From big tech to social media, SBC Media’s Affiliate Editor, Jyoti Rambhai, summarises the latest updates and product launches from the platforms that affiliates need to be aware of.
In this latest round-up, Google launches its latest model of Gemini, while Meta expands its creator partnership opportunities and the latest on the TikTok ban in the US.
Google launches Gemini 3 Flash
Google has expanded its Gemini 3 model family with the release of Gemini 3 Flash, which is said to be faster and offer stronger AI-generated search responses.
With Gemini 3, Google introduced frontier the ability for users to ask and carry out complex queries, such as building interactive game apps or understanding multi-modal contents. This latest iteration, will enable users to do this at speed and scale, at a fraction of the cost.
Gemini 3 Flash will be rolled out globally, replacing 2.5 flash to become the default model in the app. It means all users will get access to the latest version at no extra cost.
The tech giant will also start to roll it out as the default model for AI Mode in search.
For affiliates, these updates mean more search queries will be answered directly within AI Mode, thus further reducing the click-through traffic.
Tulsee Doshi, Senior Director, Product Management on the Gemini team, wrote in a blogpost on Google: “Because of Gemini 3 Flash’s incredible multimodal reasoning capabilities, you can use it to help you see, hear and understand any type of information faster.
“For example, you can ask Gemini to understand your videos and images and turn that content into a helpful and actionable plan in just a few seconds. […] Building on the reasoning capabilities of Gemini 3 Pro, AI Mode with Gemini 3 Flash is more powerful at parsing the nuances of your question.
“It considers each aspect of your query to serve thoughtful, comprehensive responses that are visually digestible – pulling real-time local information and helpful links from across the web. The result effectively combines research with immediate action: you get an intelligently organised breakdown alongside specific recommendations – at the speed of search.”
Meta introduces AI tools to scale creator partnerships
Meta has introduced AI-powered tools that can enable brands and operators to easily find, evaluate and turn existing Facebook and Instagram organic creator content into partnership ads.
Among the updates is a more streamlined way for surfacing relevant user-generated content (UGC) and affiliate content from creators on Instagram within the ‘all’ tab in partnership ads hub.
Advertisers will be able to see all content from creators that tag or mention their brand in the hub, speeding up the process in identifying authentic content.
They will also be able to see and review a creator’s content performance directly in the hub, including views, interactions, likes, comments, shares and saves. For affiliates, these insights could help better evaluate which content may perform well as an ad.
On Facebook, Meta has introduced a partnership ads API, which should make it easier for marketers and agencies to identify creator content that is ready to be run as an ad at scale. This is in addition to the creator discovery API, rolled out earlier this year.
The social media giant wrote: “Partnership ads are the most effective way for advertisers to tap into creator partnerships at scale. Adding partnership ads to business as usual campaigns delivers 19% lower CPAs and 13% higher click through rates, on average.”
Lindsey Lehmann, Head of Influencer and Branded Content at PMG Worldwide, said: “Facebook creators offer a powerful combination of community and performance, translating genuine connection, especially with deeply engaged audiences, into strong results when extended through partnership ads.
“The new Facebook Creator Discovery API elevates creator discovery and evaluation by providing robust filtering options and performance insights. With more reliable visibility into available creators and their capabilities, our teams are now incorporating Facebook talent more frequently in campaign planning. This has helped unlock new opportunities to scale creative storytelling and performance within the platform.”
Other updates included improved content permission on Facebook making it easier to tag partners and expanded creator eligibility for professional mode profiles.
Gaming affiliates using TikTok may need an alternative channel
TikTok users in the US have until January 2026 before the app is banned, but the administration is no closer to finalising a deal.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the deadline for parent company ByteDance to sell the US portion of the business has been extended four times. Trump signed an executive order on day one delaying the ban until 4 April. Another order pushed it back to 19 June, the third to 16 December and the final deadline is now 23 January.
Currently, casinos and sports betting operators can advertise on TikTok in the US if they work with a representative from the Chinese-owned company and follow its guidelines.
Gaming affiliates and operators have utilised the platform to elevate crash game engagement and introduce new titles to followers through streamers.
Despite Trump signing another executive order claiming a deal had been reached in September, there seems to be no confirmation that this has gone through.
The supposed agreement involved a $14bn sale of the US arm of TikTok to a consortium of investors including Oracle – led by Trump supporter Larry Ellison.
One report suggests that negotiations have become bogged down and both sides have only reached a “basic framework consensus” on TikTok. While another claims the Chinese government will not let the sale go ahead.
TikTok has become a powerful channel in the US as more states open up to sports betting and gambling. For affiliates now, it’s about considering alternative marketing channels while also keeping an eye on how this story develops in the new year.