Meta is pushing deeper into AI-generated advertisements in a bid to make it cheaper and simpler for marketers to craft their messages. Meta announced an updated image-to-video ad tool, which lets marketers use artificial intelligence to turn product pictures into multi-scene video ads. Advertisers can upload as many as 20 images to create the videos, which come complete with music and overlaid text. Meta has made AI a key focus of its advertising business, which accounts for roughly 98% of annual revenue. Most of Meta’s advertisers are small businesses, and the cheaper it is for them to produce marketing material, the more money they have to spend promoting those messages on Facebook or Instagram. Generative AI is becoming a larger part of that business. Meta also lets advertisers use text prompts to create ad images, and announced in October that marketers could turn images into AI-generated GIFs for ads. The company is also building a text-to-video tool for general consumers, called Movie Gen, that it debuted for the first time last fall. The new ad features were announced in conjunction with the Cannes Lions advertising festival, which is happening this week in the south of France. TikTok also introduced new AI-powered tools for advertisers, including video generation for ads.
LendingClub’s new checking account targets individuals with high income of about $125,000 to $130,000 and high FICO score and offers 1% cash back for everyday spending with debit card; allows customers to pay all their credit card debt from a single interface
LendingClub’s newly launched LevelUp Checking is designed to help consumers move away from reliance on credit cards, especially given record-high credit card debt, by incentivizing the use of debit. The target customer for LevelUp are individuals with a high FICO score, typically around 725, and a high individual income of about $125,000 to $130,000. It gives members 1% cash back for everyday spending with a LevelUp debit card on grocery and gas, among other key categories. Members who have LendingClub personal loans can also receive 2% cash back for making on-time loan payments from the LevelUp accounts. Additional features include early paycheck access. The goal of the LevelUp Checking product is to help reward members for responsible financial habits through the use of debit rather than credit. LevelUp Checking accounts will also integrate with DebtIQ, a feature accelerated by LendingClub’s acquisition of Tally. This allows customers to pay all their credit card debt from a single interface, eliminating the need to log into multiple bank accounts. The integrated nature of the product portfolio creates a flywheel effect, as LevelUp Savings users engage with LendingClub almost twice as often as customers with standard high-yield savings accounts. He expects the same, if not more, engagement with the LevelUp Checking product, which he views as part of a broader ecosystem play.
ElevenLabs’s tool helps control various aspects of AI-generated speech including timing, rhythm, and emphasis by using audio tags and transforms monotonous AI speech into dynamic, performative content
ElevenLabs has introduced v3 Audio Tags, a tool designed to refine the delivery of AI-generated speech. This innovation allows users to control various aspects of speech, including timing, rhythm, and emphasis, transforming monotonous AI speech into dynamic, performative content. By using tags like [pause], [rushed], [stammers], and [drawn out], content creators can direct the emotional and rhythmic flow of speech with precision, enhancing the impact of the spoken word. Delivery control in AI speech refers to the ability to manipulate the pace, pauses, and emphasis within a speech, essential for conveying different tones. Eleven v3 eliminates the default pacing of delivery, allowing creators to adjust the speech to suit the narrative’s needs. This advancement is particularly beneficial for content creators looking to enhance their audio content with more nuanced and engaging speech patterns, aligning with the growing demand for personalized and immersive audio experiences in various media.
OpenAI’s open-source agent toolkit mirrors real-world use cases using domain-focused, workflow-aware AI agents and shows how guardrails function in production and how decisions and handoffs unfold in real time
OpenAI has released a new open-source demo that gives developers a hands-on look at how to build intelligent, workflow-aware AI agents using the Agents SDK. This agent example demonstrates how to route airline-related requests between specialized agents — like Seat Booking, Flight Status, Cancellation, and FAQ — while enforcing safety and relevance guardrails. The release is designed to help teams go beyond theoretical use and start operationalizing agents with confidence. The release includes both a Python backend and a Next.js frontend. The backend leverages the OpenAI Agents SDK to orchestrate interactions between specialized agents, while the frontend visualizes these interactions in a chat interface, showing how decisions and handoffs unfold in real time. Importantly, the demo also shows how guardrails function in production: a Relevance Guardrail blocks out-of-scope queries like asking for poetry, while a Jailbreak Guardrail prevents prompt injection attempts, such as requests to expose system instructions. The architecture mirrors real-world airline support flows, showing how organizations can build domain-focused assistants that are responsive, compliant, and aligned with user expectations. OpenAI released the code under the MIT license and encouraged teams to customize and adapt it for their own needs. By offering transparent tooling and clear implementation examples, OpenAI is pushing agentic systems out of the lab and into everyday use—whether in customer service, operations, or internal governance. For organizations exploring intelligent automation, these resources provide not just inspiration, but a working playbook.
