NEXT vs The Next Web

NEXT plc publishes Half Year Results 2026/27 and Trading Statement

The company's regulatory news page now lists the Half Year Results for 2026/27 (published 17 Sep 2026) and a Trading Statement (published 05 Aug 2026), indicating the release of its interim financial results.

Important Victory For NEXT In Equal Pay Appeal

NEXT plc announced an important victory in its equal pay appeal, as listed in the Regulatory News and Alerts section.

Infobip: Businesses Scale AI Defenses Against Automated Fraud

Infobip published its 2026 Fraud & Security Report analyzing billions of global interactions and found a sharp rise in AI-powered fraud alongside rapid growth in enterprise defenses. The report states detected threats rose 77% year-over-year while adoption of AI-powered fraud detection grew 71% and pattern-based detection increased 105%. Phishing represented 49% of blocked harmful content (up 94% YoY) and interactions with Network APIs (including SIM swap and number verification) grew 91%, with finance leading adoption. The report highlights customer use — UK retailer NEXT is using Infobip Signals to combat artificially inflated traffic — and includes commentary from Infobip and NEXT executives on the accelerating arms race between automated fraud and AI-driven protection.

• Infobip published the 2026 Fraud & Security Report analyzing billions of interactions globally.
• Detected threats increased 77% year-on-year.
• Adoption of AI-powered fraud detection grew 71% year-on-year; pattern-based detection increased 105% year-on-year.

Airbnb tests AI search, says AI speeds product delivery

Airbnb told investors that AI is accelerating its product development and is beginning tests of an AI-powered search feature. CEO Brian Chesky said AI has reduced time from concept to launch by up to 60% and increased shipped features by nearly 80% compared with the same six months a year earlier. The company uses AI across search, sign-up, checkout, payments and host onboarding, and has expanded an AI customer-support bot (launched in North America in 2025) to over 50 languages. About 45% of issues that start with the AI agent are resolved without human intervention, lowering support cost per booking by 16% year‑over‑year. Airbnb reported Q2 revenue of $3.6 billion (up 17% YoY) and adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion (up 21%).

• Airbnb said AI has reduced its time from concept to launch by as much as 60%.
• Compared to the same six months last year, Airbnb increased the number of features and improvements shipped this year by nearly 80%.
• Airbnb is beginning tests of an AI-powered search with an opt-in toggle supporting natural-language queries and more visual results.

AI Labs Urge Government to 'Pace the Frontier'

An essay reflecting on the accelerating pace of technology argues that societal institutions lag behind rapid technical change. It highlights an open letter titled "Pacing the Frontier," published July 28, 2026, which lists 1,178 signatories from frontier AI labs and asks the U.S. government to support an international effort to build technical and governance tools to deliberately pace automated AI development. The author discusses the personal and organizational consequences of tools and platforms changing faster than people and institutions can evaluate them, and recommends deliberate selection of what to follow rather than attempting to keep up with everything.

• On July 28, 2026 more than a thousand employees of frontier AI labs signed a statement called "Pacing the Frontier."
• The pacingthefrontier.com site listed 1,178 signatories at the time the author checked and the form remained open.
• Signatories represent major AI organizations including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta, including several CEOs and chief scientists.

Google renames NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook

Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook and is expanding its integration across Google services, including the Gemini app and forthcoming access via AI Mode in Google Search. The tool—originally Project Tailwind and used by over 30 million people and more than 600,000 organizations—now makes each notebook a secure container and adds in-notebook code execution and advanced data-analysis capabilities. Those features, previously tied to Google AI Ultra and certain Workspace business plans, will roll out to Google AI Pro subscribers in the coming weeks. Separately, reports (CNBC citing Bloomberg) say the next flagship model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, is delayed by several months and prompted about a 4% drop in Alphabet shares; Google says it is testing Gemini 3.5 Pro and other models with partners but has not confirmed a launch date.

• NotebookLM was renamed Gemini Notebook and will be integrated into the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search.
• The product is used by over 30 million people and more than 600,000 organizations.
• Notebooks are now secure containers that support in-notebook code execution and advanced data analysis.