Virtual influencers get bigger brand deals? · Sept 9

Ding dong! (yes, stealing this noise from Las Culturistas, and yes, in my opinion, officially theirs) …..Your weekly AI + Marketing roundup 🧵 is here!

Some virtual influencers are landing bigger brand deals (hiii, uncanny valley marketing), Google's AI Mode shows different results than traditional search, and there's fresh research on how often AI assistants just make up their citations (spoiler: it happens a lot).

BBDO's Andrew Robertson had the take of the week: AI should lower the cost of failure so humans can focus on taste and judgment. Meanwhile, designers are wrestling with speed vs. sameness, and there's growing talk that the "AI-powered everything" marketing phase is about to fade.

And a lot of great LinkedIn posts this week (more posts included than usual!) - everything from why most people use AI backwards to whether it's making our brains lazy. Plus solid insights on hiring marketers in the AI era and why org charts might be dead.

As always, you can find:

What do you think....are we headed for more synthetic content or an authenticity backlash?

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The New York Times | 6-minute read

Overview: Virtual creators are getting bigger brand deals, with disclosure and authenticity issues tagging along.

Key Points:

My take: I still take a Meg Stalter any day… also, if it’s synthetic, label it…or expect the comments to roast you and your fake friend.

Semrush | 9-minute read

Overview: Study compares Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity across 5,000 queries.

Key Points:

My take: Treat AI surfaces as adjacent to SEO, not a mirror. Structure for intent, measure AI-surface presence, keep search doing the heavy lifting 🏋️ (I love this emoji).

Adweek | listen, ~35 min

Overview: Robertson argues AI lowers the cost of failure so humans can spend more time on taste, judgment, and braver ideas.

Key Points:

My take: Loveeee Andrew’s take on how if used right, AI can help us focus on more creative ideas, taste, curation, etc. So AI saves you time, spend it on craft…not decks about craft.

The Drum | 4-minute read

Overview: Practitioners weigh speed and scale against sameness, IP, and the risk of an “AI house style.”

Key Points:

My take: Use AI to clear your own work from admin and tedious tasks and tests, not actually do the creative/human work. Keep the brand weird, plz!

MarTech | 6-minute read

Overview: Concrete shifts in AI-assisted shopping, role redesign toward orchestration, and data-first, agent-ready stacks.

Key Points:

My take: Less tool sprawl, more data hygiene. Orchestrate agents later; fix your sources of truth and data first!

Ahrefs | 10-minute read)

Overview: Large-sample test quantifies link hallucination rates across assistants and when they invent citations.

Key Points:

My take: If your plan relies on AI citations, make sure to double check them! Always click through….especially before a CMO readout. (Also fyi - it will say source=chat gpt at the end of any url from Chat GPT..)

JK writes product marketing’s goal isn’t to ship decks or taglines; it’s to drive sales, adoption, retention, and expansion. He says PMM teams should track win rates, adoption at 30/60/90 days, net revenue retention and pipeline/revenue generated from launches. See Post

Maggie recounts that BBC News asked journalist Henk van Ess to verify an image allegedly showing Luigi Mangione modelling Shein clothes from prison. Van Ess reproduced the fake using Grok in seconds, highlighting how easily AI can generate commercial deepfakes. He shares tips for spotting AI‑generated images. See Post

Marissa notes that as GPUs and efficiency accelerate, humanity will matter more. Marissa quotes Vonnegut to remind readers that humans are “dancing animals” who find joy in wandering, not just optimizing. See Post

Hilary writes people get poor results when they ask AI to produce work they don’t understand. She argues the key to quality output is understanding the fundamentals and using AI as a teacher. She built “Wally the Writing Partner,” a custom GPT that guides users from messy thoughts to clear arguments, illustrating how AI can strengthen critical thinking rather than replace it. See Post

Audrey predicts that centering AI as a selling point will soon be passé. AI will remain in products and workflows, but marketing will shift back to solving customer problems; audience‑centric messaging will replace “AI‑everywhere” copy. See Post

Stuck in traffic, Peter shares rapid-fire opinions: “AI PM” is a meaningless label; evaluation should focus on human‑defined criteria; building new AI agents is saturated, better to automate boring workflows; avoid overhyped AI influencers; very few non‑big‑lab tools have real retention; you can’t vibe‑code like a pro engineer; and the best rule is to “do the simple thing first.” He adds that starting projects with AI too early can make you lazy. See Post

Will writes that over‑using AI can lead to cognitive “atrophy.” An MIT study he cites found ChatGPT users forgot 83 % of what they wrote, their brain connectivity dropped 47 %, and mental effort fell 33 %. He recommends forming your own ideas first, then using AI as an editor or assistant. See Post

Katherine says you can’t “hack” generative engine optimisation with keywords; instead, think like a PR team. To appear in AI results, brands should publish thought‑leading, data‑driven stories that get linked and quoted, echoing Google’s E‑E‑A‑T guidelines. See Post

Summarising insights from Microsoft’s AI platform lead, Ruslan explains that future organisations will route tasks dynamically between humans and AI agents. The question isn’t who reports to whom but “who or what should do this work, and how do we route and monitor tasks?” He links to resources on AI’s impact on work, cautioning against scattered pilots and advocating collaboration between AI and experts. See Post

Paul writes that five years ago, marketers were judged by campaign portfolios and tool experience. Today, many candidates claim AI skills but lack revenue attribution and cross‑functional understanding. He looks for curiosity, strong analytics, problem‑solving ability, cross‑functional collaboration, and systems thinking in resumes. See Post

All tools covered continue to be added to the 190+ AI + Marketing tool directory!

Atlassian is acquiring the agent-powered Dia AI browser for $610 million, betting on a future where browsers don’t just show content, they summarize pages and take actions. Best for: Enterprise Tech Marketer • Productivity Lead • Digital Workplace Strategist

Seed-stage branding platform that helps marketers deploy AI agents to ensure brand visibility on ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI discovery channels, while personalizing loyalty offers. Raised $6 million in funding. Best for: Brand Strategist • Loyalty Marketer • Enterprise Digital Lead

Now live: an AI-driven GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) tool that helps multi-location brands track how they’re surfacing across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and even auto-correct AI answers to showcase accurate, localized info. Best for: Local Marketing Manager • Franchise Ops Lead • Multi-location Brand Marketer

HubSpot introduces "Loop Marketing", a hybrid human+AI framework with stages like Express → Tailor → Amplify → Evolve, helping small teams adapt faster to AI-first customer paths that bypass traditional click funnels. Best for: Small Business Marketer • Demand Gen Strategist • HubSpot User

Captions rebrands as Mirage and expands beyond creator tools into AI-video research. It now delivers full AI-generated short-form videos (with custom avatars and backgrounds) for brands. Best for: Social Video Marketer • Creative Ops • Digital Content Lead

Below is another interesting event added this week to the full AI + Marketing Events blog post!

NYC, Sep 18, 2025 - Dedicated to the intersection of branding and AI, this one-day event returns to New York City. Learn More

Kiingo AI - Digital Marketer (AI Marketer)

Atlassian - Senior AI PMM

JPMorganChase - GenAI Marketing Strategy-Vice President

Twine - AI Content Creator - Skincare Brand

Google - Motion Designer, AI Marketing

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