure of data within a short period. Some have even gone as far as to mention how we can expect to see it summarizing content that’s as long as a 44-minute long movie in complete.

This extended version enables Gemini 1.5 to analyze everything seamlessly and classify the huge figures of content within small prompts. Experts stated how the latest Gemini 1.5 ensures the latest performance, despite the context window growing in the millions figure. It’s not clear yet when or how the popular model from Google fares against the likes of arch-rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus but from what we’re seeing right now, it’s quite obvious that it’s bound to provide stiff competition across the board.

The news of the rebranding comes just seven days after we saw the search engine giant rebrand the whole conversational AI system. Be it Bard or Gemini, we’ve seen the conversational AI systems from the tech giant get a proper rebranding, not to mention a new paid tier that’s powered by the Ultra 1.0 model. For a while now, Gemini continues to be branded as a top-of-the-line rival that comes face to face with the ever-so-famous ChatGPT Plus system.

Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen

Google Opens New AI Center in Paris

 This morning, Sundar Pichai, the boss of Google, opened a new center in Paris. This center is all about artificial intelligence, or AI for short. It's in a building that has been fixed up near where Google's main office is in Paris. About 300 people who know a lot about AI and engineering will work there.

Some might remember that Google said it had an AI research place in Paris since 2018. Google shared that it's not making a brand new AI team for this center. The 300 people who will work there are already part of Google. They come from teams like Google Research, DeepMind, YouTube, and Chrome.

Even big government officials showed up to see Pichai and talk about Google's new project. This shows Google wants to be seen as a big deal in AI. They want the best people in AI to think of working with them.

Instead of just telling its workers about the new office, Google made it a big news story. They want everyone to know they are serious about AI. Paris is a good place for this because many tech companies have set up AI labs there. Facebook, now called Meta, started its AI lab in Paris in 2015. Since then, lots of smart people have left big companies to start their own AI businesses. Some of these startups have done really well.

Google calling this new place an AI hub shows they want to be known as an AI company. Even though they just released a very smart AI model called Gemini Ultra, many people still think of another AI, ChatGPT, first. Google rushed to introduce Bard, its own AI chatbot, last year in Paris to keep up.

The opening of this AI hub is part of Google's effort to keep talking about its work in AI. But it's not just Google doing this. Microsoft also said it's spending a lot of money on AI and tech in Germany. They are building data centers there. While some of Microsoft's work will involve AI, they do a lot of other things too. So, Google is not alone in trying to show off its work in AI.

Photo: Sundar Pichai / X

What Americans Are Googling About Health

 Americans ask Google a lot of health questions every day. From worries about monkeypox to the effects of eating mold (or molded food), people want to know. Soliant Health, a company that finds jobs for health care workers, looked into what health topics people in each state search for the most. They found a wide range of concerns. This shows how different things like where people live, the weather, and who lives there can affect what health issues they think about.

For example, people in Florida look up what happens if you eat mold. In Kentucky, they ask if you can live without a spine. People in Maryland want to know what happens if you swallow gum. In New Jersey, they're curious if diabetes comes from family genes. To help answer these questions, Soliant asked Karen Stockdale, a nurse with over 20 years of experience, for help. She gave clear answers to some common health questions.

One big question is whether bronchitis is contagious. The answer is that the sickness itself isn't, but the viruses that cause it, like colds or flu, can spread to others. Another question is about lupus, an illness where the body's defense system attacks its own parts, causing pain and swelling. This mainly affects women between 15 to 44 years old. People also wonder how much water they should drink each day. The answer depends on the person, including how much they weigh and how active they are.

Here's a look at the top health questions in different states.

In Alabama, people are asking how you get monkeypox, why they sweat in their sleep, and how to get rid of allergies. Alaskans want to know how many calories they should eat, what counts as a fever, and what monkeypox looks like.

Arizonans are curious about the right amount of sleep, how to ease bloating, how long allergies last, and if allergies can cause coughing. People in Arkansas are looking up gout, hemorrhoids, diabetes, ear infections, if sinus infections spread, and how to stop nosebleeds.

Moving on, Californians are researching sleep hours, juice cleanses, living without a kidney, constant yawning, stopping vertigo, night sweats, peeing when sneezing, the effects of swallowing gum, removing ingrown toenails, sleeping with a bra, and more.

Delaware folks are googling how to stop hiccups, daily water intake, the number of bones in the body, and anemia. In the District of Columbia, questions include the duration of strep throat, breaking a fever, heartburn feelings, and if poison ivy spreads.

The list goes on with each state having its own unique set of concerns. In Illinois, people are curious if you can live without a spleen, why they drool in sleep, what causes restless legs, and how to kill toenail fungus.

Indiana residents ask about normal blood pressure, bunions, constant hunger, and easing gas pain.

Maine is looking into how to relieve sinus pressure. Marylanders are asking about swallowing gum, skin tags, sleep paralysis, red eyes, and if allergies cause headaches.

Massachusetts folks want to know about back cracking, high cholesterol, preventing shin splints, and pneumonia.

