Only 18% of US consumers are comfortable with AI-driven features, while 71% are uncomfortable with AI tools. The study also revealed that one in three consumers prioritize price over brand loyalty. While shoppers are open to AI being used for customer service and product discovery, only 8% believe convenience will impact their buying experience. Loyalty programs are valued at 49%, with 36% wanting added incentives like free shipping or buy now, pay later options. Additional findings include: 67% of Gen Z consumers (ages 16-26) are likely to sign up for subscription services from retailers they shop with. When shopping on a marketplace, 30% of millennials (ages 27-42) are looking for new brands to try, compared to 18% of Gen X and just 9% of Baby Boomers. 40% of Baby Boomers express discomfort with AI chatbots, compared to 24% of millennials (ages 27-42) and 25% of Gen Z.
Xactus integrates flood compliance solution with ICE’s mortgage servicing system, to receive automated flood zone determination updates directly into their systems
Logitech’s new Flip Folio makes it easier than ever to turn your iPad into a comfortable, portable workstation. Logitech’s new Flip Folio fuses portability with adaptability. Its case combines a Bluetooth keyboard with a magnetic folio, making it perfect for anyone who wants the freedom to work the way they like. This is especially great if you want to place your iPad on a higher surface than your keyboard to reduce neck strain while working. Logitech also gives you the option to work in portrait mode — perfect for Pages projects. The kickstand adjusts to multiple angles, allowing you to find the perfect position for writing, watching videos, making FaceTime calls, and more. When it’s time to pack up, the Bluetooth keyboard magnetically attaches to the Folio, making it a breeze to stash it in a bag or carry it with a single hand. Unlike Apple’s Magic Keyboard, there’s no passive charging; in fact, there’s no charging at all. The included Bluetooth keyboard is powered by four replaceable coin cell batteries, which Logitech says should last for two years, assuming two hours of daily use.
Apple is now requiring developers to list their app’s accessibility features; new accessibility features include live captions, personal voice replication, improved reading tools, braille reader improvements, and “nutrition labels”
Apple has announced new accessibility features for iOS, focusing on people with vision or hearing impairments. The company downplays the notion that the price of Apple hardware means accessibility comes at a cost, stating that it is built into its operating system for free. The new features include live captions, personal voice replication, improved reading tools, braille reader improvements, and “nutrition labels” in the app store. Developers will be required to list the accessibility features their app has, such as voiceover, voice control, or large text. Apple’s senior director of global accessibility policy and initiatives, Sarah Herrlinger, said that the nutrition labels would encourage developers to enable more accessibility options in the future. The company also improved its magnifier app, allowing users to zoom in on screens or whiteboards in lectures to read presentations. New braille features include note-taking with a braille screen input or a compatible braille device, and allow for calculation using Nemeth braille. The new personal voice feature can recreate a user’s voice using just 10 phrases, and the voice replication will be password-coded and remain on the device unless backed up to iCloud.
NiCE-Snowflake partnership to enable enterprises to operationalize customer interaction data at scale through seamless, secure sharing of CX data across the front, middle and back office
NiCE announced a strategic collaboration with Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, to unlock the full value of customer interaction data by enabling seamless, secure data sharing across the front, middle and back office through Snowflake Secure Data Sharing. This collaboration combines NiCE CXone Mpower’s AI for customer service automation with Snowflake’s easy, connected, and trusted platform, enabling joint customers to seamlessly access and update data to automate customer service at scale. By working with Snowflake, the two companies will be able to deliver immediate value for customers and unlock new opportunities across the enterprise landscape. NiCE selected Snowflake for its ability to power secure, governed data collaboration and its shared commitment to eliminating operational silos. As a core component of every CXone Mpower bundle, Snowflake provides the foundation for the CXone Mpower data lake, centralizing all interaction data from across the platform and enabling that data to be merged with associated data beyond the front office. This extends the depth and breadth of CXone Mpower, enabling customers to leverage reporting, dashboarding, analytics and AI, from a single, trusted and ecosystem-wide source of truth. By expanding the reach of CX data into middle and back-office systems, organizations will be able to automate processes such as service fulfillment, billing, claims handling, and account updates, dramatically improving speed, accuracy, and efficiency. Customers can leverage CXone Mpower’s built-in integration with Snowflake to securely share and activate customer interaction data across their enterprise, either as part of their current CXone Mpower bundle or through expanded enterprise automation initiatives. With CXone Mpower analyzing hundreds of customer attributes per interaction, Snowflake provides the secure, scalable foundation to store, share, and activate this rich data across the enterprise. This collaboration empowers enterprises to operationalize interaction data at scale, integrate it seamlessly into enterprise ecosystems, and accelerate the development of AI-driven CX innovations.