UpEquity secures warehouse facility from Silicon Valley Bank for buy before you sell loans- makes a guaranteed offer on your current home; Equity Advance unlocks the equity stuck in your old home to make a new down payment
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has provided a warehouse facility to UpEquity, an Austin-based mortgage technology company that offers solutions for home buyers to purchase a new home before selling their current one. The facility will provide up to $200 million in financing capacity and is expected to support $1 billion in originations over the next two years. UpEquity’s revenue tripled annually since it began offering its ‘buy before you sell’ solutions in October 2023. The new facility will help more customers with a smoother transition from their old home to the next. UpEquity’s innovative financing solutions and platform help real estate professionals close significantly more transactions by solving the challenge of buying and selling a home simultaneously. Setpoint Capital’s Managing Director of Investments, Kendall Ranjbaran, expressed enthusiasm for deepening their partnership with UpEquity as they enter this next chapter of growth. Trade Up gives you a guaranteed offer on your current home, allowing you to shop contingency free and make a stronger offer on your new home. Equity Advance unlocks the equity stuck in your old home to make a new down payment and helps you avoid carrying the cost of two mortgages.
Promos embeds rewards management directly into engagement engine, allowing marketers to segment users, automate campaigns, personalize, deliver real-time incentives, and measure effectiveness effortlessly
CleverTap has launched Promos, an industry-first customer rewards management platform designed to revolutionize the way brands create, manage, distribute, and optimize rewards, promotions, and loyalty programs. Powered by rehook.ai technology, Promos offers a comprehensive, API-first solution for managing all aspects of customer incentives, including coupons, loyalty points, cashback, vouchers, and gamified rewards. It replaces fragmented systems, providing marketers with a seamless, scalable, and deeply integrated alternative for driving retention, repeat purchases, and maximizing customer lifetime value. Promos embeds rewards management directly into CleverTap’s engagement engine, allowing marketers to segment users, automate campaigns, personalize, deliver real-time incentives, and measure effectiveness effortlessly.
By integrating NFL API, sports apps can deliver dynamic and interactive experiences in real-time through access to live scores, player stats, game schedules, team rankings, and injury reports
The digital landscape of sports is increasingly focusing on details, instant updates, interactive features, and personalized experiences for fans. Integrating an NFL API can help sports apps deliver real-time and reliable data, enhancing user engagement and retention. The NFL API allows sports apps to access live scores, player stats, game schedules, team rankings, and injury reports, ensuring dynamic, interactive app experiences that keep users coming back. Key benefits of NFL API integration include real-time updates and notifications, interactive features for fantasy sports, customized user experiences, increased app stickiness during the NFL season, and enhanced visualizations and infographics. By integrating the NFL API, developers can ensure their apps deliver up-to-the-minute information from official sources, making users trust and loyalty. This approach not only increases user engagement but also adds value to the app by being the go-to app for all things NFL. Not all APIs are created equal. When selecting an NFL API, look for features like: High data accuracy and reliability; Low latency and fast response time; Comprehensive data coverage (games, players, teams, etc.); Flexible integration options and good documentation; Scalability for future app growth.
