Algebrik AI announced a strategic partnership with AppOne, a provider of indirect lending workflow and productivity solutions for dealerships and lenders. Through this collaboration, AppOne will be integrated into Algebrik One: Algebrik’s agentic AI-powered lending suite that includes Digital Account Opening, the Lender’s Cockpit (LOS), Omni-channel Point-of-Sale (POS), AI Decision Engine, and Portfolio Analytics. This empowers Algebrik-powered credit unions, community banks, and fintech lenders to connect seamlessly with dealer networks—enhancing the loan application-to-funding journey for sectors like automotive, RV, marine, and powersports. Through this integration, dealers using the AppOne platform can submit credit applications directly into Algebrik One, retrieve instant decisions from lenders, and receive compliant loan documents—all without leaving the AppOne interface. Meanwhile, Algebrik’s decision engine empowers lenders to review, approve, and process indirect applications with speed and accuracy—closing the loop between dealer platforms and Algebrik’s AI-powered lending suite. Benefits Across the Ecosystem: Streamlined Deal Submission: Dealers can submit complete, compliant credit applications through AppOne, which flow directly into Algebrik One—eliminating manual data entry and reducing errors from the start. Faster, Context-Rich Decisions: Lenders receive structured, pre-validated applications and can apply Algebrik’s AI-driven underwriting for faster, more confident approvals. Compliant, Auto-Generated Documentation: Loan packages are automatically formatted and disclosed according to lender policies, improving compliance and minimizing the risk of re-contracting delays. Scalable Indirect Lending, Simplified: Credit unions and community lenders can easily grow their dealer footprint and loan volume—powered by the seamless integration between AppOne and Algebrik One.
Splitit taps Antom’s payment processing platform to enable merchants to offer card-linked installment payment option using consumers’ existing credit and without requiring credit checks, applications and any change to their credit card relationship
Splitit and Ant International’s Antom have partnered to enable merchants to offer their customers a card-linked installment payment option. The companies will launch this offering in the United States and then expand it globally. This payment option is powered by Splitit’s embedded white-label platform that enables card-linked installment payments using consumers’ existing credit, and Antom’s payment processing platform and merchant network. For consumers, the card-linked installment payment option will provide purchasing flexibility, with no credit checks, no applications, no hidden fees and no change to their credit card relationship. For merchants, it will provide a way to offer flexible payments at scale, with less complexity and higher approval rates. This option will help improve conversion rates and increase average order value. Splitit and Antom will also simplify international payment processing for merchants who engage in cross-border commerce. “This collaboration supports our commitment to helping merchants achieve sustainable growth across international markets,” Gary Liu, general manager of Antom at Ant International, said
Walker Sands’s AI Domain Impact Index offers insight into how earned media influences GenAI search results by assigning a 0–100 score to any web domain based organic search, inclusion, on-page, real-time retrieval, and citation appearance in the Generative AI Era
Walker Sands has launched the AI Domain Impact Index to help B2B organizations maximize PR effectiveness in today’s GenAI-powered buyer journeys. The Index enables smarter earned media efforts to drive brand discoverability in GenAI-powered buyer journeys. As Google’s search dominance declines and GenAI platforms drive more traffic, the channels for reaching B2B audiences are shifting rapidly. Strategic media placements play a critical role in shaping brand visibility and trust in AI-assisted buyer journeys. The AI Domain Impact Index offers insight into how earned media influences GenAI search results and how brands appear in AI-driven decision-making workflows. The Index assigns a 0–100 score to any web domain based on five weighted criteria: organic search, inclusion, on-page, real-time retrieval, and citation appearance. The scores within the Impact Index evolve over time, as GenAI models continually adjust how they prioritize sources and media publications to optimize for Long-Long Media Moments (LLMs). The results are encouraging: 51% of placements were categorized as high impact, meaning they are highly likely to influence GenAI search responses; 44% were moderately impactful, and only 4% fell into the low-impact tier.
Kraft Heinz partners music entertainment company Live Nation to promote its products at music festivals and concerts by integrating them into menu offerings at 80 select venues
Kraft Heinz has entered into a multi-year agreement with music entertainment company Live Nation to bring its products to concertgoers across the country. As part of the deal, the CPG heavyweight will be the Official Condiment and Official Mac & Cheese of 80 select venues in the Live Nation portfolio. Products including Heinz Ketchup, Mustard and Relish, along with Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese, will be integrated into menu offerings at the Live Nation venues. The partnership will kick off at the Lollapalooza music festival from July 31 to August 3. “By partnering with Live Nation, we’re able to create unforgettable experiences that bring fans together through food, live music, and entertainment,” said Peter Hall, president of elevation, North America at Kraft Heinz. “As part of our company strategy, we continue to look for ways to engage with consumers anywhere they’re eating outside of the kitchen – including at music festivals, concerts, and more. Our partnership with Live Nation is a great example of this in action, helping us turn up the flavor and highlight our beloved sauce portfolio to music fans nationwide.”
