Below, we explore groundbreaking AI-driven apps that are transforming daily lives—whether enhancing how we consume things to revolutionizing our work environments. These technologies are setting new standards for efficiency and convenience. Let’s dive in!

Translation: SayHi

SayHi is a free translation app that covers more than 100 languages and dialects for both iPhone and Android. It uses voice recognition to figure out what’s being said, gets the translation, and sends it all back in moments. This app is optimized for on-the-go use, making it ideal for travelers who need quick, accurate translations through their smartphones or tablets.

Photo Professional: Picsart and Remini AI

with Picsart’s free AI Image Generator has the power to generate images instantly, simply by writing out the prompt, select the style, and create images instantly by text-to-image AI. Or, if you are looking to refresh your headshot, Remini AI specializes in enhancing photos, including turning casual images into high-quality, professional-looking headshots. It has the ability to change out the background and retouch (that blemish doesn’t need to be there!).

Music Generator: Suno AI

Suno AI, or simply Suno, is a genAI music creation program designed to generate realistic songs that combine vocals and instrumentation, or are purely instrumental. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, AI technology through this app helps to generate original tracks based on mood, genre and style.

Pocket proofreader: Grammarly

Grammarly is a cloud-based typing assistant that reviews spelling, grammar, punctuation, clarity, engagement and delivery mistakes. It detects plagiarism and suggests replacements for identified errors. Byimproving writing with built-in AI assistant and supporting vocabulary enrichment, this tool is customized to your preferred language setting.

BYO Art Director: StarryAI

StarryAI is a free AI art generator app that allows you create images by simply describing what you want. It blends the power of neural style transfers with innovative machine learning to craft contemporary AI-driven art. By supplying diverse art styles, users find it easy to use and saves time, money and resources.

Unsuspicious Schoolwork Support: Socratic

Socratic is an impression and free educational tool created by Google that uses AI to help high school and college students complete their schoolwork. The application allows students to use their voice or camera to ask questions, and Socratic will show videos, step-by-step explanations and study guides created by experts to provide answers.

Wellness warrior: Youper

Youper, an interactive CBT therapy app was developed by therapists and designed to alleviate anxiety, enhance mood, and foster better relationships. Its’ AI Mental Health Assistant employs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques, supported by scientific research, to offer practical exercises for clear thinking, stress management, and emotional control. While there is no replacement for professional mental healthcare, it is an accessible tool to open the doors to getting help.

Fitness Made Easy: FitnessAI

FitnessAI uses artificial intelligence to generate personalized workouts according to a given user’s experience and goals. With nearly 6 million preset workouts, the AI optimizes sets, reps, and weight for each exercise every time a user works out. Users can also track their progress over time on the app.

These apps are incredible, and the best part: There are so many other great ones out there. Which one of these are you most interested in trying?

What Happened: How a routine update led to widespread chaos and calamity.

On July 19, 2024, a single automated software update brought much of the global economy to a sudden halt. The incident caused a significant global IT outage, disrupting services and highlighting vulnerabilities in cybersecurity, particularly for organizations relying heavily on outsourced cloud-based services. According to CNN, the CrowdStrike incident is now the largest IT outage in history and will cost Fortune 500 companies alone more than $5 billion in direct losses.

The outage underscores a critical truth: This could have happened to anyone. As businesses lean more heavily on cloud-based services and outsource essential operating functions, the potential points of failure multiply. At 24Notion, the hard work we do for our clients depends on the seamless operation of multiple platforms, tools, and services—many of which are not hosted on-premises. From CRM systems to content management platforms, our reliance on third-party providers introduces additional endpoints that need securing. Each of these endpoints is a potential vulnerability, and the CrowdStrike incident shows that even the most trusted partners can face significant disruptions.

There’s a lot we do to protect our clients and our employees, and fortunately, there are many ways companies can defend their businesses and people from radical errors and insidious breaches.

Simple Ways to Improve Security:

1. Implement a strong VPN strategy

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is no longer optional—it’s essential. By encrypting internet connections and masking IP addresses, VPNs reduce the risk of data interception and protect sensitive information from prying eyes. Ensure everyone, especially those working remotely, uses a VPN when accessing company systems.

2. Conduct regular security audits

Are your passwords strong enough? Are employees following best practices when accessing sensitive data? It’s crucial to regularly review your security protocols and regular audits help identify and address weaknesses before they can be exploited.

3. Enhance endpoint security

The more endpoints you have—whether they’re cloud services, remote workers, or IoT devices—the more vulnerable your business and its’ network becomes. You can implement various of endpoint security measures, including firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems that ensure that every device that accesses your network is secure.

4. Develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan

We can’t predict every incident, but we can prepare for them. A disaster recovery plan outlines the steps your team will take in the event of a cyberattack or data breach. This should include roles and responsibilities, data backup protocols, communication strategies, and a clear action plan to minimize downtime and data loss.

5. Educate your team

Your security is only as strong as your least-informed employee. Regular training sessions on cybersecurity best practices are vital. Make sure everyone understands the importance of vigilance, from recognizing phishing attempts to securing their devices.

Next time might not be an accident

The CrowdStrike incident serves as a powerful reminder that in the digital age, security cannot be an afterthought. It underscores the fragility of our digital infrastructure, the interconnectedness of businesses and our reliance on complex software ecosystems.

We all have a responsibility to protect not only our data but also the data of our clients, partners, and employees. By implementing preventative measures and developing robust security strategies, we can mitigate risks and continue to deliver exceptional service—even in the face of unforeseen challenges.

This event took place at the Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island, Florida offering a beautiful backdrop to absorb new, innovative leadership practices, discover the latest retail and technology trends, and take home actionable ways to benefit oneself and one’s business.

There was no shortage of wisdom shared, with women in leadership bringing a bright and fresh perspective within the retail industry, providing a foundation of fundamentals for the next generation of trailblazers.

