In partnership with
{{rh_onboarding_line}}
Hey.
The shift from "AI-assisted" to "AI-driven" marketing has accelerated this week with major moves from Google and Meta. TikTok’s transition is about to be completed, and 3rd party approvals are now the new SEO gold.
Yeah, AIM is always on target.
⚡ Priority Actions
🔥🔥🔥 Act Immediately
Apply for the Google Direct Offers Pilot
Google launched a pilot for ads that present exclusive deals directly within "AI Mode." Early collaborators like Petco and e.l.f. see direct-to-consumer value before the price-comparison phase. Check Merchant Center for "Direct Offers" eligibility or contact your Google rep.
In Partnership with Wispr Flow: Make sure people hear you loud and clear.
Ship the message as fast as you think
Founders spend too much time drafting the same kinds of messages. Wispr Flow turns spoken thinking into final-draft writing so you can record investor updates, product briefs, and run-of-the-mill status notes by voice. Use saved snippets for recurring intros, insert calendar links by voice, and keep comms consistent across the team. It preserves your tone, fixes punctuation, and formats lists so you send confident messages fast. Works on Mac, Windows, and iPhone. Try Wispr Flow for founders.
🔥🔥 Act This Week
Test Disney’s New Vertical Video Gen Tool
Disney unveiled an AI video generation tool for TikTok-style vertical ads. High-quality, brand-safe vertical video is the top-performing format for 2026 social commerce. Register for the beta to turn static brand assets into Disney-quality vertical clips.
🔥 Track Closely
TikTok Ownership Deal Approaching Finalization
TikTok's U.S. ownership restructuring (Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX at 45%) is expected to close around January 22. New ownership could bring platform change, keep Q1 spend flexible, and build contingency scenarios into TikTok media plans.
📊 This Week’s Winner
Klarna Cuts Marketing Costs $10M with AI Creative Production
What they did: Klarna integrated generative AI tools for image creation and broader marketing workflows, compressing their asset development cycle from 6 weeks to 7 days. They used AI for bespoke visual production while reducing agency and supplier reliance, treating AI as an operational efficiency driver, not a novelty.
The numbers:
Cost savings: $10M annualized marketing cost reduction.
Production speed: 6 weeks → 7 days for image development.
Output volume: 1,000+ bespoke images generated in 3 months.
Timeline: Implemented throughout a year.
Investment: Internal AI tool adoption + reduced external supplier spend.
How to copy it:
Audit your creative bottleneck: Identify which asset types (product shots, social graphics, seasonal campaigns) take the longest to produce.
Start with product imagery: Use Midjourney, Nano Banana Pro, ChatGPT Images, or Adobe Firefly to generate lifestyle/product contexts. Set brand guidelines as prompts.
Measure production time pre/post: Track days-to-launch for campaigns before and after AI integration. Target 50%+ reduction.
Time to implement: 2-4 weeks for first workflow integration.
In Partnership with Stan: Make your dream come true.
Your dream is ready. Are you?
What if you woke up tomorrow with all your expenses covered for an entire year? No rent. No bills. What would you build?
Join our Dare to Dream Challenge and enter for a chance to win $100,000. Hone your voice. Unlock your audience. Dare to dream.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. For full Official Rules, visit daretodream.stan.store/officialrules.
🎯 Rapid-Fire Intel
EMERGING PATTERN: "3rd-Party Authority" is the new SEO. A Jan 2026 study found brands are 6.5x more likely to be mentioned in AI search via 3rd-party reviews than their own official websites.
PLATFORM UPDATE: Google confirmed that exact match keywords cannot serve in AI Overviews even when identical broad match keywords exist. If you're relying on exact match for control, expect coverage gaps as AI Overviews expand.
WORTH WATCHING: Meta's "Andromeda" algorithm now prioritizes creative diversity over manual targeting. Rising CPMs may indicate creative fatigue; the system penalizes repetitive content. Prepare for monthly (small accounts) or weekly (large accounts) creative refreshes as the new baseline.
That's your brief. If you find it useful, please share it with someone you'd like to save. Remember, it isn't polite if you don’t save people you care about.
👋 Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Subscribe to get your weekly winning guides on AI Marketing.
Questions? Just write a comment below. I read all the comments and respond to them.