Vidnoz AI launched two groundbreaking features set to fundamentally transform marketing video creation, enabling businesses to produce engaging, personalized, and cost-effective content at scale. With these tools, users can easily empower their brand with UGC, product, and advertising videos, eliminating upfront costs or complex technical hurdles. Product Avatar is a breakthrough solution: upload any product image, select an avatar template, and instantly generate a lifelike avatar holding the item. This virtual human features realistic hand positioning, shadowing, lighting, and advanced lip-syncing. Such realism enables the creation of UGC and advertising videos that deeply integrate products into everyday scenes, fostering stronger resonance and empathy with audience for optimal brand promotion. Beyond the diverse pre-set library, users can also upload their unique brand spokesperson to create a custom Product Avatar. Interactive Avatar enhances real-time engagement for customer-facing industries. This intelligent virtual assistant supports natural speech interaction, multilingual communication, dynamic facial expressions, and contextual responses, making it ideal for sectors like banking, insurance, healthcare, training, and public services. Embedded into websites, apps, or smart terminals, Interactive Avatars provide 24/7 automated front-desk support, assisting with inquiries and information delivery, reducing human workload while maintaining consistent service quality.
SoFi is launching blockchain-powered international money transfers and re-entering cryptocurrency trading with plans to offer stablecoin issuance, crypto-backed loans, and staking infrastructure
SoFi’s second-quarter 2025 results reflect a company firing on all cylinders and potentially signaling the broader direction of digital finance. A record 850,000 new members joined SoFi in the quarter, up 34% from the prior year to 11.7 million. The company also added a record 1.26 million new products, up 34% from the prior year, to 17.1 million products. CEO Anthony Noto highlighted 44% year-over-year adjusted net revenue growth, the highest in over two years, driven by new members, products, and fee-based revenue. SoFi is innovating faster than ever, aiming to serve more member needs and raising its financial guidance for 2025. Once focused on student loan refinancing, SoFi is now a digitally native financial services player. It’s launching blockchain-powered international money transfers and reentering cryptocurrency trading. Plans include stablecoin issuance, crypto-backed loans, and staking infrastructure. SoFi is staffing up for Web3 and rolling out machine learning tools for fraud detection and AI advisors like “Cash Coach.” Personal loan originations increased nearly 66% year over year to $7 billion, while home lending segment saw 92% year-over-year growth in Q2, reaching $799 million in originations. A big driver was home equity loans, which now make up a third of volume — a product SoFi didn’t even offer a year ago. Student loan originations hit nearly $1 billion, up 35% from last year, buoyed by a new refinancing solution that steps up payments over time. The company’s services segment, anchored by Galileo and Technisys, grew net revenue 15% year over year to $109.8 million with a steady 30% contribution margin. Accounts on the platform rose by 2 million, quarter over quarter, to 160 million. From crypto and AI to stablecoins and tokenized loans, SoFi sees more opportunity than it can reasonably chase in parallel.
Walmart Marketplace takes on eBay to offer collectors access to graded singles, sealed boxes, sports memorabilia, coins, comics, and other items and let them search and discover collectibles by team, event, card number, autograph and edition
The Walmart Marketplace third-party e-commerce platform is zeroing in on collectors of cards and other memorabilia. Walmart Marketplace is offering increased access to graded singles, sealed boxes, sports memorabilia, coins, comics, and other items. Coming soon, collectors will see grades from companies like PS), CGS and NGC, displayed for select categories on Walmart Marketplace. The online collector shop is having new features released, including: New filters that let customers search and discover collectibles by team, event, card number, autograph and edition. The shop is spotlighting essential collector-grade information, such as condition, grade, and detailed seller information, right on the product page. New grade and condition badges, now displayed across search, browse, and product pages, provide at-a-glance credibility. Walmart is also rolling out a more efficient and consistent onboarding experience for collectible sellers that provides step-by-step guidance, and collectible sellers will be able to leverage a range of new attributes and condition options for item descriptions, such as specifying grading companies and exact grades as well as identifying the specific sport franchise, athlete, or artist. In addition, Walmart has changed item return settings to give sellers more control and flexibility and is teaming up with collectible livestreamer WeTheHobby to launch a recurring livestream series on the Walmart Live platform this fall during the NFL season. Other new services Walmart is offering collectors include a partnership with Mascot, a platform that helps collectibles sellers manage their listings across major channels. Walmart’s growing presence in the collectibles vertical represents a challenge to eBay’s efforts to serve as the premier online platform for buying and selling collectible items.