Confidence > Competency

One of my favorite lessons from the summit came from Sharon Price John. Shared in the style of a TED Talk, Sharon delivered a powerful 15-minute keynote on the value of how confidence can a more important role than competence. Research findings suggest that dominant individuals can ascend group hierarchies and attain influence simply by appearing self-assured and speaking up. For women, this is so crucial because we are asked to compete in a business world where confidence often trumps competence (even if women often come to the table fully equipped with confidence). Sharon invited the audience to consider that we, as women, are naturally driven to be deeply skilled and capable, and to make sure that confidence is a focal area for personal investment when climbing the corporate ladder.

Lessons Around Life and Leadership

Another enlightening panel discussion was a held by four incredible women founders and CEOs responsible for transforming today’s retail industry. We received an inside look into the career journeys of Mandy Fields, SVP and CFO of e.l.f. Beauty; Jacqueline Ardery, President, CEO and Board Director for Vera Bradley; Deirdre Quinn, Co-Founder and CEO of Lafayette 148 New York; and Paula Schneider, CEO and President of Susan G. Komen. Amongst the top lessons and actionable advice around how to succeed in both work and life, the audience learned about the valuable balance between driving leadership success, while being flexible with your own plan, finding accountability and being resilient.

Investing in yourself is as easy as taking a stroll

For those who know me, they know how much I value health and wellness. It was personally validating to sit through talk tracks and activations centered around strategies to build a career with health baked in. Hearing from Dr. Amy Shah, a double board-certified doctor and leading expert in women’s hormonal health and nutrition, she shared credible ways for busy professional women to get healthy, which can be as easy as walking! In fact, Dr. Shah said that walking is one the best exercise to increase cortisol levels. Simple health advice can go along way for women who are juggling a lot at home, at work and everywhere in between. I also enjoyed a beautiful walk/run and yoga at the summit, sponsored by Mattel and Shopify one morning during the summit!

24Notion + Adobe sharing an impact

As much as there was to absorb during the three days of content, 24Notion was also there to contribute an incredible activation for the Adobe Digital Experience team through the activation of generative AI (GenAI) headshots for the women. This experiential engagement demonstrated how easy GenAI can be used in retail brand’s marketing strategies. It was such a hit with the attendees.

All in all, it was an absolute honor to be part of such an incredibly inspiring and supportive event focused around women leadership. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with the content, fun pop-up shops and unique activations offered by the white-glove event. We are certain next year won’t be any different!

One area in particular that has completely changed since the onslaught of smartphones and devices are tech applications and tools that empower health and wellness. In 2022, the global wellness economy reached $5.6 trillion. And as the world continues morph into its post-pandemic existence, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) predicts that the wellness economy will see an 8.6% average annual growth, reaching $8.5 trillion in 2027. Those numbers are massive, and with the rise of modern technologies, namely artificial intelligence and machine learning, there remains enormous potential for health technology (health tech) innovations as we continue carrying on through this decade.

Digital Solutions Are Reshaping Health and Wellness

Wellness is a generalized term that encompasses so much. The UMKC School of Medicine defines wellness, “not just about physical activity and good nutrition. It includes positive choices and a sense of fulfillment spiritually, occupationally, psychologically, physically, environmentally and socially.” It creates a multidimensional understanding around the behaviors that promote a healthy and successful life.

Health and wellness takes many shapes and forms. For some, practices like meditation, yoga, and herbal medicine are cornerstones of health maintenance. While others emphasize physical fitness, community engagement, or work-life balance as integral to wellness. There is no universal standard that we must all apply to; but fortunately, for whatever matters most to you, there’s likely a technology or application now available to track towards it.

This is the first post in an ongoing series where we explore some of the trendiest digital technologies that inspires us all to lead healthier and happier lives:

1. For Wearing: Evie Ring

In a world full of wearable tech, Evie is a smart ring set apart by the simple fact that it’s not designed for everyone. Yes, that’s right; because it’s a wearable for women. It does many things its competitors accomplishes such as tracks sleep, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, steps, and more. But Evie is designed with the understanding that men and women are vastly different, and that data is often in flux when a woman wears a smart ring—not because they might be under the weather or recovering from a hard workout the day prior, but because of the natural hormonal fluctuations that happen during a woman’s cycle. Evie takes these variations into consideration, making its’ personalized health findings more accurate and meaningful to this demographic. Not to mention, it’s designed like real jewelry, making it fashionably blend into day-to-day wear.

2. For Home: BMind Mirror

Something we saw at CES earlier this year was a rise in digital technologies centered around a type of health that is extremely hard to see or measure: mental health. One of our favorite finds was BMind from Baracoda, a bathroom mirror designed to improve self-worth and confidence. As users stand in front of the mirror, it uses facial and gesture recognition and voice commands to analyze one’s expression and tone. It’ll then provide recommendations and affirmations and improve one’s mental state based on their current level of well-being. Wouldn’t you want your everyday mirror to hold the ability to improve your overall mood and better manage your stress?

3. For Sleep: DeRucci’s smart mattress and smart pillow

What if you could combine your best mattress with your sleep tracker? The DeRucci T11 Pro contains patented AI technology, which adjusts to the individual’s health for optimal sleep, in addition to alerting an individual about potential health issues arising from their sleep data. Couple this with the company’s Anti-Snore Smart Pillow, which pairs with an app and remote to manually move your head to a comfortable position before you fall asleep. According to an internal clinical study, the company says its pillow can reduce snoring up to 89%.

4. For Beauty: Lipcure Beam

The next wave of beauty tech is filled with advanced devices that are poised to fling our current skincare routines out the window. Korean skincare brand Amorepacific’s Lipcure Beam is a perfect example, using technology to provide immediate lip treatments and leave a custom-tinted hue. It works by using a brush-like applicator to emit visible light and material on the lips to maximize riboflavin and create a makeup effect, strengthening the collagen fibers in the lips and forming a moisturize barrier as a result. With an endless number of serums and lotions on the market, it’s great to see how the beauty industry is starting to create space for technology and we are eager to see what will come next.

