In the ever-evolving landscape of smart home technology, Google Home devices—once hailed as seamless extensions of daily life—are now drawing sharp criticism from users who report a cascade of glitches eroding their reliability.
From Nest Hubs forgetting room configurations to speakers misfiring commands, complaints have surged on forums like Reddit, painting a picture of a platform in decline. As of July 2025, these issues appear to stem from software updates that prioritize new AI features over basic functionality, leaving loyal users feeling abandoned by a tech giant more focused on generative tools like Gemini.
Tech enthusiasts and everyday consumers alike are voicing frustrations that echo broader concerns about Google’s commitment to its smart home ecosystem. A recent article in TechRadar highlights a lengthy Reddit thread where users detail problems such as devices failing to recognize voice commands, randomly activating lights across the house, or even ignoring entire rooms in multi-device setups. This isn’t isolated; similar sentiments appear in reports from Android Authority, which notes declining reliability with devices misunderstanding instructions or simply not responding at all.
Growing User Backlash and Specific Glitches
The grievances extend beyond mere annoyances, pointing to systemic flaws that could undermine Google’s position in the competitive smart home market. For instance, older Nest speakers are reportedly acting sluggishly, with delays in processing simple requests like playing music or setting timers—issues that users attribute to neglected firmware updates. Posts on X (formerly Twitter) amplify this discontent, with one user lamenting how their Nest Hub inexplicably decided the living room “no longer exists,” triggering unintended actions throughout the home, as echoed in coverage from TechSpot.
Industry analysts suggest these bugs may be tied to Google’s shift toward integrating advanced AI, potentially at the expense of core stability. A report in PhoneArena details how older devices are particularly prone to mishearing commands or becoming unresponsive, fueling fears of planned obsolescence. Users have taken to online communities to share workarounds, such as resetting devices or reverting to manual controls, but these are temporary fixes that highlight a deeper erosion of trust.
Google’s Silence and Broader Implications
Compounding the frustration is Google’s apparent radio silence on these matters. Despite mounting complaints, the company has issued no official statements or patches addressing the widespread bugs, leading some to speculate about a strategic pivot away from hardware like Nest toward software-centric services. This mirrors past patterns, as noted in older troubleshooting guides from Lifewire and Digital Trends, which have long cataloged similar connectivity and response issues, yet the problems persist into 2025.
For industry insiders, this saga underscores the risks of over-reliance on ecosystem lock-in. Competitors like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s HomeKit are capitalizing on Google’s stumbles by emphasizing reliability in their updates, potentially shifting market share. As one Reddit user put it in the thread spotlighted by TechRadar, “Google seems to be ignoring us,” a sentiment that could accelerate user migration if unaddressed.
Potential Paths Forward and User Sentiment
Looking ahead, experts predict that Google might need to overhaul its Home app and Assistant integration to regain footing, perhaps by prioritizing bug fixes in upcoming I/O announcements. However, with recent price hikes on services like Nest Aware—reported in outlets like Tech-Issues Today via X posts—the company risks alienating its base further. Users continue to express loyalty despite the headaches, as one Android Authority piece observes, because alternatives often require rebuilding entire smart home setups.
Ultimately, this wave of complaints serves as a cautionary tale for the tech sector: innovation must not come at the cost of foundational reliability. As Google navigates these turbulent waters, the smart home industry’s future may hinge on how swiftly it responds—or if it does at all—to the voices of its disgruntled users.
Subscribe for Updates
News & trends for IT leaders and professionals.
Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers
Get our media kit
Deliver your marketing message directly to decision makers.