Furniture.com delivers seamless shopping across multiple brand with agentic AI enabling a single checkout across multiple brands
Furniture.com operates as an omnichannel “one-stop shop” by integrating store location and inventory data within its search engine to enable customers to explore, test and purchase furniture items either digitally or in person. Now, the company is partnering with agentic AI embedded checkout infrastructure provider Firmly to enable shoppers to browse, compare, and check out across multiple furniture brands in a single, unified experience without opening another tab or jumping between retailer sites. Features of the new seamless shopping experience include: One checkout across multiple brands; Real-time inventory and delivery estimates; Secure payments with traditional cards; Fully protected retailer data and brand identity; Instant plug-in for participating retailers. “Furniture.com’s features aim to simplify and consolidate this process, and Firmly’s checkout enablement removes the last major friction point—and helps people finish the journey they started,” said Alex Seaman, founder and senior VP at Furniture.com
McDonald’s, DoorDash enable customers to order McDelivery via mobile web or desktop without any app downloads, logins or accounts required
McDonald’s and DoorDash are rolling out a new online ordering experience in the United States, allowing customers to order McDelivery via mobile web or desktop without any app downloads, logins or accounts required. Orders are fulfilled by Dashers, offering a fast and reliable delivery experience. To order online, customers can now simply enter their address, select a drop-off option and place their order. The companies say the launch reflects both brands’ “shared commitment to digital innovation and broadening customer choice” by making delivery more convenient and more efficient. Shanna Prevé, VP of enterprise sales & business development at DoorDash. “This global partnership is powered by innovation – driving sales, simplifying operations, and elevating the customer experience.” “With millions of customers visiting McDonalds.com each month, this channel extends our reach, offering a seamless and convenient way to have their McDonald’s favorites delivered,” said Tim Snyder, head of delivery at McDonald’s USA. The launch also represents the latest milestone in McDonald’s and DoorDash’s global partnership, which now supports McDelivery in 29 countries.
GoodWares debuts Hyperledger-backed, AI-powered ERP platform using Enterprise Knowledge Graph to enable permissioned collaboration, instant operational insights, and automated actions for eCommerce scaling
GoodWares is launching the first blockchain-powered ERP designed to truly enable collaborative Ecommerce. The project’s founders are building something new for small and mid-sized online retailers. In fact, this platform gives independent retailers access to futures that Fortune 500 companies have. Speed, visibility, and logistics coordination are among the advantages promised by GoodWares. GoodWares strongly relies on a combination of the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain, Enterprise knowledge graph and artificial intelligence to help e-commerce scale their business. GoodWares relies on three smart layers: Enterprise Knowledge Graph (EKG), the intelligent backbone of the system—an continuous-evolving, real-time network that maps relationships between products, suppliers, inventory, orders, and shipments. When something changes—like a delayed shipment or supplier issue—the EKG instantly shows the ripple effects across the entire operation. This gives teams immediate insight into what’s happening, why it matters, and where to act—eliminating guesswork and enabling faster, smarter decisions. Blockchain Layer, the trust engine behind GoodWares—a secure, decentralized infrastructure built on Hyperledger Fabric, purpose-built for seamless, permissioned collaboration between sellers, suppliers, and logistics partners, all without compromising data privacy. AI Layer: With the structured data from the previous layers, GoodWares’ AI has a full vision over the management. Agentic AI can effectively take care of any action, such as reordering products, rerouting shipments, or solving issues automatically.
OpenAI is planning to integrate a payment checkout system into ChatGPT in a bid to boost revenues.
OpenAI is planning to integrate a payment checkout system into ChatGPT in a bid to boost revenues. OpenAI is reportedly planning to take a share of eCommerce sales made via ChatGPT. That’s according to a report Wednesday (July 16) by the Financial Times (FT), which says this move is part of a plan by the artificial intelligence (AI) startup to derive new revenues from online shopping features. The company already displays products on its platform with the option of clicking through to online retailers, and inked a partnership with eCommerce platform Shopify in April. Now, sources told the FT, OpenAI hopes to integrate a checkout system into ChatGPT, to make sure users complete transactions within the platform. Sellers who make sales this way would pay a commission to OpenAI. PYMNTS has contacted OpenAI for comment but has not yet gotten a reply. The FT notes that this marks a shift in strategy for OpenAI, whose revenue has chiefly come from subscriptions to its premium services. Getting a slice of eCommerce sales would let OpenAI earn money from people using its free service. The report adds this move is another threat to Google’s business model, with consumers increasingly turning to AI chatbots for online search and shopping. OpenAI is already building its own browser in a separate challenge to Google, per a report last week by Reuters. While the feature is still in development, the sources told the FT that OpenAI and partners like Shopify have been presenting early versions to brands and discussing financial terms.