5. For Meditation: Headspace XR

To meditate, all you have to do is sit, close your eyes and not think. Easy right? If you are like the many who have taken it upon yourself to master the art of meditation, you’ll know that it’s much more challenging to disconnect from your surroundings and your thoughts. Which is why Headspace have taken their application to the next level: virtual reality. With Headspace XR, meditation turns into a virtual mental health playground where you walk around as a gender-neutral avatar and explore an interactive realm that aligns with your breathwork and movements—alone or with friends. This technology is designed to engage younger generations with the idea of mindfulness and meditation with a new, innovative medium that appeals heavily to that demographic. But it’s really for anyone, of any age. According to a study conducted by Gallup and Meta, a quarter of adults worldwide feel very or fairly lonely. Technologies like this can provide a new way for addressing the aloneness many might experience.

6. For Health: EverlyWell

When it comes to knowing about our health nowadays, more is more. How else can we plan for a healthier future? Yet extensive blood work and doctor appointments to review them doesn’t fit into our busy schedules nowadays. That’s why on-demand health and wellness tests are like EverlyWell are growing in popularity. These routine health tests help support your preventive care and provide early detection for diseases like cancer. Lab Corp also has their own version of the tests, which tout to be the same test your doctor orders, and can be specialized around women’s health, men’s health, food sensitivity, sexual health and nutritional health.

Generative AI can learn from existing artifacts to generate new, realistic artifacts (at scale) that reflect the characteristics of the training data but don’t repeat it. It can produce a variety of novel content, such as images, video, music, speech, text, software code and product designs. According to Forrester, 60% of workers will regularly use gen AI by the end of this year, and by 2030, gen AI is forecasted to influence more than 11 million U.S. jobs.

AI’s Quick Rise

What makes generative AI so powerful is it’s ability to learn from existing artifacts to generate new and unique assets at scale, in the form of content, images, video, music, software code, product designs and more. It’s constantly evolving and fine-tuning itself, resulting in faster product development, enhanced customer experience and improved employee productivity, according to Gartner, and which continues to create a growing number of use cases that are altering the way we work and live.

Use Cases and Success Stories

Generative AI has found applications across various industries and for consumers, leading to several popular use cases. Here are some of the most notable ones:

• Content Generation and Technology: Gen AI is widely known for its convenient use of creating content such as articles, blog posts, product descriptions, and social posts. It can generate text that mimics human writing styles, making it valuable for content marketers and publishers. Tools like Jasper, ChatGPT, Firefly and Surfer SEO are great examples of tools that businesses of all shapes and sizes are utilizing to support their marketing efforts, and produce more quality work with tighter budgets. For larger enterprises, AI is being developed in-house. For example, Apple has publicly begun to explore multiyear deals worth at least $50 million to train its generative A.I. systems on publishers’ news articles. Recently, 24Notion created multiple program activations for Adobe roadshows and helped launch Generative AI personalized photo opportunities for attendees. This experiential engagement demonstrating how GenAI can easily create images, instantly transforming me into a superhero, cyber punk, a member of the Roaring 20’s, and anything else in between. These technologies give way to unlimited opportunities for brand marketers—while keeping to the confines of a realistic budget.

• Fashion and Product Design: In industries like fashion and product design, generative AI is used to generate new designs, patterns, and styles. It can assist designers in exploring a wide range of possibilities and coming up with innovative concepts to upgrade the shopping experienced to be ultra-personalized for each individual. One example of a brand using gen AI well is ASOS, a UK-based retailer, that has started utilizing AI for merchandise predictions, focusing on items like T-shirts, dresses, and denim. Their model is trained on recorded deals, returns data, product popularity, and trends. It predicts weekly demand for each item size and warehouse for upcoming seasons. This strategy offers a level of detail and precision previously unattainable. Another example comes from Tommy Hilfiger, which through the creation of FashionVerse, blends gen AI with mobile gaming for fashion enthusiasts and offers a lifelike 3D styling experience.

• Healthcare and Drug Discovery: Several use cases for gen AI in healthcare are emerging, and these models are employed for tasks such as generating synthetic medical images, designing drug molecules, and predicting disease outcomes. They help researchers analyze medical data and accelerate the drug discovery process. While AI technology has been used in the healthcare industry for years gen AI represents a whole new arena of play that can help unlock a piece of the current unrealized $1 trillion of improvement potential present in the industry. One real life example comes from Google’s AI-powered Med-Palm 2, Google’s medical large language model ( LLM) which was trained on the MedQA dataset and achieved an 85% accuracy rate while answering relevant medical questions. Even as a work in progress, that is a strong start for generative AI as a diagnostics assistant.

• Intelligent Automotive Personal Assistants: Automotive companies are leveraging generative AI in various ways to enhance vehicle design, engineering, manufacturing, and customer experience. At CES 2024, we saw how certain brands were bringing this to life. Take BMW for example, who demonstrated innovative development projects that offer a glimpse into the future. According to BMW, in the near future, consumers can teleoperate a BMW iX and guide it around, and discover as a passenger the potential offered by augmented reality glasses during a journey. They also featured a new generative AI capability of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant powered by the Alexa large language model (LLM), enabling quick answers and how-to responses on vehicle features.

The Future is Unlimited

As gen AI continues to advance, we can expect to see even more diverse applications emerge in various domains. It’s an exciting time to get to witness evolving use cases across businesses, and how these will ultimately impact consumers’ mindsets and actions.

Yet as the conference progressed, core cloud infrastructure technologies were rarely the center of the conversation. Cloud Next was—yes, you guessed it—all about generative artificial intelligence (gen AI). Google spend the entire week announcing a slew of AI enhancements that were created to improve productivity across the platform suite as well as help customers take advantage of Google’s novel creations, including their brand-new AI Hypercomputer, Gemini and Vertex (more on those in a minute).

Best said by Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud itself, “We’re at a pivotal moment in our industry. We’re reinventing infrastructure to support a new age of AI.”

In this piece, we will first cover the biggest updates provided by Google; then we will delve into some larger industry trend takeaways that can be applied to the entire industry. Ready to hop in? Let’s begin!

Newest Innovations from Google Cloud

Gemini 1.5 Pro

Originally released in February 2024, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet wrote that this next-generation model, “delivers dramatically enhanced performance, with a breakthrough in long-context understanding across modalities.”