New Mexico searches include going without food, high blood pressure, heartburn, ear infections, and if allergies can cause sore throats. New Yorkers are curious about dry hands, treating food poisoning, swollen gums, genetic allergies, and winter allergies.

In North Carolina, searches include the effects of too much water, feeling lightheaded, and causes of excessive gas. Oklahomans are asking about coffee limits, rare blood types, eczema, and tonsil stones. Oregonians are looking up swollen feet and stopping ear ringing.

The list of concerns reflects a wide range of health issues Americans are curious about. Each state has its unique set of questions, showing the diverse health interests across the country.

Soliant's study with answers from a seasoned practitioners aims to provide reliable information to these curious searchers, bridging the gap between wonder and knowledge.

Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen

Google Fights Fake Reviews with New Technology

 In 2023, Google introduced a new system to catch and remove fake reviews faster from Google Search and Google Maps. Thanks to this new technology, Google removed 45% more fake reviews compared to the year before. Every day, Google gets about 20 million contributions like reviews and photos for its Maps and Search services.

Last year, Google started using a new way to find and get rid of fake reviews. This method uses machine learning, a type of computer program that gets better at finding patterns the more it's used. It looks for signs that reviews might not be genuine, such as the same review posted for many businesses or a sudden increase in very good or very bad reviews for a business.

This system can spot single fake reviews and larger scams. For example, it found a scam where people were offered money to write fake reviews or click on ads. Google's technology noticed a lot of suspicious reviews quickly. Then, Google's team looked more closely at these reviews, especially after business owners reported a sudden increase in fake positive reviews. This helped Google improve their system and remove 5 million fake reviews linked to this scam in just a few weeks.

Google also shared some numbers to show how they're doing in fighting fake reviews and other policy-breaking content. In 2023, they stopped or removed over 170 million reviews that broke their rules, which is 45% more than in 2022. They also removed or blocked more than 12 million fake business profiles and 14 million videos that broke their policies. Plus, they stopped over 2 million attempts to take over business profiles that didn't belong to the person trying to claim them.

Google didn't share how many fake photos they removed this year, even though they did last year. They said they caught more this year but chose to focus on the increase in fake videos instead. They also changed how they track fake business profiles, focusing on stopping people from claiming profiles that aren't theirs.

Why this matters: Fake reviews and spam are big problems for people using search engines and for businesses. No one likes dealing with spam or seeing fake reviews for their business. Google is working hard to stop these problems, but it's a constant battle. As Google finds new ways to fight spam, the people making spam look for new ways to get around Google's defenses.

Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen

Q4 2023: Google's Ad Revenue Surges by $6.48 Billion, YouTube Ads Cash In at $9.2 Billion

 Alphabet Inc., the powerhouse steering Google, just unveiled a whopping $65.52 billion surge in ad revenue for Q4 2023, leaving the previous year in the dust.

Google's search revenue skyrocketed by a robust 12.7%, and YouTube ads flexed their muscles with a significant 15.5% boost.

In the ad network realm, Google faced a slight dip of 2.1%, a step up from the 2.6% stumble in Q3 2023.

Alphabet's CFO, Ruth Porat, summarized their Q4 success by noting a solid 13% year-over-year increase in consolidated revenues, hitting $86 billion. The company maintains its focus on strategic cost restructuring while making prudent investments for sustainable growth.

The search giant's ad revenue surged by an impressive $6.48 billion, while YouTube ads cashed in at $9.2 billion, up from the $8 billion haul in 2022.

Alphabet didn't just break but shattered records, hitting $86.3 billion in Q4 sales. This not only crushed the prior record of $76.7 billion but also outpaced the analysts' call at $85.3 billion. It's a clear sign of digital advertising dusting off the setbacks from the rocky start in 2023.

Why the buzz? Brands are pouring more cash into Google, cementing its top-tier ad platform status. This surge suggests potential spikes in Google ad costs, turning auctions into battlegrounds and potentially shaking up campaign reach and impact.

Sundar Pichai, Google's helmsman, expressed pure optimism about the steady Search performance and the blossoming contributions from YouTube and Cloud. With investments in AI and innovation already paying off, as Google strides into the Gemini era, the anticipation is that the best is still on the horizon.

Photo: DIW - AIgen

Here Are 4 Reasons Why Your Webpage Might Be Underperforming on the SERP

 The prospect of your webpage failing to achieve a high enough ranking on the SERP can be frustrating because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up holding your website back. It turns out that Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan has offered some important advice on the manner in which you should optimize your site for the purposes of getting it a higher ranking than might have been the case otherwise.

The first thing that he mentioned in a Twitter post responding to a query from a blog owner was that the originality of your content should be readily apparent for all to see. What this basically means is that you should make it absolutely certain that the content comes from personal experience and isn’t just a rewritten version of the same things that people have said previously, and it can’t seem like a random hodgepodge of descriptions either.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the content should demonstrate your experience in some way, shape or form as well. If you are reviewing products, you should ideally make it so that the physical descriptions of the products that relate to your own personal experiences should be front and center. It bears mentioning that the user that submitted this query had posted product reviews, but these reviews pretty much only described features that anyone can find out about rather than personal experience.