source

July 23, 2025
CHECK THIS OUT
When ChatGPT went offline for more than 10 hours in early June 2025, the degree to which companies have come to rely on generative AI became painfully obvious. Media reports that emerged in the wake of the outage revealed that many workers felt adrift without the resource, unable to tap into content generation tools and other AI-driven resources they’d come to rely on. Before service was restored, users launched more than 500,000 Google searches on the topic, many of them desperately looking for updates and alternatives.
The ChatGPT outage revealed two things every business owner should take seriously: First, if you are not leveraging AI, you will likely struggle to keep up with competitors who are. Recent statistics show that 78 percent of companies around the world are utilizing AI in some capacity to support their operations.
Second, choose your tools wisely. If you are building systems on something that doesn’t prove to be reliable, you could find that your investment doesn’t get you any farther ahead.
Social media content creation is an area where AI can be used to boost a company’s efficiency and impact. AI tools excel at automating labor-intensive tasks like video editing, captioning, and even idea generation. If you’re experiencing bottlenecks in those places that are frustrating your production schedule, AI can probably help.
But don’t expect AI to replace your social media content creation team. Today’s tools can’t stand in and replace your voice as an expert and the personality behind your business. Some products promise that, claiming their tools perfectly replicate your voice, but I’ve yet to see one that consistently delivers on that promise. AI still sounds like AI, and your audience knows when it’s being over-utilized. And a human touch is definitely still needed for important tasks like setting up your studio properly, which is a huge factor to success on social media.
Leaning too heavily on AI for pre-production components, such as ideation and scripting, causes your content to lose its human touch. Content generated exclusively by AI is easy to spot because it tends to be robotic and impersonal. Settling for that will rob you or your company of its uniqueness, which is key to driving real engagement and revenue.
If you are using AI for your content, you’ll still need to personalize it by tweaking the script or the messaging to make it sound like you. Overall, AI on its own will struggle to provide authentic content that your audience can connect with on an emotional level.
New AI tools are popping up in the market all the time, making big promises to save you time and money, but investing in the wrong tool can have you wasting time developing and training your team on workflows that fail to produce the kind of content that actually gets results.
Here are the top five content tools that companies wanting to cut down on the time it takes to make content should consider:
While most of these tools have free options you can leverage if you’re on a tight budget, sticking strictly to free plans won’t give you the capacity or flexibility you need to put out high-quality content.
Paying for these tools to unlock their full potential usually has a much higher ROI than simply utilizing the more restrictive free version. Paying for top-tier access that will get the job done and give all of the members of your team access and support will probably involve spending $5,000 per year. If you are on a tight budget, you might be able to get away with spending under $1,000 a year using one affordable tool or a combination of free and paid tools.
But before you balk at the price, consider that $66,000 is the median U.S. salary for a full-time employee. And a person with the type of skills these AI-driven content creation and management platforms provide will likely cost you much more.
Creating the type of social media content that attracts attention and increases profitability still requires a human touch, but AI-driven tools can help you do it faster, at lower costs, and with greater professionalism. Tapping into the tools listed above can take your content to the next level, all while requiring less effort from you and your team.

Daniel Iles is the Founder of Viral Coach, a leading short-form content agency helping businesses scale visibility, leads, and revenue through social media. With a combined following of over 2 million and an average reach of 100 million monthly views across platforms, Iles has spent the last several years reverse-engineering what makes content go viral — and turning that knowledge into a scalable system for business growth. In 2023, he launched Viral Coach as a performance-based content agency designed to help companies doing $1M to $50M in annual revenue replace bloated marketing funnels with lean, effective short-form video strategies. The company reached $1M/month in revenue in under a year.
 
We hate spam too. You’ll get great content and exclusive offers. Nothing more.
INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES WORLDWIDE, INC.
720.476.4920
Follow Us
©Innovation & Tech Today 2025. All rights reserved.
IPW

source

Portuguese Football in English
In the world of online gambling, visibility isn’t a luxury – it’s the foundation of survival. Platforms that once relied solely on paid campaigns are now facing rising costs, tighter regulations, and a saturated market. In this environment, SEO iGaming emerges not just as a performance lever, but as a long-term investment in brand credibility and sustainable user acquisition.
Today’s players are smarter, more selective, and increasingly privacy-conscious. They don’t just search, they evaluate. And your platform needs to appear exactly when and where they’re looking, with messaging that resonates and delivers. This is where a modern, integrated SEO framework becomes essential.

