The daily briefing for AI marketers, growth hackers, and operators.

TL;DR — The Rundown AI highlights xAI's significant funding round to enhance its Grok chatbot and data infrastructure. Funding: $20 billion raised. Strategy: Scaling AI capabilities for marketing automation.

TL;DR — Salesforce breaks down essential tech trends shaping fast-growing businesses. Trends: AI integration, automation, and data utilization. Action: Adopt these trends to enhance marketing strategies.

TL;DR — Southwest Airlines faced prolonged reputational damage after AI summaries resurfaced 2022 crisis data during recent searches. MarTech warns that without fresh 'brand receipts,' AI models default to historical controversy. Tactical implication: Publish a 'Facts' or 'Timeline' page tackling common negatives and link it from your footer to provide clean source data for crawlers.

TL;DR — Digiday reports OpenAI expects to burn $115B through 2029 and pay ~$450B for servers (per The Information, cited), while Sensor Tower pegs ChatGPT at ~910M monthly active users vs Gemini at ~345M (125% YoY). Tools referenced: ChatGPT, Gemini, commerce integrations (e.g., Shopify/Etsy mentioned), and emerging AI ad surfaces. Data sources: Sensor Tower + The Information (as cited). Tactical implication: start an 'AI media buying' readiness plan now—define conversion events + server-side tracking + creative/offer testing rules so you can pilot ads the moment inventory opens.

TL;DR — Marketers report saving 5–6 hours weekly by chaining ChatGPT for drafting with n8n for distribution. One user reduced reporting time from 47 to 10 minutes using automated data fetching scripts. Tactical implication: Map your manual reporting workflow and replace the data-gathering step with an API-connected agent or script this week.

TL;DR — Daily AI search users in the US jumped from 14% to 29.2% in just six months (HigherVisibility). eMarketer analysis suggests Google is shifting to transaction-fulfillment while ChatGPT dominates high-intent research. Tactical implication: Audit your content for 'answer engine' readiness by placing key statistics and direct answers in the first 150 words of every post.

TL;DR — VML exec Tyler Murray: AI agents pose 'existential threat' to retail media as 60%+ AI searches end without clicks per Bain & Co. Walmart investing in 170,000 in-store digital screens as strategic moat against AI-driven zero-click shopping. Mastercard entered commerce media (Oct 2025), but space cooling after 3-year explosion. Data source: Bain & Co. + VML. Tactical implication: Shift 15-25% of digital retail media budget to in-store/physical activations where AI agents can't intercept the customer journey.

TL;DR — 38% of shoppers now use AI for product discovery, with 89% verifying details before purchase (IAB). eMarketer data indicates the 'middle funnel' is collapsing as autonomous agents handle evaluation and comparison tasks. Tactical implication: Structure product data with detailed Schema.org markup to ensure agents can parse pricing, specs, and availability without hallucinations.

TL;DR — Perplexity launched AI shopping agent Nov 2024; 2025 saw explosion from ChatGPT, Amazon Rufus, Walmart Sparky. McKinsey estimates agentic commerce could redirect $1 trillion in US retail spend, but Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says most agents 'fail to provide satisfactory experience' with inaccurate pricing/delivery. eMarketer forecasts AI platforms will drive just 1.5% of retail ecommerce sales in 2026 ($20.9B). Data source: McKinsey + eMarketer. Tactical implication: Launch controlled pilot with one AI shopping platform (Perplexity or ChatGPT Shopping) testing 10-20 SKUs to measure conversion rates vs. organic search over Q1 2026.

TL;DR — Bain & Company data shows 60% of searches now end without a click, as users pivot to AI assistants. Ryanair vanished from GPT-5 results despite high GPT-4 visibility, proving the volatility of 'compressed memory' indices. Tactical implication: Shift SEO focus from keywords to 'Cognitive Fit'—publishing structured data and direct answers that LLMs can cite without needing a click.

TL;DR — The IAB's new Agentic AI Roadmap defines the shift from 'serving ads' to 'serving agents,' outlining standards for machine-readable creative and autonomous media buying. The framework pushes for metadata that allows agents to parse product utility without human visual rendering. Tactical implication: Update product feeds with structured schema (price, availability, specs) to ensure visibility in agent-led discovery.

TL;DR — Salesforce portfolio data reveals Telepass now runs 36k agent conversations weekly with 80% resolution, while Nexo saves 90k employee hours monthly via agentic workflows. Smartsheet reduced response times from days to minutes by redesigning processes for AI rather than automating legacy flows. Tactical implication: Audit high-volume support workflows for 'agentic fit' and pilot one end-to-end resolution agent this quarter.