Figure Technology’s solution allows borrowers to consolidate existing liens and high-interest debt directly through the loan application process and boost their qualification potential by improving combined loan-to-value (CLTV) ratios, debt-to-income (DTI) ratios and lien position
Figure Technology Solutions, a blockchain-native capital marketplace, announced on Monday an expansion of Intellidebt, its Direct Debt Payoff (DDP) solution. The move aims to allow borrowers to consolidate existing liens and high-interest debt directly through the loan application process. The upgrade boosts borrower qualification potential by improving combined loan-to-value (CLTV) ratios, debt-to-income (DTI) ratios and lien position all while helping lenders increase conversions and reduce manual work. With these new features, borrowers can now pay off and consolidate more types of debt, including liens, credit cards, personal loans, auto loans and home improvement loans. The Intellidebt expansion aims to offer a more flexible alternative to traditional cash-out refinancing. Highlights of the new features include expanded lien payoffs and consolidation, along with a streamlined requalification process, which are designed to push higher conversion rates and sales volumes for lenders. With consumer debt rising and more mortgage recasts or buydown expirations approaching, Figure’s updated DDP aims to help lenders address their borrowers’ needs while identifying new lending opportunities. Figure’s data shows these borrowers increased their FICO scores by an average of 27 points within the first month after using Intellidebt and paid off an average of $24,500 in outstanding debt. “Lenders have been looking for a cost-effective solution for lower balance loans as they can be expensive to originate, so we’re pleased to expand access to low-cost, low balance refinance options. We’re redefining how borrowers access equity to manage debt, while giving lenders a smarter, faster way to serve more qualified applicants,” Figure CEO Michael Tannenbaum said. “It’s a win-win-win for homeowners, their loan officers and the institutions that serve them.”
Scalenut’s AI-powered SEO platform tracks how often and where a brand is cited in AI-generated answers across AI platforms and provides visibility into citation trends, topic coverage, and competitor benchmarking
Scalenut, an AI-powered SEO and content marketing platform, announced the launch of two powerful new tools: GEO Watchtower and Social Upreach, to help marketers stay visible, relevant, and cited across AI-driven search ecosystems. Scalenut’s latest release tackles three urgent challenges for marketing teams in the age of AI search. First, it helps brands track how and where they show up in AI-generated content. Second, it supports authority-building by making it easier to earn citations that matter to both Google and generative engines. Third, it improves engagement by tapping into high-signal conversations on platforms like Reddit — a key source of data for large language models. Instead of juggling multiple tools, teams can now manage AI visibility, content strategy, and user-generated content from a single platform.The new tools are designed specifically for AI-first search environments: GEO Watchtower: Tracks how often and where a brand is cited in AI-generated answers across AI platforms with GEO Watchtower. It provides visibility into citation trends, topic coverage, and competitor benchmarking. These are insights that traditional SEO dashboards don’t offer. Social Upreach: Reddit and other open platforms feed directly into large language model training data. Social Upreach helps brands identify high-signal conversations and engage in them strategically, improving their presence in both social spaces and AI-generated outputs. These tools work together to give marketers the visibility, control, and strategic direction they need in a fast-changing AI search landscape. They help bridge the gap between traditional SEO and the new era of generative discovery.
Chipotle brings back trivia rewards promotion; a dashboard tracks members’ performance against other users in their state based on transactions
Chipotle Mexican Grill is offering the Chipotle IQ trivia game to members of the Chipotle Rewards loyalty program in the U.S. and Canada beginning Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. This will mark the sixth time Chipotle has run the promotion, which debuted in 2020. Chipotle IQ tests customer knowledge on company information such as its food offerings, as well as its sourcing and sustainability efforts. Prizes include a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) free entrée code, food offers, or additional Chipotle Rewards points. 2025 is the first year customers can play to win multiple food prizes. The first 10,000 Chipotle IQ players to score a five out of five each hour will win free Chipotle. Each hour, there will be 6,000 BOGO entrée offers, 2,000 free Adobo Ranch offers and 2,000 free Queso Blanco offers. Users who score a four out of five will earn 25 Chipotle Rewards points, while available. Customers who get a perfect score but do not win a food prize will receive the bonus points reward, while available. Up to 300,000 Chipotle Rewards points are available each day of the contest. Players can win up to three prizes across both weeks of gameplay, including one BOGO offer, one side and 25 rewards points. Participants will answer multiple-choice, true or false and short-answer questions. Chipotle IQ can be played online once per day. Concurrently, from now through Sunday, Aug. 31, Chipotle Rewards members who also opt in to the summerlong “Summer of Extras” promotion can earn extra points, exclusive badges and more for completing milestones each month. A dashboard tracks members’ performance against other users in their state based on transactions.