Community | University 

Feb 19, 2026

Hello, GrowthHackers! 

Welcome to your daily unfair advantage.

Every morning, we cut through the noise to bring you sharp insights, fast news, and fresh sparks to light up your brain and fuel your hustle. From scrappy hacks to big tech moves, AI shifts to culture flips this is your intel to stay ahead, move fast, and break boring.

Think of it as your growth-fueled espresso shot.
Short. Smart. Addictive.

Let’s dive in.👇

Quick Hits

1. Is Your Brand Visible in AI Search Results?
   (Authority > traffic.)

2. Google’s new Gemini Pro model has record benchmark scores
   (The AI Olympics continue)

3. Meta Looks To Sneak Through Facial ID Update
   (Innovation vs. consent, round 47)

The Growth joke of the day

Why did the brand panic about AI search?
Because it ranked #1 on Google… and still got ghosted by the AI summary.

What's New in Growth Hacking/Growth Marketing?

Strategies

• Invisible Engagement: Why Likes Don’t Matter (and What to Track Instead)
  If your brand’s social posts feel quieter than they used to: fewer likes, fewer public comments, you’re not alone. That doesn’t necessarily mean people stopped paying attention. It often means they’ve shifted how they engage.

• If your measurement strategy delays decisions, it’s broken
  When attribution, incrementality and MMM disagree, teams freeze. Growth comes from acting with confidence, stacking small gains and validating impact in the P&L.

• YouTube’s latest experiment brings its conversational AI tool to TVs
  The race to advance conversational AI in the living room is heating up, with YouTube being the latest to expand its tool to smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices.

• As browser wars heat up, Chrome adds new productivity features
  As AI companies and startups push their way into the web browser market, the world’s biggest browser, Google Chrome, is rolling out a handful of new features.

• Meta is shutting down Messenger’s standalone website
  Meta is shutting down its standalone Messenger website, the company shared in a help page. Starting April 2026, the website will no longer be available.

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People

• Ali Partovi’s Neo looks to upend the accelerator model with low-dilution terms
  For the most sought-after founders, the prestige of a top-tier accelerator is increasingly weighed against giving up a significant ownership stake in their company.

Did you hear?
The GrowthHackers New Podcast is live!🎙️

A Founder’s Journey in Microscope

In this episode, we sit down with Jack, the 22-year-old founder of ARK-STEM — the global community and marketplace built by STEM lovers, for STEM lovers.

ARK-STEM is a dedicated platform where makers, engineers, and innovators can share projects, collaborate, sell inventions, and preserve what they build in a way that’s deeper and more enduring than fleeting social posts or video snippets.

Jack opens up about his journey from a young tinkerer to launching a platform that bridges community, creativity, and commerce.

Are you ready?

What's New in Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

• Meta’s AI-Powered Smartwatch Is Slated for Release Later This Year
  It looks like Meta’s on-again, off-again relationship with its smartwatch project is back on, with The Information reporting that the company is planning to launch its own smartwatch, powered by artificial intelligence, later this year.

• Google Offers AI Certificate Free For Eligible U.S. Small Businesses
  Google launched an AI Professional Certificate with seven self-paced modules and three months of AI Pro access. Eligible U.S. small businesses can enroll free.

Become An AI Expert In Just 5 Minutes

If you’re a decision maker at your company, you need to be on the bleeding edge of, well, everything. But before you go signing up for seminars, conferences, lunch ‘n learns, and all that jazz, just know there’s a far better (and simpler) way: Subscribing to The Deep View.

This daily newsletter condenses everything you need to know about the latest and greatest AI developments into a 5-minute read. Squeeze it into your morning coffee break and before you know it, you’ll be an expert too.

Subscribe right here. It’s totally free, wildly informative, and trusted by 600,000+ readers at Google, Meta, Microsoft, and beyond.