At the event, a great deal of time was spent demonstrating how this model significantly increases the amount of information that Gemini can process, by running up to 1 million tokens consistently. For those who have limited technical fluency, tokens can be described as the building blocks used for processing information. No other competitor even comes close to a million (the closest is 200K from Anthropic’s Claude 2.1, and significantly beats out GPT-4 Turbo with its 128K tokens.) More tokens equals a drastically enhanced performance, with the ability to complete complex tasks more quickly while maintaining quality.

“With these advances, enterprises can do things with AI that just weren’t possible before,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai says. Throughout the conference, we learned of how Gemini can be inserted into all aspects of Google Cloud and businesses applications. For example, in Google Workspace, users can easily summarize meeting notes from lengthy transcripts and check to ensure that their proposals comply with compliance proposals. With time we will see just how many opportunities Gemini 1.5 Pro will create for enterprises everywhere.

Vertex AI

Another big focus for Google at the conference was its’ Vertex AI, a fully managed and unified platform meant for building and using gen AI. Vertex AI offers access to Gemini and allows data scientists and machine learning (ML) engineers to prompt and test everything from text, images, video and code for various use cases of data preparation, model training, monitoring and deployment.

In short, Vertex AI is a scalable solution that can help users accelerate and automate ML development and build generative applications more quickly. It touts the ability to reduce complexity, since it’s all on one easy-to-use platform. It might not be a tool that everyone within an organization will put their hands on, but its’ influence will undoubtedly be felt across the world.

In mentioning Vertex AI and Gemini, it’s also important to note is that Google announced the new AI Hypercomputer at the conference. This hypercomputer is the bedrock of its AI platform and they have  huge plans to offer end-to-end infrastructure through it, which provides everything from storage to hardware.

Google Vids

While still centered around AI capabilities, another fun announcement from Google was all about Google Vids, a new video creation application within Google Workspace that allows users to create all different kinds of business-appropriate content—from training videos to product pitches—all from the comfort of their browser. 

The launch of Google Vids will help businesses of all levels embrace video, potentially even for the first time, and do it in a way that inserts their own personality. Because it’s part of Google Workspace, there’s full integration with Docs, Sheets and more, and boosted collaboration across your teams.

General AI Trends

AI & Security

As a society, we’ve faced our initial fear of AI—worries like how it’ll inexplicably overpower the human race tomorrow. Yet there are still very real threats this emerging series of technologies will have, most critically in regard to cybersecurity. That’s one area Google remained focused on throughout the event.

Cybercriminals aren’t really leveraging generative AI that much…yet. According to Chris Corde, product manager for security operations at Google Cloud, “We haven’t seen that kind of activity yet.” But he anticipates that we will see AI being used to make attackers more productive and effective. Organizations needs to tap into AI to improve cybersecurity efforts in order keep up a fair fight against the bad guys.

Google is simply following (or leading) this industry trend. An Acumen report estimated the global market for AI-based cybersecurity products was about $15 billion in 2021, but will surge to roughly $135 billion by 2030. We saw examples of security capabilities in Gemini via its new Threat Intelligence, to provide in-depth research and flagging threats before they affect your business, allowing for natural language prompts to spot issues. Google also shared how its Security Operations will provide AI-assisted investigations, and Gemini in Security Command Center will help businesses react to attacks or threats before they do too much harm. And of course, Google ensures that everything they do is in line with their AI Principles and robust safety policies, to ensure models undergo extensive ethics and safety tests.

AI Use Cases

It’s one thing to hear about AI’s futuristic capabilities; it’s another to see its’ practicality in today’s world. Something that was really helpful at Cloud Next was the various customers Google highlighted, to share their stories and positive experiences with Google Cloud technologies.

Ola Kallenus, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz, joined the main stage to demonstrate how Google Cloud is supporting a high-end customer experience through AI by creating a more personalized experience. Kallenus hinted how these technologies could (sooner than later) expand to automated driving.

We also heard from Daria Khosrowsahi, CEO of Uber on how Google Cloud is helping the company ensure workers are collaborating more effectively. There are many complex processes that must run smoothly behind the scenes for Uber to keep providing a magical user experience, but by using the AI-enabled Google Cloud, they’ve seen boosted productivity and efficiency, and even employee retention.

Another speaker comes from Accenture, who announced a partnership to help other enterprises harness the value of AI to improve operations, create new lines of businesses, and build unique customer experiences. This initiative will help Accenture customers determine how to utilize, build and scale with Gemini based on their business objectives.

Building a new way to cloud

The flood of information around AI was endless at Cloud Next. But even Google executives conceded it’s still incredibly early for the adoption of these emerging technologies in the enterprise. It’s clear that AI will remain a centeral topic at events for years to come, and that was are just barely scratching the surface of its challenges, threats, opportunities and capabilities. So, while AI was the talk of the town, it will take quite a while before organizations lacking digital sophistication (which is mostly everyone) will take full advantage of all that Google has to offer. But that didn’t stop attendees from embracing the innovations and dialogue coming out of Cloud Next, and we allotted the time to dream a little dream with Google.

The event also features product demonstrations, inspiring keynote presentations, and success stories, providing attendees with ideas and strategies to enhance their businesses. In this piece, we recap our favorite highlights from the event and reveal the results of the few interactive activations we supported throughout the week.

Our favorite moments and learnings at Adobe Summit

The event kicked off on day one with the Chair & CEO of Adobe Shantanu Narayen welcoming other Adobe executives on stage, alongside leaders from General Motors and Pfizer. This initial session focused on what Adobe does best: an exploration of the latest insights for growing one’s business through personalized experiences. In this session, these leaders shared modern uses cases for the Adobe technologies that are best tackling these challenges.

2. Adobe Sneak

Throughout the event, Adobe hosted a live sneak peek session that revealed what they are working on in Adobe labs. It provided demos of features that are being tested for the Experience Cloud. Shaq was the featured guest as Adobe walked through various projects, specifically ones using generative AI. One project was called Project Perfect Plays which could be used to create intelligent campaigns, with activities like generating target audience personas and mapping the customer journeys. Another was Project Promo Mojo which help add AI capabilities to influencer marketing efforts to connect the right influencers more easily with the right marketer.