LendingClub’s account feature that offers customers 2% cash back for on-time loan payments made from checking account and 1% cash back when using the associated debit card for qualifying purchases drives 6X jump in daily account openings
LendingClub said that two recent additions to its mobile-first platform are driving more account openings and more visits to the company’s app. CEO Scott Sanborn said the company’s latest innovation, LevelUp Checking, has increased the number of checking accounts opened each day by six times since its launch in June. LevelUp Checking offers customers 2% cash back for on-time loan payments made from this checking account and 1% cash back when using the associated debit card for qualifying purchases. “We’re rewarding borrowers for their financial discipline while allowing us to benefit from a stickier relationship,” Sanborn said. “While it’s still early, the initial results are encouraging.” The target customer for LevelUp Checking and its rewards program has a high FICO score and a high individual income.
Apple will be automatically sorting unknown texts into a new category in iOS 26 irritating political groups that rely on donations via spam texts
Apple will be automatically sorting unknown texts into a new category in iOS 26. That’s irritating political groups that rely on donations via spam texts. A letter from National Republican Senatorial Committee says it could see $500 million lost in GOP revenue. The letter incorrectly suggests that iOS 26 treats unknown callers as spam, which is a separate filtering category. Instead, it will be treated as “unknown,” which it is if the user has never interacted with the number or if it isn’t in their contacts. That said, the system could certainly lead to users missing the texts — especially less technically sophisticated ones. Unknown texts don’t notify users by default, nor do they place a notification badge on the app icon. These political entities have gone through the trouble of ensuring the laws allow them to text people constantly, and carriers have even allowed the behavior. Apple’s steps to ensure users have some sanity and control over their messaging inbox undercut these efforts. The estimated $25 million revenue hit to the NRSC is certainly not negligible. Whether or not these political entities are acting legally isn’t up for debate, but their necessity certainly is. Especially when a lot of the texts are mostly attempts to trick people into thinking (insert political name) is texting them directly asking for $20.
LinkedIn’s open API can help PR teams to proactively shape executive visibility and reputation by defining measurable goals, choosing the right tools and layering in AI and incorporating external data such as media mentions and employee advocacy Corporate communications teams have long struggled to accurately measure executive influence on LinkedIn due to manual data pulls, spreadsheets, and surface-level metrics. This has resulted in wasted hours and missed opportunities to act on trending topics and stakeholder conversations. However, LinkedIn’s open API for personal profiles can speed up the process by allowing communications teams to unlock faster, more accurate, and actionable insights. This new tool allows PR pros to incorporate predictive analytics into an executive’s journey to build influence and better monitor reputation on LinkedIn. This empowers teams to proactively shape executive visibility, benchmark against peers, and guide thought leadership strategy with real-time insights. This shift in reputational strategy measurement and optimization on the platform that matters most is crucial for C-suite teams. Here are three considerations as you begin the journey: First, define your goals: Before diving into the data, clearly articulate what success looks like. Are you trying to increase visibility among a niche audience? Improve sentiment on key topics? Drive newsletter subscriptions? Defining measurable objectives ensures that the analytics map back to meaningful, business-driven outcomes. Choose the right tools—and layer in AI where it makes sense: The open API doesn’t automatically deliver insights; it feeds data into the tools already in use. Make careful decisions about which platforms to integrate and where artificial intelligence can help you surface patterns and recommendations faster—without replacing the human insights your team brings to the table. Incorporate external data to build a holistic view: LinkedIn metrics are critical, but not the whole picture. Layering in outside data—like media mentions, employee advocacy, competitor benchmarking or even trust sentiment from surveys—can help you see how your executive’s influence and reputation are evolving across the ecosystem, not just on one platform.
Corporate communications teams have long struggled to accurately measure executive influence on LinkedIn due to manual data pulls, spreadsheets, and surface-level metrics. This has resulted in wasted hours and missed opportunities to act on trending topics and stakeholder conversations. However, LinkedIn’s open API for personal profiles can speed up the process by allowing communications teams to unlock faster, more accurate, and actionable insights. This new tool allows PR pros to incorporate predictive analytics into an executive’s journey to build influence and better monitor reputation on LinkedIn. This empowers teams to proactively shape executive visibility, benchmark against peers, and guide thought leadership strategy with real-time insights. This shift in reputational strategy measurement and optimization on the platform that matters most is crucial for C-suite teams. Here are three considerations as you begin the journey: First, define your goals: Before diving into the data, clearly articulate what success looks like. Are you trying to increase visibility among a niche audience? Improve sentiment on key topics? Drive newsletter subscriptions? Defining measurable objectives ensures that the analytics map back to meaningful, business-driven outcomes.