Gemini app’s redesign on Android and iOS moves away from ‘minimalist’ to match web UI; includes rounded rectangle prompt bar, shorter menu with four pill-shaped buttons
Following the web redesign and other changes, Google is introducing a new prompt bar for the Gemini app on Android and iOS. Gemini is going from a pill-shaped text field to a rounded rectangle (even before you enter text). Underneath the “Ask Gemini” field, you get a row of actions, starting with the ‘plus’ menu that’s now much shorter. You just get Camera, Gallery, Files, and Drive in this bottom sheet. Next up are pill-shaped buttons for “Research” and “Canvas.” Tap the three-dot icon in a circle to see those items in list form with brief descriptions, as well as “Video” (Veo 2 generation). Chips will stay highlighted upon tap. Deep Research: Get in-depth reports; Canvas: Create docs and code; Video: Generate with Veo. If you open the model picker, Google has removed Deep Research and Veo 2 (for Advanced subscribers). They are better thought of as Gemini capabilities than general-purpose models, with the new chips having the benefit of being always visible. As such, the menu is now down to four models: 2.0 Flash: Fast all-around help; 2.5 Flash (preview): Our next reasoning model built for speed; 2.5 Pro (preview): Reasoning, math & code; Personalization (preview): Based on your Search history. The voice input microphone and Gemini Live button round out this prompt bar redesign. Overall, it’s not as minimalist as before, but allows Google to introduce more features and matches the web UI. It’s also rolling out to the Gemini app for iPhone and iPad. Google is using this redesign to switch to standard iOS menus.
Headless browser platform Browserbase can automate webpage interactions and spin up thousands of browsers in a fraction of a second by combining traditional scripts with AI agents in the same workflow
Browserbase Inc., a startup focused on automating tasks that involve interacting with webpages, has closed a $40 million funding round. Browserbase provides a so-called headless browser specifically designed to automate webpage interactions. According to the company, it’s optimized for use by scripts and artificial intelligence agents. The browser is available through a serverless platform that removes the need for customers to manage the underlying infrastructure. According to Browserbase, its platform can spin up thousands of browsers in a fraction of a second. Each instance is assigned four virtual central processing units to ensure that web page interactions are completed quickly. To further boost performance, the platform hosts browsers in data centers around the world. Developers can send requests to a web server from the nearest data center to reduce latency. The platform is compatible with Puppeteer and Selenium, two popular open-source tools for creating browser automation scripts. As a result, developers don’t have to change their existing scripts to use the software. There’s also support for Browserbase’s own Stagehand automation tool, which it touts as a more capable alternative to Puppeteer and Selenium. It allows developers to combine traditional scripts with AI agents in the same workflow. Agents are used when adaptability is needed while scripts automate tasks that require a high degree of reliability.
Onboarding metrics- Time To First Value, Onboarding CSAT, Customer Outcome Achievement, and Onboarding Risks, should regularly be reported in leadership meetings and board decks
Onboarding is a critical metric in software companies, often overlooked in discussions about annual recurring revenue (ARR), churn, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and customer lifetime value (LTV). It is the first step in the customer journey and defines every subsequent experience. A great onboarding experience can reinforce customers’ decisions, while a confusing one can erode trust. Great onboarding creates upstream value, as it leads to expansion, retention, and referrals. Positive customer metrics are often downstream of onboarding, such as expansion, retention, and referrals. Companies should regularly report onboarding performance in leadership meetings and board decks, as it is an important leading indicator of customer health, revenue growth, and operational efficiency. Some onboarding metrics suggested by the author include Time To First Value, Onboarding Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), Customer Outcome Achievement, and Onboarding Risks. These metrics are not vanity metrics but early warning systems for potential issues. Onboarding should be a cross-functional effort that spans product, sales, marketing, and leadership. Product needs to ensure an intuitive experience, sales set realistic expectations, marketing supports post-sale engagement, and leadership invests in tools, processes, and people to make it work at scale. Ignoring onboarding can lead to wasted CAC, delayed launches, and dissatisfied customers. Companies that nail onboarding often see faster time to revenue recognition, higher net retention, new champions, and use cases. Treating onboarding like a mirror can help companies identify misalignment, friction, and missed opportunities. By investing in onboarding, companies can become growth engines and revenue levers, leading to better financial outcomes.