IAS launches AI-driven added insight into the contextual suitability of an ad’s content adjacency across Feed and Reels with trusted third-party analysis
Integral Ad Science has launched new contextual category reporting for Meta Platforms, expanding measurement reporting across Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels. The move aligns measurement reporting with contextual categories available through the platform’s Content Block List optimisation solution for Meta. This collaboration aims to support advertisers’ brand suitability and performance goals, ensuring marketers protect brand equity, minimize wasted spend, and deliver maximum return on investment. With Meta contextual category reporting, advertisers get: Greater transparency: Added insight into the contextual suitability of an ad’s content adjacency across Feed and Reels with trusted third-party analysis. Measurement reporting at parity: Aligned with contextual categories offered for the platform’s first-to-market Content Block Lists for Meta. Expanded contextual categories: 46+ categories including Politics, Natural Disasters, Religion, Family & Parenting – Kids Content, and more, available globally across 34 languages.
eCommerce platform Shipperfy supports SMB online merchants with order management across multiple sales channels with single-click import of unfulfilled orders, automatic address validation, order invoice and packing list generation
CORRELLINK PTY. LTD, a Sydney-based technology company, launched its shipping management eCommerce platform Shipperfy, that consolidates order processing and shipping across multiple sales channels into a single interface. Shipperfy allows small and medium online retailers to manage orders from eBay, Amazon, Shopify and other marketplaces through one platform, eliminating the need to switch between multiple systems to process shipments. The platform connects directly with merchants’ existing carrier accounts and displays shipping quotes from multiple providers on a single screen. Users can generate shipping labels, automatically notify sales channels when orders ship, generate order invoices and create packing slips. Shipperfy also offers merchants with access to competitive negotiated rates through Shipperfy’s partnership programme without needing separate courier accounts. Shipperfy supports order management across multiple sales channels with single-click import of unfulfilled orders and automatic address validation. The shipping management system generates labels and end-of-day manifests while automatically updating sales channels when items ship. The platform also handles inventory tracking across all connected sales channels, supplier management, and purchase order generation. Business automation features include customer tracking notifications and real-time reporting with low stock alerts. It also supports order invoice and packing list generation. For businesses using Amazon FBA, Shipperfy can connect online stores and automatically create Multi-Channel Fulfilment orders to allow Amazon to handle fulfilment using the business FBA stock, while managing sales channel notifications.
iOS 26 Beta 2 improves the readability and differentiation of Control Center on Liquid Glass by adjusting the background blur, which better obscures the Home Screen content underneath
As SBA and USDA lending surges nationwide, Community Bankshares is scaling rapidly by outsourcing the heavy lifting through its Phoenix Lender Services unit. Community Bank & Trust launched what it called a “refund anticipation loan” to allow small business owners and self-employed individuals to access their tax refund faster. Chris Hurn, president and chief executive officer of Community Bankshares revealed that the refund anticipation loan was just one part of a larger innovation effort at the $217 million bank. Beyond refund lending, the bank is investing in a new banking-as-a-service offering for banks, credit unions, fintechs, and even other lenders potentially, through which they can launch and scale government-backed lending without building a team from scratch. Community Bank & Trust’s refund anticipation loan was created for self-employed entrepreneurs, who often have few options when it comes to borrowing. Steve Jeffries, President of Community Bank & Trust. “By offering a refund anticipation loan on the SLFL tax credit, we are giving self-employed individuals the financial flexibility they need without having to wait on extended government processing times.” Businesses apply for refund loans through Community Bankshares’ partner, a company Hurn founded, called Lendesca. The fintech handles the Sick Leave and Family Leave (SLFL) tax credit, also known as the Self-Employed Tax Credit (SETC), which is utilized by Community Bank & Trust to provide the loan. These tax credits are among the last remaining from the pandemic and are set to expire during the 2025 tax season. “We saw that a tax credit can take a long time to come from the IRS. We saw an opportunity to take a fairly complicated government process and make it much simpler,” Hurn said. “Consumers often can get what’s called ‘refund anticipation loans,’ but with these we could get business folks, who are badly in need of support, help faster.” With the launch of its first digital product under its belt, Community Bank & Trust now hopes that these micro businesses will grow and become small business prospects for the bank’s SBA and USDA programs as well.