Choose the right tools—and layer in AI where it makes sense: The open API doesn’t automatically deliver insights; it feeds data into the tools already in use. Make careful decisions about which platforms to integrate and where artificial intelligence can help you surface patterns and recommendations faster—without replacing the human insights your team brings to the table.
Incorporate external data to build a holistic view: LinkedIn metrics are critical, but not the whole picture. Layering in outside data—like media mentions, employee advocacy, competitor benchmarking or even trust sentiment from surveys—can help you see how your executive’s influence and reputation are evolving across the ecosystem, not just on one platform.
Etsy’s gross merchandise sales (GMS) from the app outpaces non-app GMS, accounting for nearly 45% of total GMS driven by its efforts to make its app browsable and intuitive with improved UX along with ‘algotorial curation’ of aesthetically cohesive, high-quality listings
Etsy says a renewed focus on its app paid off in its most recent quarter. The eCommerce retailer released quarterly earnings showing sales creeping up 3.8% for the quarter and 2.3% for the half-year. CEO Josh Silverman said the company’s performance during the quarter was related to a strategic shift Etsy embarked on last year, which included efforts to make it more browsable and intuitive. As user experience has improved, Silverman said, gross merchandise sales (GMS) from the app have outpaced non-app GMS, accounting for nearly 45% of total GMS in the quarter. “What our data suggests is that when we get a buyer to adopt the app, we see their lifetime value go up, and we’ve gained confidence that that’s causal not correlated,” he said. He added that the company is now starting to fight for time, “an inspiration that when you’re waiting for the subway or there’s a commercial on TV, you pull out your app, and we want you to go to Etsy and spend that time just being immersed in all of the different things that you can find on Etsy.” Chief Financial Officer Lanny Baker touched on the company’s consumer landscape, saying Etsy has seen a “slightly healthier consumer spend across all the different cohorts,” both higher-income and lower-income. “We have not seen any big shifts in spending across those related to tariffs or trade announcements that have happened,” Baker said.
Amazon is updating the code on its site to include language that blocks new AI agents and shopping bots from Google, Perplexity, Anthropic and OpenAI from its website
Amazon is reportedly taking steps to block other companies’ artificial intelligence shopping tools from its website. The eCommerce giant updated the code on its site to include language that keeps out new AI agents from Google. Amazon has taken similar precautions with bots from companies like Perplexity, Anthropic and OpenAI. It appears as if Amazon is preventing its products from even showing up in some search results for outside chatbots and search tools. A search for Amazon products using Perplexity and ChatGPT turned up results from other retailers but did not directly point to listings on Amazon. These policies are an “extreme example” of how retailers are weighing precautions against other companies’ AI tools. Shopify has taken a narrower focus, while Walmart’s approach is more wait-and-see. If AI tools, such as chatbots and searches that provide product recommendations, or AI-powered personal shoppers become more popular, retailers could find fewer people directly browsing their sites
Carvana’s integration of more facilities from other parts of its business to increase car storage and keep them closer to customers helps it complete delivery 0.7 days faster than it did a year ago while lowering operations expense per retail unit by $150
Carvana achieved record retail unit sales and revenue in the second quarter as it continued to refine its online automotive retail business. The company’s retail unit sales rose 41% year over year to reach 143,280, while its revenue rose 42% to reach $4.84 billion. It achieved this growth during a quarter in which the market grew by less than 5%, Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia said. Carvana Chief Financial Officer Mark Jenkins said, “Consistent with past quarters, our growth in the second quarter was driven by our three key long-term drivers of growth: a continuously improving customer offering; increasing awareness, understanding and trust; and increasing inventory selection and other benefits of scale.” The company now delivers cars to customers 0.7 days faster than it did a year ago, Garcia said. It accomplished this by integrating more facilities from other parts of its business so it can store more cars and keep them closer to customers. Carvana also now has 23% more sales per customer service advocate than it did last year. It did this by simplifying its eCommerce experience so that customers have less need for support and speak with customer service for less time when they do call in. The company’s operations expense per retail unit is $150 lower than it was a year ago. Garcia said in the letter that Carvana now delivers cars to customers’ doors, offers integrated financing, handles customer support, manages trade-ins, facilitates customers’ title and registration, and maintain a seven-day return policy for just over $1,200 per sale.