Siro’s AI-driven coaching for in-person sales teams offers real-time transcription, performance analytics, and industry-specific training models
Startup Siro has secured $50 million in a Series B round led by SignalFire with participation from Dick Costolo and Adam Bain’s VC firm 01 Advisors. Siro transcribes sales meetings via an app. Features include a company-wide dashboard where sales folks can submit successful calls and sort them by engagement from peers, allowing other reps to listen to top calls and get insights about improving on-ground sales visits. Siro trains models for specific industry verticals — for example, for HVAC sales coaching. The company also uses a general-purpose model to gauge how a salesperson is building rapport and handling rejections. Wayne Hu, a partner at SignalFire, said that the VC firm always wants to invest in companies that have a strong business advantage in data for particular segments. “Siro’s solution is helping digitize the ‘dark matter’ of offline conversations comprising field sales engagements, which has broad extensibility across verticals and depth in downstream actions that can be instrumented from this data, such as customer and product insights,” he told.
Qualified unveils Spotlight: The industry’s first observation layer for agentic B2B marketing- understanding each lead—who they are, which role they hold, and where they are in the buying journey
Qualified, the agentic marketing platform with the world’s leading AI SDR agent, will unveil Spotlight, the industry’s first observation layer for agentic marketing. Spotlight offers customers a new contextual view of Piper the AI SDR Agent. B2B marketers can now see AI transparency in action, including how Piper thinks, reasons, and strategizes for every unique buyer, as she autonomously generates pipeline at scale. This innovation ensures trust and confidence as marketers integrate AI agents into their teams and workflows. No two user Spotlights are the same—Piper formulates a unique game plan for every buyer, executing hundreds of thousands of strategies simultaneously to maximize conversion. Qualified’s first-of-its-kind Agentic Marketing Platform helps marketers leverage agents to drive scalable pipeline generation. At its center sits Piper the AI SDR Agent, who engages with and converts all qualified leads, autonomously and at scale. With Spotlight, marketers can observe: Lead Context: Piper the AI SDR Agent understands each lead—who they are, which role they hold, and where they are in the buying journey—informing tailored selling experiences. Account Context: Piper understands key account data—their segment, buying committee, and level of intent—delivering an account-based sales motion; Piper rolls lead and account data into one unified view, helping her sell to the whole buyer versus separate leads and accounts. Behavior Monitoring: Piper tracks how buyers are engaging across the website, email inbox, and online, and adjusts her strategy accordingly. Goals and Guardrails: Piper operates toward specific goals for each unique buyer and within the guardrails outlined by marketing, working towards targets of meetings booked and pipeline generated.
Vercel’s AI model enables creating independent, scalable web-based checkout systems on developers’ own domains by offering customisable template with frontend components through API
The team behind Vercel’s V0, an AI-powered platform for web creation, has developed an AI model it claims excels at certain website development tasks. Available through an API, the model, called “v0-1.0-md,” can be prompted with text or images, and was “optimized for front-end and full-stack web development,” the Vercel team says. Currently in beta, it requires a V0 Premium plan ($20 per month) or Team plan ($30 per user per month) with usage-based billing enabled. Vercel’s model can “auto-fix” common coding issues, the Vercel team says, and it’s compatible with tools and SDKs that support OpenAI’s API format. Evaluated on web development frameworks like Next.js, the model can ingest up to 128,000 tokens in one go. The launch of V0’s model comes as more developers and companies look to adopt AI-powered tools for programming.