Google Ads now uses its AI to make recommendations within the conversion summary dashboard. Google will give you actions to "improve your conversion measurements," and those recommendations are labeled "Recommended by Google AI."

Google is updating the Google Ads certification applications and standards for gambling, including gambling jurisdictions, online non-casino games and social casino games on August 26, 2026. All new applicants must use the revised forms when obtaining certification with Google.

Google Ads seems to have replaced Comparison Listing ads with CSS Product Listing ads. It has redirected the old support URL to a new page named About CSS Product Listing ads. They seem very similar, but the help document was mostly changed and was also moved to a new support URL.

Google is doing away with the related search format for Google AdSense auto ads. Google said it will be retired on August 6, 2026. Google sent out an email to those impacted that says starting August 6, 2026, the Related Search format will no longer appear on your site. It will also be removed as a format option from the AdSense frontend.

Every day, billions of people use Facebook for genuine connection between real people — to buy and sell on Facebook Marketplace, meet someone on Facebook Dating, or join a conversation in Groups. As AI makes it easier to generate content, profiles, and messages, we want to provide a way for you to know there is a real person on the other side of a profile. That’s why we’re introducing Facebook Verified, a free badge for people on Facebook. 

How It Works

Facebook Verified uses a simple selfie-based process. You record a short video selfie, which we check against your existing profile photos to confirm a match. The process is free and  typically takes just a few minutes. Accounts must meet our trust and safety standards to qualify for verification. 

https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/02_Verification_Flow.mp4

Facebook Verified is available to eligible Facebook users, 18 years and older on Facebook who are in good standing  with our Community Standards, specifically those prohibiting fraud, scams, and deceptive practices, and who exhibit no evidence of inauthentic behavior. It is not available for Pages or ProMode accounts. 

We’re rolling out Facebook Verified in phases, starting in select markets with plans to expand globally. 

Where You’ll See It

Once verified, your badge will appear across the places on Facebook where it matters most: Marketplace, Dating, Groups, and Profile to start. Over time, we’ll add badges in Feed posts as well. There’s no subscription fee — you verify once, and the badge travels with you across Facebook. 

When you’re browsing Marketplace listings, looking at a dating profile, or checking out someone’s profile in a Group, you’ll see the Verified badge on accounts that have completed the verification process. 

https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/03_Profile_Checkmark.mp4 What the Badge Means — and What It Doesn’t

The Facebook Verified badge means a profile belongs to a real person — someone who completed selfie verification and meets our trust and safety standards. It’s a quick, visible signal, before you respond to a listing, accept a date, or join a conversation, that there’s a real person on the other end.

The Facebook Verified badge does not mean that Facebook endorses the user or guarantees their trustworthiness. All users are still subject to Meta’s policies, like Community Standards and Commerce Policies. 

As AI makes it easier to do more on Facebook, a clear signal that distinguishes real people becomes essential. That’s what Facebook Verified is for: keeping the moments that matter on Facebook grounded in real people.

The post Introducing Facebook Verified appeared first on Meta Newsroom.

 

Facebook Marketplace turns ten this year. What started as people buying and selling in Facebook Groups has grown into a destination where 430 million items are listed each month globally, and for many has turned into a side hustle, a small business, real income. Today, those sellers get their own app. Seller is a dedicated space to manage listings, reach buyers, and grow your business — available now on the App Store for people 18+ in the United States.

How It Works

Seller syncs with Facebook Marketplace, your existing listings, messages, and selling history carry over, and anything you create in the app automatically appears on Marketplace, where buyers already shop. You can still sell on Marketplace directly from Facebook, but if you’re looking  for a dedicated space to manage and grow your business, Seller is for you.

What’s Included

• Seller home: A dedicated home that surfaces what needs your attention — items to ship, buyers to respond to, listings to reprice — alongside a snapshot of your sales performance.
• Listing creation: Upload photos and Meta AI will fill in the details like title, description, price suggestion, and category, so you can publish fast. And the bulk listing feature allows you to create multiple listings at once.
• Listing management: View, edit, relist, and manage your full inventory from a single place.
• Unified seller inbox: Find all your buyer messages organized in one place, threaded by item, so you can see every conversation tied to a specific listing.
• Performance insights: See what’s working with performance data like views, clicks, message threads, and sold listings to price competitively and make smarter decisions about your inventory.

Seller is available now on the App Store, with a web experience for sellers who download the app on iOS and Android testing underway. This is just the start — we’ll continue to evolve the app based on feedback from our seller community.

