Blog
AI and marketing, daily.
What happened in AI this week, what it means if you lead marketing, and what I would do about it. Plus honest reviews of the tools and launches worth your time.
Review: an email assistant inside Gmail, AI that edits whole designs, and why your analytics now need to know who is human
Superhuman's Email Assistant, centrally managed Claude connectors, Figma's Google Drive connector and Canva's Brush model. My verdict on each for marketing teams, and the analytics change that matters more: agents are now using the product too.
AI visitors are worth more. AI tools are about to cost more.
Visitors from AI answers convert far better, ChatGPT's search volume is a fifth of Google's, and email traffic is climbing. At the same time, the AI companies are under real cost pressure. What both trends mean for your plan and your budget.
Review: deck-wide AI edits, a company context playbook, and the truth about shopping agents
Gemini editing whole Google Slides decks, Ramp's guide to giving AI company context, Substack's recommendation loop and an Instagram algorithm wiki. My verdict on each, and why the evidence on AI shopping agents points somewhere unexpected.
Ads are coming to AI answers. Nobody can measure them yet.
AI search is growing faster than its business model, so the ads are arriving. Google's AI Mode keeps shoppers on Google, Reddit is closing the door, and no platform can yet prove an AI ad drives new sales. How I would test before spending.
Review: AI by text message, files inside chat, and a simple test for every new AI feature
ChatGPT's Dot agent over text, Gemini's in-chat files, Anthropic's AI spend reporting and Instagram's long-form video. My verdict on each for marketing teams, and three questions that sort useful AI from the sparkle button.
AI answers are built on what others say about you. PR is back on the agenda.
Chatbots recommend brands based on third-party coverage, Google's search ad growth is slowing, and the posts AI cites are rarely the viral ones. What that means for where marketing leaders put effort next.
Review: this week's AI launches for marketing teams, and the one finding that matters more
Video models inside AI agents, a design skill that fights generic AI pages, a new OpenAI model and a free LinkedIn ad library. My verdict on each, and why the research on who you pair AI with matters more than any of them.
Organic search is shrinking, and AI is only part of the reason
Search traffic is down, AI referrals are still tiny, and the platforms are rewriting the rules underneath us. Here is how I read this week's news, and what I would do on Monday if I ran your marketing.