Expedia Group has introduced "Travel Shops," a new platform allowing content creators to curate and monetize travel recommendations directly through Expedia’s app and website. Launched at its annual EXPLORE conference in Las Vegas, Travel Shops provides influencers with digital storefronts to share travel inspirations and earn commissions on bookings. This new feature aims to consolidate scattered travel content across social media into one centralised platform, providing a streamlined experience for UK travelers. The platform's debut aligns with the rise of the creator economy, offering opportunities for UK advertisers to sponsor influencer-driven travel collections. Additionally, Expedia’s push towards AI-enhanced travel tools is highlighted by over 40 product updates at the conference. The chart below shows U.S. customer satisfaction with Expedia from 2002 to 2024, further illustrating the company's evolving service offerings.
Meta has announced it will resume using public posts from UK users on Facebook and Instagram to train its AI systems, following a pause in July due to regulatory concerns. The company emphasized that the data used will include only public posts from adults, ensuring privacy for direct messages and underage users. Meta's framing of this as a step towards integrating "British culture, history, and idiom" into its generative AI models aims to soften resistance to the use of personal data in training AI. While Meta has gained approval under the UK's "legitimate interests" legal provisions, broader European Union regulations remain more stringent, with EU users able to opt-out of having their data used for AI development. Meta's effort reflects the global balancing act between rapid AI advancements and growing concerns over privacy and data usage.
OnlyFans, the UK-based platform, has rapidly emerged as one of the most successful British companies, rivaling even DeepMind in influence. Generating €6.3 billion in 2024, OnlyFans has shifted from subscription-based revenue to a model where over 60% of spending comes from high-value transactions. The platform’s growth has been driven by brand awareness, high-profile creators, and regulatory shifts in the X-rated market. With two-thirds of revenues originating from the U.S., OnlyFans' scale now surpasses that of adult industry leaders like Aylo. Despite competition, its 80% revenue-sharing model has proven attractive to creators, allowing it to dominate the creator economy and media platforms globally. Looking ahead, the platform faces challenges from Generative AI and competition from X (formerly Twitter), which recently lifted its pornography ban. The chart below illustrates the growth in the number of OnlyFans creator accounts worldwide from July 2021 to March 2024, highlighting the platform's expanding influence.