3. Generative AI in Marketing

As with most events being held in 2024, this conference centered much of its focus around AI. By applying artificial intelligence, Adobe showed off its ability to bring custom experiences to the masses and do so with trusted, enterprise-grade content. This was well displayed in another strategic keynote led by Ely Greenfield, CTO of Adobe Digital Media who invited a list of Adobe colleagues and J.J. Camara, Senior Director, Digital Product Creation, Tapestry to discuss the transformative potential of generative AI for scaling personalized customer experiences. This session revealed ways for brands to separate hype from reality and show you how to make the most of generative AI—avoiding common pitfalls along the way.

4. Modern Marketing Best Practices

Another great session we watched discussed how leaders from the world’s top brands are transforming and modernizing their digital marketing experiences. On the main stage, Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, shared the latest insights and best practices the airline is using to inspire a people-first culture through the use of predictive technology to ensure a seamless digital experience.

Emma Springham, Chief Marketing Officer, TSB Bank also shared the stage with Ed, to share how they work towards delivering greater banking experiences and magical moments for their customers. One recent campaign put on by TSB was creating a domestic abuse fund to help women escape dangerous situations at home, while another campaign was designed to encourage customers to have conversations about their money worries. Both of these campaigns relied on Adobe marketing technology for innovative and trusted solutions and data insights.  

Adobe always finds room for fun

There was no limit to the entertainment that Adobe offered to attendees that extended past the

The Community Pavilion, the Adobe Summit expo hall, was also abuzz, presenting the perfect place for attendees to meet like-minded people, Adobe experts, Summit sponsors and experience fun activations. You could even book one-on-one time with both puppies and kittens from local organizations if you need a break from all the in-person interaction!

What were we up to at the Summit?

24Notion was front and center at the conference and expo, providing activations and experiential experiences across various industries and Adobe products. We created numerous entertaining, high-touch and cross functional VIP events during those four days. Across the industries of retail, high-tech, M&E, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, finance, education, consulting and telecommunications, our activations were able to penetrate a vast array of industry leaders in attendance.

From an invite-only breakfast event to a VIP evening happy hour featuring the renowned master illusionist, Rob Lake (who provided attendees an elaborate theatrical interactive performance), 24Notion hosted end-to-end, personalized brand activations that provided memorable moments and positive experiences that attendees would associate with Adobe.

We would like to give a special shout out to the brands involved with our activations, including Adobe Digital Experience Cloud, Adobe Target, Adobe Campaign, Adobe Journey Optimizer, Adobe Customer Data Platform and Microsoft for their partnership with Adobe.

That’s a wrap!

Overall, Adobe Summit served as a valuable platform for learning, networking, and driving business success in the digital era. It granted the opportunity for companies and users to stay updated on the latest trends and advancements in digital marketing and technology, and even earn certifications in Adobe products, boosting professional credentials. But as with any of these conferences, it’s the people and connections shared that made this Summit truly special.

The event activation was aligned with the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Big Show, a three-day event held in NYC, that is attended by more than 6,200 brands from around the world and 40,000+ retail industry professionals. 24Notion delivered a personalized experience at the Nike House of Innovation NYC, the Nike flagship store front on New York City’s 5^th Avenue. This location was perfect for the event as the storefront presents itself as the store of the future or the most revolutionary retail environments in the world—by blending blend physical and digital elements to create an immersive shopping experience.

This event was catered to 200 VIPers representing key accounts for Microsoft and Adobe, representing the LATAM and North America market – a critical market, and perfectly aligned with NRF to ensure the right brands were present across the retail, hi-tech and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. These brands were identified by Microsoft and Adobe as essential for their successful global expansion within the LATAM market. 

Fun on 5^th

24Notion created a white glove digital and in-person experience for guests that included a personalized tour, wine and dining, high-end hors d’oeuvres, and shooting hops at the store’s interactive basketball court. They also enjoyed five floors of retail shopping, with hundreds of shoes, clothes and sporting accessories.

During event registration, attendees were able to order customized Nike shoes through Nike By You (previously known as NikeID). Once they arrived, guests received exclusive access to the coveted 5^th floor, to gain private access to the Nike Innovation Lab for the opportunity to pick up their customized shoes, and further decorate and personalize them on site. It was certainly a night to remember.

A successful activation at the House of Innovation

The event was an overwhelming success, with over a 98% attendance rate of the key accounts invited by Microsoft and Adobe, such as Mondelez, Groupo Bimbo, HEB Mexico, OXXO, Coca Cola, Nestle and more. Incredibly happy attendees were wearing their customized shoes out of the Nike store and back to their hotels.

What’s more, the event generated 30,152 brand impressions on social channels, including a 4x amplification of the brand, more than 12,000 reached and top 5% engagement on most posts. Visit 24Notion’s X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn to see how the campaign played out in real time.

These top key brands were able to gain access to a once in a lifetime experience that allowed them to  experience the benefits of a truly personalized experiential customer journey.

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NRF is a keystone event in the retail calendar and plays a pivotal role in shaping the industry’s trajectory for the year ahead. The annual gathering offers the foresight into how businesses need to respond to the ever-evolving dynamics of the retail landscape. Here, we dive into the valuable insights from the event’s top keynote speakers and discuss covering a range of topics including: consumer-centric strategies to the latest advancements in artificial intelligence; innovative workforce management solutions; and emerging marketplace opportunities.

Conversations from the main stage

The Big Show’s keynote speakers lit up the stage with hot button topics from the very start with John Furner, CEO of Walmart, addressing the most formidable challenges retailers face this year, including inflation and the rise of organized retail crime. According to Furner, these challenges shouldn’t (and mostly haven’t) discourage retailers from innovating and adapting to succeed. As a proponent of change, he encouraged attendees, “You can’t just keep doing what works one time; everything around you is changing. To succeed, stay out in front of change.”

Another keynote speaker, Levi Strauss & Co.’s President Michelle Gass, revealed a page of her strategy book to provide an intimate look into how she plans to accelerate growth: By sharpening the focus of the current strategies to lean into the power of its brand, become the destination for denim lifestyle across all channels, and fuel diversification through international market. For Levi to do so—and the lesson applies to all brands—we must innovate. According to Gass, “Innovation is like looking around corners, thinking about things consumers don’t know they need.”