The post Introducing Seller, an App for Facebook Marketplace Sellers appeared first on Meta Newsroom.

Ten years ago, Facebook Marketplace was created because people were already using Facebook Groups to connect with others by buying and selling stuff. At the time, there was some industry skepticism about whether a marketplace made sense on our platform. But the reason Marketplace works is the same reason any product works on Facebook: Facebook allows real people to see each other, connect, and exchange — whether that’s sharing a funny video or buying the perfect vintage piece from someone in your community.  

Now, Marketplace is a go-to destination for buying and selling vehicles, home decor, fashion, electronics, and so much more — from local finds to items shipped right to your door. One in three young adults on Facebook in the US uses Facebook Marketplace daily. Every month, there are 430 million items and 44 million vehicles listed on Facebook Marketplace globally. And we’re exploring the ability for small businesses to list on Marketplace. 

Seller, A New App From Facebook

As we celebrate Facebook Marketplace’s 10th anniversary, we’re exploring a new way to make the experience of selling better, especially for people who sell on Marketplace the most.  

Seller is a Facebook app that puts everything a seller needs in one place: AI-powered listing creation, a unified inbox, inventory management, and performance insights. It’s connected to the same Facebook network — your buyers and community are still right where they are. What changes is your workflow. If you’re listing thirty items a week, it gets a lot simpler. 

Purpose-Built Apps

We recently started to explore other purpose-built apps for the people who specifically do one thing the most on Facebook. In May we started testing Forum, a new app for Facebook Groups. Fully synced with your groups, it introduces features like Group Ask for tapping into firsthand experience and Admin AI to help admins manage and grow their communities. In June, we announced that Facebook Creator Studio is coming back reimagined as an app that shows creators exactly what to do next to succeed on Facebook.  

Underlying our new apps is a belief that we can leverage AI to remove friction and empower the people who are making things happen on Facebook. If you’re listing on Marketplace, AI will help you write the description, suggest a price, and tag it in about 30 seconds. If you’re using Groups to crowdsource info, AI will help you find all the relevant past posts. AI can help you find the right person on Facebook Dating without having to swipe once. Creators on Facebook can leverage Creator Assistant, an AI tool to help brainstorm content ideas, understand your performance in plain language, and get personalized guidance based on your audience. And everyone on Facebook is getting better and more relevant recommendations across Feed, Video, Search, and more.

Facebook Verified

As AI makes it easier to create, find and do more on Facebook, one thing stays irreplaceable: real connections between real people. So it’s more important than ever to provide a way of knowing the person on the other side is real. 

Starting Monday, we’re launching Facebook Verified, a free badge that shows there’s a real person behind the profile who has completed a selfie verification and whose account meets our trust and safety standards. If you’re buying from someone on Marketplace or considering meeting someone from Facebook Dating or from a local Group, Facebook Verification provides credibility and peace of mind that the person is real before you engage. 

Immersive Video

Beyond evolving the tools for people who do things on Facebook, we’re also thinking about the experience for people who come to be entertained and connect with authentic creators. People are showing us they want more immersive, visual, video-forward experiences, and video is where conversations are happening, communities are forming, and even commerce is starting to take place. 

So later this year, we’ll begin testing a reimagined experience that puts a subset of people who we think want more video on Facebook into full-screen video the moment they open the app. People will have the option to opt out and go back to a Feed-first experience if they choose, and Classic Feed will always be available as the second tab in the app, just one click away. We’ll start this test internationally in video-heavy countries and explore bringing it to the US next year. 

Twenty years in, we’re always improving what Facebook looks and feels like — as people’s needs evolve, Facebook does too. The pattern that informs our products is always the same: people show us what they want through how they use the app. We listen, we learn, we experiment, and we evolve. 

Put simply, the best things about Facebook come from real people. Our job is to keep making it easier for people to do what they want on Facebook — sell, create, watch, organize, connect, fall in love, find a couch. If you spend time on Facebook, that time should make your life off Facebook better. If we’re not making it easier to connect with one another, we’re not doing our job.

The post Connecting Real People on Facebook appeared first on Meta Newsroom.

Meta is expanding WhatsApp with enhanced CarPlay and Android Auto support, standalone iPad accounts, PDF editing, and new productivity features.

The post WhatsApp Expands Beyond Messaging With CarPlay, iPad, and Productivity Upgrades appeared first on TechRepublic.