Thursday, May 22

🌟 Today’s Highlights:

• TikTok added a dedicated AI assistant to Seller Center

• YouTube expanded voice replies and added a new Shorts question sticker

• Want your brand to be featured here? Get in touch now

• 📊 Stat of the Day: As of January, U.S. Instagram users spent 50% of their time on the app on Reels. (Source: Meta)

• 💡 Today’s Insight: Did AI cause Duolingo’s downfall?

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💡 Today’s Insight 💡

Did AI cause Duolingo’s downfall?

🗞 TL;DR - Maybe, actually. We might be watching the real-time downfall of language-learning app Duolingo, which has held long-standing respect for their viral social media presence and cheeky marketing strategies. But after the app’s CEO announced that the company was swapping AI for human contractors, users took note… and it’s not looking good for the green owl.

💡 Insight - So, what’s the actual impact been on business? It’s hard to tell just yet without concrete revenue or app usage numbers but just based on their social presence, the company had lost over 400,000 followers on TikTok alone (though with 6.7M followers on the app, a bit of a drop in the bucket). Time will tell how it impacts their 116M monthly active users and 9.5M paying subscribers.

What was their comms plan? In April, the company shared the all-hands email from CEO Luis von Ahn about its AI-first plans to its LinkedIn page. Despite trying to spin it positively (comparing it to the 2012 shift from desktop to mobile), the post was flooded with negative comments from users and critics expressing their disappointment.

This past weekend, Duolingo deleted all its videos and photos on TikTok and Instagram and ceased putting out new content on other social channels. A spokesperson cryptically noted, “We’re experimenting with silence. Sometimes, the best way to make noise is to disappear first.” Weird, but ok.

Then, in classic Duo fashion, it got weirder. On Tuesday, the company posted its first video in days in the style of a hacked, taken captive manifesto from its mascot green owl (looking a bit different). The comments of this video? Still flooded with negative commentary on the AI decision.

The key takeaway here: people can forgive and forget, but that only goes so far. Duolingo’s typically edgy approach to marketing is now coming off as out-of-touch and inauthentic to an audience that has championed the brand for so long. But at this point, addressing the controversy head-on may be a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. It’s the risks that come along with building a risky brand, but we can’t wait to see how it resolves.

⚡️ Today’s Headlines ⚡️

🛍️ TikTok added an AI assistant into its Seller Center. The AI-powered chatbot tool in its seller product management platform provides immediate support to help sellers maximize their in-app product displays.

📣 Want to get featured in the world's largest publications? Get great placements in Forbes, Business Insider, & many more with no up-front investment. Pay on results only! 👉🏼 Get Guaranteed Press Here

❓ YouTube added a new Shorts quiz sticker and expanded voice replies. The new, customizable sticker option gives creators the opportunity to quiz their Shorts viewers, while the expanded voice replies adds another way to build community.

🙏🏼 PLEASE stop making these 3 big marketing mistakes... that I break down on Spotify, Apple, & YouTube →

🛡️ There’s a new Meta & PayPal account takeover attack happening. The aim is to get users to click a malicious ‘submit an appeal’ link to the prospect of their accounts being hacked, which then redirects users to the guts of the hacking campaign where passwords and 2FA codes can be stolen.

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