Who the agent talks to, where the ad appears, where the content is measured
Today's 3 verified headlines: Meta said more than a million businesses use its business agents every week, Google is running a limited alpha that lets Performance Max advertisers switch off partner networks, and Search Console platform properties went globally live. Each story's full analysis, sources and business impact live on its own page.
Meta business agents run in more than a million businesses weekly
On the earnings call for the second quarter 2026 results published on July 29, 2026, Meta said more than one million businesses use the Business Agents it opened globally on WhatsApp and Messenger every week to talk to customers or complete sales. Agents are now rolling out on Instagram too. In the same quarter, the revenue line driven by WhatsApp paid messaging and subscriptions passed $1 billion for the first time.
A network exclusion alpha lands in Performance Max
In a limited alpha test Google is letting Performance Max advertisers switch off the Search Partner Network and the Google Display Network separately. Both checkboxes arrive switched on by default. Google confirmed the feature is a pilot running with a limited group of advertisers and gave no general release date. Household income exclusions at campaign level were spotted the same week as a separate test.
Search Console platform properties are now globally live
On July 29, 2026 Google opened platform properties, which began a staged rollout on July 7, to everyone, and published a guide on reading social and video performance the same day. Once Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube accounts are verified, click, impression and query data for that content in Google Search, Discover and Google News lands in the Performance, Insights and Achievements reports.
The agenda moves fast, the system stays calm.
Let's talk about how these changes affect your business and which step actually fits you.