Gass reminded attendees that consumers gravitate toward brands they trust, so even as retailers look to grow into new areas, they must remain true to their core. For Levi’s, this focus has kept the organization the #1 brand in jeans even as it has expanded its portfolio to include brands outside the world of denim, like Dockers and Beyond Yoga.

FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam was another key presenter and spoke to how, given today’s dynamic business environment and the evolution of customer needs, FedEx is transforming from a transportation business to a digitally-led business powered by its transportation network. Subramaniam shared how the company is leveraging its physical scale and insights from moving 15+ million packages per day around the globe to make supply chains smarter for everyone—enabling improved visibility, decisioning and connected capabilities across the customer journey.

He even revealed plans for an end-to-end commerce platform for retailers using its proprietary data via the platform is called “fdx.” Subramaniam said this platform is designed to help retailers track the four most important areas of ecommerce across the customer experience: demand, conversion, fulfillment and returns.

Big trends from the Big Show

At the conference, retail industry’s leading minds converged to showcase and discuss the latest trends shaping the future of commerce. This year’s event saw a culmination of advancements in artificial intelligence, unified commerce strategies, and a renewed focus on the employee experience. Join us as we explore how these trends are set to redefine the retail landscape:

Trend 1: AI takes center stage, but data is the real star

The buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) reached new heights at the Big Show, thanks to the widespread adoption of GenAI in the past year. From AI bots answering queries to robots creating pizzas, the expo floor showcased the tangible applications of these cutting-edge technologies. However, amidst the excitement, it became evident that data is the true foundation of AI success.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff emphasized the importance of using AI to enhance our capabilities, highlighting the significance of responsible and purposeful implementation. On stage, he said, “If AI isn’t making us better, we’ve lost the plot.” Which is an important point made around how it’s not the technology that is good or bad—it’s how we use it. Notably, analytics tools emerged as the primary focus, enabling retailers to harness real-time data for more nuanced insights into their operations.

Trend 2: Moving from omnichannel to unified commerce

The transition from “omnichannel” to “unified commerce” was a prevailing theme at the Big Show. While nuances between the two concepts exist, the overarching goal remains consistent: Providing customers with a seamless experience across all touchpoints. Retailers are leveraging digital technologies to streamline operations and connect with customers, ensuring a solid foundation for future growth. Whether it’s eCommerce, social media stores, or brick-and-mortar locations, the emphasis is on unifying channels to meet evolving consumer needs.

Trend 3: Employee-centric evolution

In the retail sector, customer experience has always been a focal point. However, the Big Show shed light on the increasing importance of an employee-centric approach. Technologies like GenAI and automation, initially praised for their impact on customer experience, are now recognized for their ability to enhance employee satisfaction, autonomy, and productivity. Artificial intelligence within contact centers, for instance, automates performance tracking, successful resolutions and script compliance, contributing to a positive work environment.

Trend 4: It’s all about the tech (providers)

Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, Adobe and other enterprise technology giants took center stage at the expo, showcasing their expansive floor spaces to feature the latest retail technologies. While flashy innovations, again like GenAI, grabbed attention, the core enterprise technology component remains crucial. Without a solid foundation, retailers may struggle to execute their visionary strategies. The balance between cutting-edge tech and foundational systems is essential for sustainable growth.

Time to check out: What are your thoughts?

As we navigate an ever-evolving retail landscape, the trends highlighted at the NRF Big Show offer valuable insights into the industry’s trajectory. While the future is uncertain, these conversations provide a roadmap for what’s to come. We invite you to share your top takeaways and thoughts on the Big Show. Let’s continue the discussion, learn from each other, and collectively shape the future of retail.

CES has a mission: To stand for innovators and the promise and power of technology—which is exactly what keynote speakers of the conference addressed this year. We saw Siemens CEO Dr. Roland Busch showcase how technology is enabling brands to improve the way we live, work, move and make. L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus took the stage to discuss the role that sustainable, accessible and inclusive beauty tech plays in driving positive impact. Chief executives from Snap Inc., MediaLink, Northwestern Mutual, Autodesk and McDonalds shared a sit-down conversation on why creating brands and products that people love is a key driver for business success.

These keynote conversations—and the many other sessions available to watch on CES’ website—paved the way for the exhilarating expo full of next-gen technologies that are empowering the future of all industries. Below, we’ve listed out the top trends we saw at the show this year, and demonstrate how brands are working tirelessly to meet the changing consumer demands.

AI is everything, everywhere, all at once

While 2024 is far from the first time AI-powered products were spotlighted across the booths, this was truly the year that artificial intelligence dominated the show. You couldn’t escape it—from ChatGPT capabilities, AI-driven marketing, AI-enabled cars, fitness trackers beauty gadgets and robots—it was everywhere and in everything. Even the theme for CES looked and felt AI-generated.

We witnessed Microsoft announce a major change to the Windows keyboard for the first time in nearly 30 years, by adding a button that provides a direct link to launch its AI Copilot. According to Microsoft, Copilot is an “everyday AI companion. It uniquely incorporates the context and intelligence of the web, your work data and what you are doing in the moment on your PC to provide better assistance – with your privacy and security at the forefront.”

Volkswagen is another big brand dabbling with AI, by adding ChatGPT as a standard feature in its vehicles this year. According to Volkswagen, “future cars will offer a uniquely intelligent, automotive-grade ChatGPT integration that gives customers seamless access to the constantly growing artificial intelligence database in all Volkswagen models.”

We even saw some more eccentric use cases for AI, with SK Group unveiling an AI Fortune Teller powered by next-generation memory technologies that claims to tell users’ their fortunes by reading their emotions. After snapping a photo of your face, it produces a Tarot card-like print with a short, future-looking message or piece of advice.

FoodTech grows its slice of the pie

At CES this year, the kitchen got a massive upgrade. It was amazing to witness tech innovations collide with scientific progress, such as how food is produced, packaged and delivered. Even Martha Stewart took to the stage at the Samsung CES booth, crafting her “Martha-tini” and smashed potatoes via the company’s SmartThings technology. 

