Social Mind - July 2025

The latest on Social Media and AI 🗞️

Hello and welcome to the July issue of Social Mind 👋

It’s been a month of fast-moving AI news and new social media features landing left, right and centre. If you feel like you’re struggling to keep up, you’re not alone – even I’ve had to double my daily scrolls to stay current!

And while I’ve been keeping pace with AI and social, I also managed a personal best at the Swansea Half – proof that staying consistent pays off, whether you’re training your legs or your algorithms.

If you think your contacts and colleagues would find this newsletter useful, please share using the social icons above. And if you’re enjoying it, a quick review on Google would be really appreciated – thanks!

Talking of reviews it was great to get positive feedback from the team at HP (Industrial 3D Printing), the largest client I’ve ever worked for.

As always, if you have any questions about social media, AI, or how to make the most of the latest tools, just hit reply or visit my website at pollingersocial.co.uk where you can meet a new addition to the team - AI Tina!

Let’s get into what’s new this month…

Meta adds AI video editing to Meta AI, website and Edits app 🎬

Meta has begun rolling out a powerful new AI video editing tool across the Meta AI app, meta.ai website, and the standalone Edits app. This feature allows users to transform short video clips (up to 10 seconds) using over 50 preset editing prompts - think changing lighting, environment, or visual style - all through simple text commands.

Once edited, the videos can be shared directly to Facebook, Instagram, or Meta’s new Discover feed. It's a major upgrade for creators looking to refresh or repurpose content quickly and creatively.

Insights: These kinds of lightweight but powerful AI tools are perfect for time-poor marketers and small businesses. Being able to polish a short clip with just a few words could significantly reduce production time while keeping content fresh and on trend. It’s a strong signal that Meta is continuing to prioritise AI for creators across its ecosystem.

Instagram Reels can now be up to 20 mins long ⏱️

Instagram has extended the maximum length of Reels to a huge 20 minutes, removing previous time restrictions. This follows Meta’s broader move to consolidate all video content into the Reels format, meaning everything from short clips to longer uploads now falls under the same category.

Insights: This change blurs the line between short-form and long-form content on Instagram and opens the door for more in-depth storytelling, tutorials, and behind-the-scenes content. For creators and brands, it means one less decision to make – just focus on top quality video, and Reels will handle the rest.

Meta wins case over use of copyrighted content ⚖️

Meta has won a key legal battle over its use of copyrighted books to train AI models. A U.S. judge ruled that the company’s AI training methods are “transformative” and fall under fair use, with no clear evidence that the tools replicate original works or harm the market for the content. That said, the court made it clear this doesn’t give AI developers a free pass. Future claims could still succeed if creators can provide stronger evidence of infringement and financial loss.

Insights: This case sets a precedent in favour of AI companies, but the legal landscape is far from settled. For businesses using AI-generated content, it’s a reminder to stay aware of emerging rulings. Expect more legal challenges as artists and publishers push back.

Copilot Vision rolls out in the US 👁️

Microsoft has launched Copilot Vision on mobile for iOS and Android in the US, allowing users to interact with AI through their phone cameras. It can identify objects in real time, suggest home office ideas, offer travel guidance, and provide peer-style feedback on conference room or workstation setups.

While this version isn’t yet available in the UK, you can already do these tasks using ChatGPT’s Vision or Google’s Gemini Vision. Just open the app of your choice, point your camera at an object, scene, or layout and ask for help. Try diagnosing a technical, office or issues with a website layout and let me know how it goes.

Insights: Visual AI is becoming incredibly useful for both personal and business tasks. I’ve been using it more for personal use - everything from identying and learning how to look after house plants to getting wine pairing suggestions for food! If you’re not experimenting with it yet, it’s a great time to start.

ChatGPT Projects gets even better 🗂️

OpenAI has rolled out some brilliant new enhancements to ChatGPT Projects, turning it into an even more powerful workspace for creators, researchers, and professionals. If you’ve ever wanted to keep all your related chats, files, and instructions in one place; Projects is the answer. It’s my personal favourite ChatGPT feature, and these updates make it even more useful.

Here’s what’s new:

• Deep Research Support: Run complex, multi-step research with a blend of instructions, chat history, uploaded files, and real-time web results – all in one place. Ideal for reports, plans, or regular work.

• Voice Mode in Projects: Use your microphone to brainstorm, review documents, or ask questions hands-free – great for idea capture or multitasking.

• Memory Across Chats (Plus/Pro plans): ChatGPT now remembers previous conversations within a Project, so your AI assistant stays informed and consistent across multiple threads.

• Mobile Upgrades: You can now upload files and switch between GPT-4o or other models from the mobile app – no need to jump onto desktop.

• Share Individual Chats: Want to share just one conversation from a Project? You now can – without exposing other files or instructions, thanks to new secure link-sharing.

Insights: These updates make ChatGPT feel more like a proper digital assistant. Whether you're planning content, doing client work, or just keeping things organised, Projects is now an even better tool for getting stuff done efficiently.

👉 Practical Pointer

Use AI for Prompt-Driven Learning 🏫

Here’s a quick way to use your AI tool of choice for learning a new skill or improving your interactions with customers: Ask your AI to quiz you on a topic (eg, “Give me 5 multiple-choice questions on <any subject>”) or roleplay a scenario (eg, “You’re a client asking me about my <your products or service>”). It’s an interactive and fun way to improve your business skills and customer service. You can use this technique for learning a new language learners or practicing for job interviews too. Whilst this idea works with text, it’s much better to use voice eg talk with ChatGPT using Voice Mode.

📝Want ideas on how to use AI? Read this:

📺How to recover your LinkedIn account:

Locked out of LinkedIn? Don't panic! This step-by-step guide walks you through the process of recovering your LinkedIn account.

Whether you've forgotten your password, suspect unauthorized access, or are facing other account issues, this video will help you regain control of your professional online presence.

Don't let account problems hinder your networking and career opportunities!

🎙️Top Tip - Activate ‘Record Name Pronunciation’

Most people overlook this little known LinkedIn feature, but it makes a memorable first impression. On the LinkedIn mobile app, you can add a short recording of how to say your name. It shows professionalism and boosts engagement because people connect more when they know your voice. You can be a bit cheeky an even turn it into a short message explaining who you are and what you do…but you only have a 10 seconds. Click the edit profile pencil symbol, then look for Name pronunciation and underneath that select the pencil symbol to the right of Audio recording and then select Record new pronunciation. Remember that this feature is only available on mobile app.

📊Webdog Reports

Last month I mentioned the launch of the new AI Shopping Readiness Report which assesses how well your online shop performs in the emerging world of AI-assisted shopping. I’ve already had this feedback following delivery of a 40 page report from a client.

“The report was really informative and has created plenty of work for me to do (damn!).”

You can order your Webdog Report here: https://pollingersocial.co.uk/webdog-reports

🗣️Get in touch

That’s it for this month. Social Mind will be back on 1 August. In the meantime, which of these updates are you most looking forward to trying out? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you’ve found this newsletter useful, feel free to buy me a coffee ☕

Best wishes

JP

📞 Call/WhatsApp: 029 2078 9139

🌐 https://pollingersocial.co.uk 

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