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Google LSA expands to new categories & faces spam: Google has added new, high value categories to their Local SErvice Ads program. They continue to target ever more service type businesses. While the pricing for this simpler product has gone up due to the added auction capabilities, in many markets it is still a good value. It is also important for service type businesses to watch for first mover opportunities in their local markets. With this link: Local Service Finder - Pro List businesses can assess which categories in which geographies have more opportunities.

However in some urban, highly competitive markets like personal injury law & locksmiths, not only has pricing gone crazy, spam has as well. Google has added a new LSA spam review reporting form to cope with some of the fake review issues.

ChatGPT making rapid and differentiating inroads into SAAS tools for Local: The players in the local space have all become pretty similar to each other offering listings, review management, Google Posts with little to distinguish them. But with the advent of large language models in general and ChatGPT specifically, many have begun to offer unique tools on top of their core products that leverage the generative AI capabilities.

The value of generative AI will first be realized in the SAAS world where the benefits can be easily added to existing products to increase business productivity. Hubspot’s ChatUX shows how this can be integrated into a CMS and Uberall shows how it can improve access to a company’s granular data like inventory.

Why every company needs a “how we use AI” FAQ: Wired recently published an article on how they will use generative AI tools vis a vis their written and visual content. They detail whether they will use AI to write or edit articles (they won’t), whether they will use it to generate ideas and headlines (they might) and whether they will use it to create story graphics (they won’t due to artists not receiving royalties).

Jennifer Slegg on Twitter, using a creative Google search, demonstrated just how many businesses are currently using generative AI and blindly copying and pasting it onto their websites.

This raises the question of whether not just Wired but everyone that creates content - writers, SEO firms, SEMs and more - should consider both an internal code of ethics and a forward facing statement of those values.

The Near Memo is a weekly conversation about Search, Social, and Commerce: What happened, why it matters, and the implications for local businesses and national brands.
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