We saw cocktail robots, smart fridges and even a microbe-driven organic composter. There was a  $3,500 toaster for steak promising to grill the perfect Ribeye in two minutes, and the TechMagic Stir-Fry robot, an autonomous machine large enough designed for restaurants, exhibited how it can create 30 meals per hour at $6.66 per hour.

Now you see me, now you don’t: Transparent TVs. 

For consumers, televisions are still of the most exciting category at CES and this year, brands took it up another notch. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics both revealed TVs that practically disappear when they’re off. It’s almost hard to believe that LG’s will actually be available for purchase later this year, which is kind of amazing when you consider that we were just retiring plasma TVs about 10 years ago.

What’s novel about transparent TVs is they allow a screen to blend more seamlessly into the surrounding room when it’s not in use, rather than simply existing as a gigantic black rectangle that takes up space on a living room console or bedroom wall. When not in use, the display appears like an aquarium or a window with stars or other objects dancing across the glass. A black film rises to cover the rear when you want it to function as a regular TV.

Transportation takes flight

Futuristic looking cars revved their engines at CES, but most the most revolutionary concept to appear was Hyundai’s new flying taxi concept named S-A2 by Hyundai. The South Korean manufacturer envisions the electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle as a commuter solution for urban areas with heavy traffic. The vehicle will be able to cruise at 120 mph (190 kph) at a 1,500-foot (460-meter) altitude while operating as quietly as a dishwasher, and available to take flight in 2028.

In regards to other transportation trends, we also saw Kodiak Robotics reveal its best shot at making self-driving trucks a business and Honda creating buzz around its new 0 Series EVs, which are notably thin and light and are scheduled to launch in North America in 2026.

Gaming gets retro and revolutionary

Nostalgia is at an all-time high for consumers, with the 2000s being very in trend nowadays. Gaming was an industry who embraced that fully at CES. We saw thereturn to old-school controllers, specifically Xbox’s original “Duke” controller which has a cult fan following. Hyperkin revealed that they recreated the Duke for modern gaming devices – called the Hyperkin DuchesS. That wasn’t all: The WowCube, which mimics the looks and functions of a Rubik’s Cube, caught attention of CES attendees. The devise lets you twist its’ many screens, tilt the device and tap the screens to play games.

While we held space to celebrate our the past, gaming also took some revolutionary and meaningful steps forward. For one, accessibility in the gaming industry is on the rise. A keynote session, “The Evolution of Accessible Gaming,” discussed all the ways the industry is breaking down barriers to make gaming accessible for all. We watched Sony launched the Access controller for PlayStation, as example.

On another note, Razer’s showed off a haptic feedback cushion for a gaming chair. Called Project Esther, this rumbly cushion has 16 haptic sensors that line up nicely against parts of someone’s lower body so that when they play games, they’ll get vibrating feedback in different regions based on what’s happening in-game.

Wellness gets a Tech-Makeover

Namaste from the comforts of your new home with new mindfulness and wellness concepts. A robot massager created by French company Capsix Robotics uses artificial intelligence to perform a real-time body scan and recommend the best kind of experience for the user. A robotic arm then performs a variety of massage techniques.

The BMind Mirror was also revealed at CES: A bathroom mirror designed to improve self-worth and mental health. As users stand in front of the mirror, it uses facial and gesture recognition and voice commands to analyze one’s expression and tone. It’ll then provide recommendations and affirmations and improve one’s mental state based on their current level of well-being.

The next wave of beauty tech made waves at CES, exposing a spectrum of advanced devices poised to fling our current skincare routines out the window. Amorepacific’s Lipcure Beam won the CES 2024 Innovation Award in the Digital Health category for its ability to provide immediate lip treatments and leave a custom-tinted hue. Antiaging technology was also seen by APR for the first time at CES their Medicube line of techy tools is known to treat a variety of skin concerns and improve elasticity, tone and texture.

CES met all expectations in 2024

The energy felt electric at CES this year, more than years prior—best described by the theme name, it was “All On”. Between the greatest brands, the most impactful technologies and the greatest minds, CES had no shortage of inspiration, automation and exhilaration.

Clearly there’s no one specific industry that drives the most attention at CES, but emerging technology like AI and IoT within those industries were what drove the greatest buzz. Even though many products at CES will never become available for purchase (or will get acquired and incorporated into products we end up buying), the audience, including my team, always comes excited and ready to see where technology is going.

This write up only scratches the surface of the amazing innovation revealed at the event this year. What was your favorite reveal at CES? We look forward to reading your comments and engaging on the highlights you most enjoyed.

t’s hard to remember life without smartphones. Yet research has found that these pocket devices are increasingly being considered as an extension of oneself, meaning that they are rarely more than an arm’s length away. In fact, our readily available devices are responsible for how we communicate, enable business and leisure, and stay connected to the world.

Well, just like smartphones changed the way we live and work, we are at the precipice of another massive and life changing shift—this time driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Enter ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is the fasting growing web platform ever. The AI chatbot model has become insanely popular in just a matter of months—way faster than any preceding platform. It has trended faster than Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram ever did, with more than 100 million users in its first year of availability, generating 1.8 billion visitors per month.

Defining our future with AI

ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology, and it is one of many platforms that is available to the public (alternatives exist, such as Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing Chatbot). After one use, users can instantly recognize the benefits and transformative changes it makes to the way we live, work, think, communicate and study. For good, and even for bad.

When it comes to benefits, ChatGPT has no shortage: It offers enhanced efficiency, enabling users to access information and resources within seconds, and can assist with tasks such as research, fact-checking, and generating ideas—saving time and effort. The other glory of ChatGPT is its’ 24/7 availability, meaning that unlike a human counterpart, it is available round the clock, for whatever you need, wherever you are.

Yet with these technological advancements, we must also acknowledge the potential damaging impacts AI can have on our lives, as well as employees’ and students’ ingenuity and creativity. Here in this piece, I will explore the fundamental question: is ChatGPT good for humanity, or not?

