It pains me to type this, but summer is almost over and the school year is about to begin. So, let’s reconnect for an AI Show & Tell: Back to School Edition on Wednesday, September 16 | 12:00 - 12:30 ET. If you haven’t joined before, these are brief quarterly sessions for marketers and team leads to share what we’re all learning about using AI. For this session, I’ll do a rapid-fire round of recent learnings and developments that worth your attention, to get you caught up after hopefully a restful summer. Register here, and if you have something that you’d like to show & tell others let me know.
Michael Morreale: Producer & Videographer
Another week, another fun AI chat (not with AI, but about AI). This time with Michael Morreale, a super-talented videographer and producer that I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years. He’s a great guy to speak to about this, as he’s always experimenting with different tools and features, and regularly shares tips on LinkedIn. In our short chat he shares one of his favourite tools (OpusClip) and an example of how he’s using AI to build small, customized pieces of software for his own business. He also shares his perspective on the importance of marketing and editorial strategy in the age of AI slop. Thanks for the chat, Michael!
On Michael’s advice, I tried OpusClip, which automatically generates multiple clips optimized for social feeds. Here’s the one with the highest “virality score.” If you don’t click on it here, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll all see it everywhere across your social feeds anyway.
AI Slop / Stop
There’s been a lot of discussion about AI slop lately. After all, “AI slop” was the word of the year in 2025. Studies suggest it is everywhere in our feeds, and some publishers are pushing back, effectively shaming people for using AI. Over 1 million people have now clicked LinkedIn’s new AI slop button. From a marketing perspective, younger audiences in particular view AI-generated advertising negatively. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard my teenage kids make fun of an ad because “that is so obviously AI.” But why is the negative reaction so visceral?
In a marketing context, obviously AI-generated work communicates a distinct lack of giving a shit. In 2026, these tools can be used well. You can create work that is distinctive, effective, and not ridiculed by my kids. In the same way that marketing teams would shudder at a badly Photoshopped image or cringeworthy stock photography, we need to put the focus on policing the quality of the output rather than the tools.
Writing feels different, though. When you read something written under someone’s name, there is an expectation that you’re hearing from that person. When that writing veers into slop, it can feel like a broken promise. Mark Ritson has a new piece on how AI helps him write his columns, and how the AI-police-witch-hunt is misguided. I think about this often with the newsletter. I genuinely enjoy writing, but I also use AI as a research and editorial assistant. I’ve just updated the new “How I Made This” section on Substack to reflect that. And if you’re a writer, I thought this was a smart list from Noah Brier on seven principles for writing with, and without, AI.
Fresh Research & Reports
State of AI (SensorTower): New research that explores how AI is reshaping commerce and advertising. Interesting to see which categories are advertising on ChatGPT most (software) and least (automotive).
AI-Powered Holiday Playbook (Google): Google’s perspective on how retailers should approach AI during the holidays. A key focus is treating product data as marketing content so AI systems can accurately understand and recommend products.
2026 Marketer Benchmark Study (Epsilon): Useful perspective on AI adoption within marketing teams. Highlights the gap I often see between C level leaders’ confidence in AI and how senior managers actually perceive their organization’s maturity and the value of the tools.
Cool Beans
Fake AI Ads: Speaking of AI ads, a pair of comedians recently took this even further, plastering a New York subway station with very fake, and very funny, AI-generated ads.
ScreenTime: Another pair of comedians started a social show that treats creators / influencers like athletes in a SportsCenter-style format. Going meta on Meta.
Airpods + Camera: Video footage apparently leaked from Apple shows someone wearing Airpods that can see their environment and interact with Siri. Way better than “pervert smart glasses.”
Lego Ideas: I love how LEGO meaningfully involves its community through platforms like this, especially when that same community supports the creation of a replica of the Three’s Company apartment.