TL;DR — Alex Lindley highlights data from 200k keywords showing a slight decrease in zero-click rates (38.1% to 36.2%) despite AIO rollout. Data: Pew research indicates only 1% of users click source links in AI summaries. Strategy: shift from definitional 'what is' content to complex 'how to' and transactional queries. Action: run a keyword gap analysis excluding informational terms to find AIO-safe pockets.

TL;DR — Robbie Jack breaks down how non-technical marketers can ship micro-SaaS apps using Claude Code. Workflow: use 'cursor-rules' to enforce coding standards and 'spec-first' prompting to reduce hallucinations. Tools: combining Claude 3.7 with Replit Agent allows shipping internal dashboards in under 4 hours. Action: install Claude Code and build a simple API connector for your CRM.

TL;DR — MarTech Editorial argues that B2B discovery is shifting from search rankings to 'citation authority' in LLMs. Strategy: strengthen E-E-A-T signals by earning mentions from high-authority niche publications rather than high-volume generic sites. Structure: format content with clear 'definition blocks' and 'stat tables' for easy scraping. Action: rewrite your 'About' page to explicitly define your category and core value prop for crawlers.

TL;DR — Developers Digest outlines a method for making Claude Code 'remember' fixes across sessions using a self-improving memory file. Workflow: create a '.claude/memory.md' file where the agent logs common errors and successful patterns. Efficiency: reduces repetitive debugging loops by 40% in complex projects. Action: add a 'lessons learned' step to your cursor rules to auto-update your memory file.

TL;DR — Trishla Ostwal highlights Reddit's new 'Max' campaign type that automates targeting and creative allocation. Performance: pilot brands like Brooks Running saw a 17% lower CPA and 27% more conversions compared to manual setups. Automation: the system uses 'Reddit Community Intelligence' to find relevant subreddits dynamically. Action: test Reddit Max with 10% of your paid social budget to capture high-intent niche audiences.

TL;DR — Gustav M outlines the impact of AI search features on organic click-through rates across industries. Data: organic traffic has dropped 15-64% for informational queries where AI answers directly. Strategy: focus on 'experience-based' content (reviews, opinions) that AI cannot verify or replicate. Action: audit your top 20 traffic pages and add personal anecdotes or proprietary data to differentiate from AI summaries.

TL;DR — Search Engine Journal highlights the technical rollout of Reddit's Max campaigns for performance marketers. Tools: features 'unified placement' across feed and conversation threads to maximize inventory. Efficiency: creates multiple ad variants from a single asset input using generative AI. Action: use the 'creative remix' feature to test 5 different headlines for the same visual asset.

TL;DR — Marketing Brew breaks down the strategic shift of CMOs at Intuit and Adobe towards 'AI visibility'. KPI: tracking 'Citation Authority' is replacing share-of-voice as a primary metric. Workflow: investing in upskilling teams to use agents for data analysis rather than content creation. Action: set up a quarterly 'AI Visibility Index' to track how often your brand is cited by Perplexity and ChatGPT.

TL;DR — MIT Technology Review outlines macro AI trends including the rise of Chinese open-source models in US products. Regulation: expects intensified US legal battles over AI liability and copyright. Commerce: chatbots are moving from support to active sales agents in retail. Action: review your AI vendor list for dependency on specific models that may face regulatory headwinds.

TL;DR — u/SpudMasterFlash argues that 'unlinked mentions' on Reddit are becoming a critical ranking factor for AI Overviews. Observation: 34% of AI citations come from PR-driven coverage and forum discussions rather than traditional backlinks. Strategy: treat Reddit threads as 'digital PR' opportunities. Action: monitor brand mentions on Reddit and engage authentically to build semantic association.

TL;DR — Community debates the logic of shifting budget to LLM-based ad placements as SERP clicks decline. Insight: treat LLM ads as a new 'mid-funnel' channel rather than direct response. Measurement: attribution remains difficult due to lack of click data. Action: run a geo-lift test to measure the incremental impact of LLM ad spend.

TL;DR — BCC Research projects the AI agent market will grow at a 43.3% CAGR to reach $48.3B by 2030. Drivers: advancements in NLP and demand for enterprise automation are fueling adoption. Market: North America leads in market share. Action: monitor this sector for investment or partnership opportunities.

TL;DR — Aible launches six new AI agent solutions tailored for industries like retail and healthcare. Features: automated KPI analysis and explanation of shifts across millions of variables. Efficiency: claims up to 200x cost savings over traditional analytics methods. Action: explore industry-specific agent solutions if you need specialized vertical analytics.

TL;DR — [Adam Tanguay] argues brand mentions are the new backlinks for AI search. LLMs prioritize context and co-occurrence over hyperlinks. Action: Prioritize 'citation-worthy' assets (original data, definitive guides, tools) and active PR to feed LLM training data.