New social media features and updates to know this week

This week brings some creative new tweaks to social media’s biggest apps. Whether it’s the cute pinch-to-merge feature on Threads or a new (perhaps not-quite-ready-for-primetime) AI account summary feature on X, it’s nice to see these platforms thinking outside the box and innovating.

But we’re also seeing serious movement on the integration of AI tools within social platforms and a tightening of how search engines can crawl social apps, which could have big implications.

Let’s get into it.

X

X is going big on its AI tool, Grok. This week, the platform began offering an opt-out choice for users who don’t want their content used to train the irreverent AI tool.

And it seems like Grok might need some additional training. This week X unveiled a new tool for Premium subscribers that summarizes what kinds of content an account posts – something that could be helpful for social media managers vetting accounts to respond to or those scouting for influencers. But it sounds like the tool isn’t quite there yet.

TechCrunch reported that the tool is either vague to the point of meaninglessness (“a Twitter user known for sharing news and updates on various topics, including business, technology and politics” – a description that could describe most users and incorrectly names the app) or flat-out incorrect, identifying users as experts in Canada or brunch despite a lack of content in those subjects..

In a possibly useful development, X is testing a feature that would allow users to choose to ban links from replies to their posts. This could help cut down on the rampant spam on the platform, and keep conversation contained to X rather than sending it elsewhere.

Threads

Meanwhile, Threads is testing a new feed that would allow easy access to likes and saved posts in dedicated feeds accessible from the homepage. If this gains a wide rollout, it could be a handy way for social media managers to organize all that inspiration.

A quirky, creative new feature on Threads is the ability for users to pinch to combine carousel images into one seamless photo, as seen here.

 

Post by @aylopop

View on Threads

 

It opens up new creative avenues for posting carousels – what ideas do you have?

Reddit

Reddit has been growing in importance to search engines as users hunt for stories and answers from real people. But Reddit’s lucrative deal with Google is getting more serious as the social media site bans rival Bing from crawling its treasure trove of content.

Reddit claimed in a statement that this doesn’t have anything to do with Google, but rather its inability to reach a deal with Bing. But either way, it’s a notable shift from a freely searchable database of human experience to a walled, pay-to-search garden.

Meta

AI continues to invade the social media space as Meta builds out its multiplatform tool.

Meta AI is now available in 22 countries and seven languages, the company announced. It’s also rolled out a variety of new image generation tools, including “Imagine Me,” which places your image into any scenario you can describe, and new editing tools that allow users to refine imagery. Updates to the AI model also improve its ability with math and coding, the announcement said.

Over on the ad side, Meta is introducing an Offers functionality that can add discount codes or price reductions when Meta thinks “they are likely to improve performance.”

YouTube

It’s now possible to save Sounds directly from the Shorts page for use in later videos, YouTube announced, a time-saving step for creators.

TikTok

Finally, TikTok is beginning a slow rollout of a feature it, surprisingly, didn’t already have: Sound Search. Similar to Shazam or YouTube Music, users can sing or hum a song and have the app identify it – along with associated videos, of course.

Which new feature most excites you?

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on X or LinkedIn.