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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 1d

The most recent Dialog (Local + AI) newsletter: Local Apps on ChaGPT, AI Fears, Square Assistant, GDP AI, Search Fragmentation. www.localdialog.com/local-apps-o...

Local Apps on ChaGPT, AI Fears, Square Assistant, GDP AI, Search Fragmentation

Dialog: Exchange Number 33

www.localdialog.com

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 4d

Great new interview with me and @mikeblumenthal.bsky.social talking to Ana Martinez, CTO of Uberall on their experience integrating AI more deeply into the company's workflows and customer-facing products. Part 1 of 2. www.nearmedia.co/ep-227-insid...

EP 227 - Inside Uberall’s Local AI Shift: From Culture Shift to Client Tools; Interview with Ana Martinez -- Part 1

Uberall CTO Ana Martinez explains how AI is reshaping culture, products, and customer engagement in their Location Management tools—from rethinking roles and workflows to launching UB-I and the Locati...

www.nearmedia.co

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 5d

Building ChatGPT agents with drag and drop functionality.

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 5d

It appears a much better local search experience is coming to ChatGPT via embedded third party apps.

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 5d

Now 800M+ weekly ChatGPT users.

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 9d

Just downloaded iOS 26 and kind of don’t like it.

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 9d

2020.

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 9d

Well without a qualified medical exam it can’t be conclusively determined. Trump would never submit to that. However because he raised the issue so frequently when Biden was president it’s a legitimate discussion topic, especially given his increasingly incoherent speech patterns and thoughts.

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 9d

The question of whether Trump is suffering from dementia is a legitimate discussion topic (he claimed Biden had dementia all the time). Interesting that Google, which doesn't want to draw Trump's ire, is blocking an AI Overview on the topic. www.thedailybeast.com/google-accus...

Google Accused of Blocking Searches About Trump, 79, and Dementia

The president has long faced questions about his alleged mental decline.

www.thedailybeast.com

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 10d

Incredibly cowardly and more about obsequious capitulation and gaining favor than reflective of the legal merits of the case. Google has fallen very very far from where it once was (or at least aspired to).

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 10d

For years, people assumed that their devices were listening and that their conversations were being used for ad targeting. Companies denied that. Now it's coming true. www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta...?

Meta Will Begin Using AI Chatbot Conversations to Target Ads

While users won’t be able to opt out from the new policy, the content of some conversations will be automatically excluded.

www.wsj.com

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 11d

Today's @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: AI Mode & Local Agents, Alexa's Do-Over, Google's Dark Ad Patterns, and The Reviewpocalypse www.nearmedia.co/local-agents...

Local Agents, Alexa's Do-Over, Google Dark Ad Patterns, Reviewpocalypse

AI Mode, Agents & Local It's still not clear whether and how AI Overviews, AI Mode, Web Guide (i.e., AI Organized pages) and Gemini and Gemini in Chrome will co-exist. Many people believe AI Mode is ...

www.nearmedia.co

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 12d

Perplexity is often better for finding Google-authored content than Google is. For example I was looking for a Google blog post that discussed their removal of terms-violating reviews in 2024. Couldn't find on Google itself after several attempts, but Perplexity found it quickly.

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 22d

A big problem for ChatGPT 5 is how slow it is compared to previous models for general "search" queries. This plays to Google's speed advantage.

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 26d

The latest @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Does local really need AI? AIO trust, highest engagement channels, 2 charts that argue for a Google break up. www.nearmedia.co/does-local-r...

Does Local Really Need AI?, AIO Trust, Engagement Channels, Break Up Google

Near Media is the go-to advisor for executives at multi-location brands and vertical agencies seeking to optimize their search strategy and tactics.

www.nearmedia.co

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · 28d

There's an AIO for everything, including the term Enshittification 😀

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Sep 5

Wow, in stark contrast to the earlier @Reuters report, Google hit with $3.5B ad-tech antitrust fine. www.yahoo.com/news/article...?

Google hit with $3.5 billion fine from European Union in ad-tech antitrust case

European Union regulators on Friday hit Google with a 2.95 billion euro ($3.5 billion) fine for breaching the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services, marking the fou...

www.yahoo.com

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Sep 4

The new @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Google Antitrust Court Chickens Out, Bigger Search Pie, Bottom Pack Ad, EU Blinks on Google penalty www.nearmedia.co/court-chicke...

Court Chickens Out, Bigger Pie, Bottom Ad, EU Blinks

Google Gets Off Easy A Jeff Bezos inspired editorial in the Washington Post opines, "A judge did not need to curb Google’s power. AI is already doing that." While there's a smidgen of truth there, it...

www.nearmedia.co

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Sep 2

Google antitrust remedies ruling: company must share search data, but no breakup. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/t...

Judge Orders Google to Share Search Results to Help Resolve Monopoly

www.nytimes.com

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Aug 29

The latest @nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter: Bing Places, Consumer AIO Love, ChatGPT No Google Killer, Where's the Antitrust Remedies Decision? www.nearmedia.co/bing-places-...

Bing Places, AIO Love, No Google Killer, Where's the Decision?

Optimizing for ChatGPT via Bing There's an ongoing debate about whether and how much ChatGPT is pulling from Google results vs. how reliant it is on Bing. Bing Places is probably in the mix for local...

www.nearmedia.co

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Aug 25

Fascinating story of Raya, a "celebrity" dating app that's totally private and vets each new member. The opposite of scaling. It created demand through friction and scarcity and now has a 2.5 million person wait list. No major VC money. Opposite of Silicon Valley rules. www.wsj.com/style/raya-w...

Singles Are Sick of Dating Apps. But There Are 2.5 Million on Raya’s Waitlist.

The privately held company has attracted an A-list clientele and even gotten Gen Z onboard with online dating. Good luck making it past the team reviewing applications.

www.wsj.com

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Aug 20

Increasingly disappointed with ChatGPT's performance and accuracy. And I really don't want to see this type of thing.

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Aug 15

@nearmedia.bsky.social newsletter just out: Google's Secret Weapon Against AI, Search Expansion, Local Signals, Apple's AI Comeback www.nearmedia.co/trust-gap-se...

Trust Gap, Search Expansion, Local Signals, Apple's AI Comeback

Google's Secret Weapon vs. AI: Trust If asked whether AI results are trustworthy, a majority of users will say "yes." The percentages vary depending on how the question is framed. But if they're prom...

www.nearmedia.co

gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Aug 13

Increasingly I feel like I have to "parent" ChatGPT: remind it to check its work, to not hallucinate and to do what I "already asked you to do."

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gsterling @gsterling.bsky.social · Aug 12

In the course of working on user behavioral research for @nearmedia.bsky.social I've seen my first click on an AIO link/source. (Most people aren't engaging with AIOs in this vertical.) The driver of the click was offline brand awareness: "I've heard of them." cc: @mordyoberstein.bsky.social

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