Another extremely essential thing to bear in mind is that your content needs to satisfy readers at the very least to a certain extent. This is actually a critical component for the Google Search Quality Rates Guide, and as a result of the fact that this is the case, any and all content you include needs to give viewers a certain level of satisfaction.

Finally, the content needs to be up to date. Stale content simply won’t get the job done, which is why only the latest content needs to be included that actually has something new to add to the conversation.

Image: DIW -AIgen

Study Shows that TikTok is the Most Popular App Among Gen-Z For Using As a Search Engine

 A new study by Adobe shows that Gen-Z is using TikTok for their everyday search. People are searching for new trends, information, recipes and music on TikTok. This study was carried out after surveying 800 consumers and 250 business owners. The study shows that 40% of users of social media use TikTok when they want to search for something or want to know about an ongoing news or trend.

The people who were using TikTok for search are mostly Gen-Z, with 64% using TikTok while 49% of millennials use it for searching for different things. Gen-Z and Millennials both use TikTok for searching for recipes, music, DIY ideas, fashion and many more things, with Gen-Z using it 29% more than millennials. The study shows that 10% of Gen-Z prefer TikTok over Google when they want to search a topic.

Other than TikTok, ChatGPT is also getting popular as a search engine tone with 10% of users using it to answer their queries. They are also asking ChatGPT for personal advice. The reason why TikTok is getting so famous among Gen-Z as a search engine is because it shows content according to the users’ interest and preference. 40% of Gen-Z like this feature of TikTok and 26% of baby boomers also agree that this feature of TikTok has made them drawn to the app.

62% of the TikTok users like tutorial videos on TikTok and 39% users use TikTok to check reviews of different products. Many business owners are also using TikTok to gain more customers by promoting their companies and products. 25% of small business owners use influencing to gain more customers on TikTok.

The study shows that businesses use 15% of their total budget to promote their products on TikTok. TikTok is offering many opportunities to business owners so they can promote their products among young people. We will have to see what TikTok will introduce now that it is the most popular app among businesses and young people.

Google Introduces AI-Powered Conversational Features to Enhance Search Ads

 Google has recently launched a new feature in Google Ads. With the help of this feature, the users will be able to enjoy a more conversational experience with the advanced Gemini AI model. The innovative strategy was announced in May and is now available in Beta to English-speaking advertisers in the USA and U.K.

Plans for a global rollout are also underway and anticipated to reach a broader audience in a couple of weeks.

This conversational AI allows advertisers to automatically generate relevant ad content, including creative elements and keywords, directly from a website URL. Early testing has shown promising results, with advertisers reporting the creation of higher-quality search campaigns and improved ad-strength scores, which assess the relevance, quality, and diversity of ad copy.

Google, in a blog post, claims that "small business advertisers that use the conversational experience in Google Ads are 42 percent more likely to publish Search campaigns with “Good” or “Excellent” Ad Strength." Adding further, "This is significant", Why? Because, as per the search giant, they've "found a strong correlation between Ad Strength and conversions". They also provided an example for this: "advertisers who improve Ad Strength for their responsive search ads from “Poor” to “Excellent” see 12% more conversions on average."

In future updates, the search platform is likely to become more visual by offering images using generative AI. These visuals will be customized as per each specific campaign. They will also require advertiser approval before going live.

Moreover, all images created with this technology in Google Ads will be marked with SynthID, an invisible watermark indicating AI generation. This feature, developed by Google DeepMind, ensures easy identification of AI-generated images while remaining imperceptible to human users.

Google Downsizes: Ends Contract With Appen's Search Quality Raters

 According to a press release, Google has decided to terminate its contract with Appen. For those who are not aware, Appen is an Australian-based company that provides a large number of third-party search quality raters to Google and other tech giants.

Search quality raters play an important role in streamlining Google's search results. ⁤⁤The search quality raters are not responsible for directly changing the rankings or the positioning of websites in the SERPs. ⁤⁤However, they do use specific guidelines to assess search performance. ⁤⁤Ultimately, this helps Google understand what content is useful for the audience. ⁤

Reports suggest that the move to lay off search quality raters will cause Appen a significant revenue loss of $82.8 million. This move is expected to come into effect on March 19, 2024.

Currently, Google employs around 16,000 search quality raters, and those from Appen make up a large portion of this group. It's unclear if Google plans to end contracts with other partners or if they will replace these human raters with new ,hires or potentially with AI.

However, with the revolution of AI, the latter is most likely a possible move by Google. Industry speculation also foresees the same. Prominent contributor Dawn Anderson has been talking about the possibility of Google replacing human roles with AI for some time.

This shift raises the question that is on everyone’s mind, “What impact might the change have on search quality?” And most importantly, "Will more websites be affected by this downsizing, like they just did after Google's HCU?"

When contacted, Google’s spokesperson stated that the work previously done by Appen would be transferred to other suppliers. This decision is part of Google's effort to periodically modify its partners and offerings. Google also assured that the change won’t affect their output quality.