To stand out in the fiercely competitive iGaming landscape, a strategic, multi-layered SEO approach is no longer optional – it’s essential. The algorithms have evolved, and so have the players. Ranking today demands more than keywords; it requires a deep understanding of user behavior, flawless technical execution, and content that speaks with authority. Below are the pillars that define a high-performing SEO strategy tailored specifically for the iGaming industry.
Search intent is the new currency.
Today’s players approach online gambling with sharper intent and more precise expectations. Instead of generic queries, they look for tailored experiences – fast crypto payouts, localized compliance, seamless mobile access. To capture these users, platforms must align content with nuanced search behavior and anticipate what players truly want. Mastering intent-based SEO isn’t about keywords alone; it’s about mapping your offering to the needs of a highly informed, conversion-ready audience.
User experience is non-negotiable.
From fast-loading mobile interfaces to intuitive navigation, every page on your platform should be optimized not only for Google but for real users. A sleek, responsive design enhances retention, improves dwell time, and signals trust – all key factors in how your pages rank.
Content must follow structure, not chaos.
Gone are the days of random blog posts. Build thematic content clusters around core topics: crypto gambling, sports betting guides, and regulatory updates. This approach strengthens your internal linking, keeps users engaged across sessions, and helps search engines understand your topical authority.
Backlinks still matter – but quality reigns.
In the iGaming space, link-building isn’t about volume. It’s about earning trust from reputable publications and gambling-focused blogs. Think editorial mentions, strategic guest posts, and digital PR. A single link from a respected affiliate site can outperform dozens of irrelevant mentions.
Technical SEO is your foundation.
Google expects more than just surface-level optimization. Mobile-first design, HTTPS security, schema markup, clean URL structures, and accurate hreflang implementation are now the bare minimum for any serious gambling platform. Miss these, and even the best content will remain buried.
To treat SEO iGaming and gambling traffic as separate channels is to miss the point. When combined strategically, they form a powerful engine for growth. Organic rankings bring long-term visibility, while paid acquisition drives targeted engagement. Used together, they feed each other.
When organic SEO and gambling traffic strategies are aligned, they unlock exponential growth. A strong content strategy focused on niche search behavior, paired with well-targeted acquisition efforts, delivers compounding results. Platforms that invest in this synergy consistently see improved user engagement, stronger rankings, and better ROI — proof that a unified approach outperforms isolated tactics.
Key integration benefits include:

For a deep dive into how to apply these principles effectively, you can read article exploring smart and safe SEO strategies aligned with today’s search engine algorithms.
Even the most well-crafted SEO iGaming strategies can collapse under the weight of avoidable mistakes. Knowing what to watch for is as important as the tactics themselves.
Keyword Stuffing
Overloading pages with repetitive keywords kills the natural flow of your content and frustrates readers. Search engines penalize this behavior, seeing it as manipulation rather than value. The result? Lower rankings and lost trust.
Buying Bad Links
While tempting as a shortcut, purchasing backlinks from low-quality or irrelevant sites can backfire dramatically. Such spammy links damage your domain authority and may trigger search engine penalties that take months to recover from.
Neglecting Mobile Users
More than 70% of gambling activity happens on mobile devices. A poor mobile experience — slow loading, difficult navigation, unresponsive buttons drives away half your potential audience before they even see your offer.
Duplicated Content
Copy-pasting vendor descriptions or reusing the same text across pages dilutes your site’s uniqueness. This redundancy weakens rankings and undermines player trust, who expect original, insightful information.
Forgetting Compliance
Gambling laws vary widely across jurisdictions, and failure to align your SEO and traffic efforts with local regulations can lead to severe penalties or outright bans. Staying informed and compliant isn’t just legal prudence – it protects your brand’s longevity.
In 2025, lasting success in the iGaming space belongs to those who can balance agility with expertise. When you unify smart SEO iGaming tactics with tailored, compliant gambling traffic strategies, you unlock scalable growth and sustainable competitive advantage.
SEO iGaming is the specialized search engine optimization process tailored to online gambling platforms, including casinos, sportsbooks, and crypto betting sites. Effective SEO iGaming improves organic search rankings, attracts high-intent players, and ensures compliance with strict industry regulations, making it indispensable for sustainable growth in 2025.
Targeted gambling traffic refers to visitors actively searching for gambling services like online slots, live betting, or crypto casinos. Unlike generic traffic, targeted visitors have higher conversion potential, boosting registrations, deposits, and player lifetime value while lowering customer acquisition cost (CAC).
Paid ads offer immediate visibility but are often limited by regulatory restrictions in the gambling niche. SEO iGaming delivers consistent, long-term organic traffic growth with better ROI and player retention, making it a more reliable strategy alongside paid channels.
Purchasing backlinks from irrelevant or low-quality sources can trigger search engine penalties, damaging your site’s authority and rankings. Instead, focus on earning high-quality backlinks from reputable iGaming blogs, news portals, and affiliate sites to build domain authority organically.
Geo-targeting in iGaming SEO involves creating localized landing pages with region-specific keywords, currencies, and payment options. Implementing hreflang tags signals search engines about language and regional relevance, boosting visibility in key markets like Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Cryptocurrency gambling attracts tech-savvy players seeking privacy, fast payouts, and low fees. SEO should focus on these user intents, emphasizing secure, anonymous payments and blockchain compatibility. This approach helps capture a growing niche and drives targeted organic traffic.
Effective SEO iGaming usually shows measurable improvements within 3 to 6 months. Factors influencing the timeline include site authority, competition level, quality of content, and backlink profile. Consistency and ongoing optimization are key to sustaining growth. 
 