AI-volutionizing the workplace

Many of ChatGPT’s benefits derive from its ability to understand natural language and have a written conversation with users (ones that mimic human interaction). The system can answer questions about nearly any subject with authority and even understand a customer’s intent.

This comes in handy when put into the hands of employees across a wide range of businesses and industries. Here are a top few for consideration:

1.    Cost savings: One of the most persuasive benefits of chatbots for any business is that it is cost efficient. For example, chatbots have become useful allies to customer service teams and helping to improve customer support results. In fact, McKinsey found that AI technologies could deliver up to $1 trillion of additional value each year, of which revamped customer service accounts for a significant portion. Additionally, bots have the ability to flexibility scale to meet the needs of peak periods without extra cost.

2.    Improved CX: Chatbots provide immediate and 24/7 customer support, enhancing customer satisfaction by addressing queries and issues promptly. They can handle a high volume of inquiries simultaneously, reducing customer wait times and automating mundane tasks.

3.    Language translation: ChatGPT and similar models offer multilingual support, making it accessible to users around the globe and removing language barriers/facilitating communication and collaboration.

4.    Data collection and analysis: Chatbots can gather valuable data on customer interactions, preferences, and behavior. This data can be analyzed to gain insights into customer needs, identify trends, and make informed business decisions that help to improve products, services, and marketing strategies.

5.    Lead generation and sales support: ChatGPT can automate much of the lead generation process by engaging with customers, providing product information, and guiding them through the sales process. They can qualify leads, capture contact information, and even facilitate transactions, leading to increased conversions and revenue.

There are some big concerns to consider regarding how much employers allow their employees to use the technology as well:

1.    Security vulnerabilities: Such new technologies lack encryption, privacy and sufficient protocols and training for employees, which can lead to accidental leak of customer data or sensitive information.

2.    Bias and inaccuracy. Bloomberg Law reports that then employees obtain information from a source like ChatGPT in connection with their work, it can lead to significant issues later on for employees and their employers. Plus, still in this early phase of AI, CNN stated that this technology can be racist, sexist and still quite creepy.

3.    Mundane and repetitive. While AI can be seen as a replacement for many tasks that traditionally take a lot of brain power and time, it’s pretty evident when something was produced in ChatGPT. For example, it was a helpful resource in pulling this blog together, but I’d never leave the actual writing to a bot! The technology still has a long way to go before it can evoke human emotion or thought into writing and other certain projects—although it is great at performing tasks like  writing routine letters and emails, generating simple reports, and creating presentations.

Graduating to a higher intelligence: AI in education

Educators have already been using some products powered by artificial intelligence to teach or to help with logistics for years. Yet nearly half of these same educators—in a EdWeek Research Center Survey—claim to be worried that AI would have a negative or very negative impact on teaching and learning in the next five years.

The reality is: AI is changing education. And it is becoming students most steady study partner. Our younger generations have a different relationship with AI, one that’s more advantageous than we give them credit for. There are numerous benefits to ChatGPT for students, including:

1.    Personalized learning: ChatGPT can provide individualized learning experiences by adapting to a user’s level of understanding and offer tailored explanations, practice questions, and feedback.

2.    Assists students with disabilities: Chatbots can be a valuable tool for students with disabilities, such as visual impairments or dyslexia. It can convert text into speech, provide audio descriptions, or assist with proofreading.

3.    Study support: One of the most valuable features of ChatGPT is its ability to provide study support to students. These AI models can provide personalized guidance to identify areas where one needs to improve certain skills, and provide you with resources to do so.

4.    Time management: This is a crucial, yet challenging, skill for students to master, but with chatbots, students are given useful tools to manage time more effectively by helping to set and achieve goals and track progress overtime.

However, while education needs to fully embrace a future with AI, it is essential to acknowledge the potential negative impacts on students’ ingenuity and creativity:

4.    Overreliance: The ease of obtaining information from ChatGPT may discourage students from engaging in critical thinking and independent problem-solving. Relying too heavily on the model’s responses is a quick way to hinder creativity and originality.

5.    Lack of cognitive engagement: Engaging in meaningful discussions fosters intellectual growth and the exploration of diverse perspectives. It might limit opportunities for meaningful engagement, reducing cognitive stimulation and the development of communication skills.

6.    Misuse and misinformation: While ChatGPT is trained on vast amounts of data, an amount that grows at an unimaginable rate, it can still generate inaccurate or biased responses. Students who solely rely on ChatGPT may unknowingly absorb and propagate misinformation, undermining their academic integrity.

7.    Reduced collaboration: Traditional classroom or workplace settings promote social interaction and teamwork. Even dreaded Zoom meetings offers these things. Chatbots might lead to decreased human-to-human interaction, hindering the development of interpersonal skills crucial for future professional environments.

Like it or not, the future is AI-driven

With the many pros and cons of chatbots being discovered and debated, there is a consensus that the world is forever changes: The era of intelligent cloud-enabled AI is here, and tech giants are making a huge push for their mass market adoption. This adoption extends beyond working and studying; it is quickly penetrating the public sphere for its day-to-day applications.

For example, say you are obsessed with the coral reef. AI can help plan a travel itinerary to one of the best reefs in the world in seconds, complete with a timeline of activities to fill your time, places to lodge right next to the water and best places to eat for dinner with a gluten allergy—not to mention the best times to travel during the year that fit within your schedule.

Another personal usage of chatbots can be used to streamline your personal services such as fitness, diet, health, or day-to-day activities. Every fitness goal requires a different set of workout plans and a nutrition diet to be followed—and with AI, you can easily tailor any meal plan, grocery list, workout strategy, and more based on your current stats and future goals.

So…is ChatGPT good or bad?

Well, the answer is not so black and white. It really depends on how we utilize it. More importantly, it will continue to evolve, and get more powerful as it grows (and as our understanding of it grows). Using it wisely is the prescription we have for current day workplace, education and personal use. Further, it is our responsibility to use it wisely.

To mitigate these negative impacts and increase the positive impacts, we should use #chatgpt as a complementary tool rather than a sole source of information. Encouraging critical thinking, emphasizing creative problem-solving, and fostering face-to-face discussions will help maintain the balance between leveraging technology and nurturing individuality and originality.