source

European Wax Center, Inc. (EWCZ) pivots to a digital-first strategy, with encouraging trends in new guest acquisition. Leveraging data-rich insights and improved measurement tools, the company is precisely optimizing its marketing spend. EWCZ has adopted an advertising platform that allows it to directly link media impressions with guest behavior, leading to a highly efficient marketing and lower customer acquisition costs.
The company is shifting away from traditional marketing methods to a modern data-rich, digital-first marketing engine with a compelling brand identity. EWCZ’s marketing team is delivering near-term gains, positioning it for sustainable growth. European Wax Center is making smart use of data alongside harnessing its partnership with digital and social media platforms to boost performance and reach. It is on track with a new champion ad to go live for the peak summer waxing season.
Through its performance-based partnership with Dolabra Digital, EWCZ is centralizing key marketing functions in-house, fortifying its data infrastructure and consolidating vendor relationships, designed to optimize media investments and deliver solid ROI in 2025. The company is prioritizing higher-value, more loyal guest segments with brand messaging and creative tests while seeing early signs of traction with new guests. On a two-year basis, new guest trends have shown consistent monthly improvement in 2025, reinforcing EWCZ’s confidence in its growth strategy.
European Wax Center is incorporating advanced measurement tools to track ad effectiveness. With a stable core guest base, the company is now scaling engagement with non-core guests via enhanced email and SMS strategies to unlock opportunities for higher visit frequency and boost overall revenues.
EWCZ’s Competition
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) and Coty Inc. (COTY) are the key companies competing with European Wax Center.
The Estée Lauder Companies has a strong online business, which is likely to be a major growth engine. The Estée Lauder Companies has partnered with Adobe to enhance its digital marketing efforts using Adobe Firefly, a generative AI tool. The company is enhancing its technology and digital capabilities, including online booking for each store appointment, omnichannel loyalty programs and high-touch mobile services. Marketing campaigns across digital platforms require a wide variety of assets in multiple formats, including text, images, shopping ads and app promotions to boost engagement with diverse audiences.
Coty prioritizes digital and influencer-led marketing as core pillars of its brand strategy, reflecting a strategic move toward personalized and engagement-focused campaigns. The company deploys a major share of its media budget to digital platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, BeReal and Threads. Coty integrates AI and personalization to enhance online shopping experiences. Coty invested in first-party data infrastructure to gain deeper insights into customer preferences and deliver personalized marketing.
EWCZ’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of European Wax Center have lost 24.1% year to date compared with the industry’s drop of 0.9%.
From a valuation standpoint, EWCZ trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55X compared with the industry’s average of 26.61X.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EWCZ’s fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 earnings per share (EPS) implies year-over-year growth of 35.6% and 8.2%, respectively. The company’s EPS estimate for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 has been stable in the past 30 days.
European Wax Center stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
Select market data provided by ICE Data services. Select reference data provided by FactSet. Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Systems Inc.© 2025 TradingView, Inc.

source