News/Marketing
Merriam-Webster releases first print dictionary in 20 years to combat AI misinformation
Merriam-Webster has published the 12th edition of its Collegiate Dictionary, the first update in more than 20 years, positioning the physical book as a trustworthy alternative to AI-generated content. The release comes as a direct response to growing concerns about AI hallucinations and misinformation, with the company marketing the dictionary as "actual intelligence" versus artificial intelligence that "never hallucinates" and requires no electricity. The big picture: This marks a surprising return to print publishing in an industry that went digital-first decades ago, with the move serving as both a marketing statement against AI and a nostalgic appeal to traditional authority....
read Oct 14, 2025Flailing satellite TV provider DirecTV will use AI to put your face in screensaver ads starting 2026
DirecTV will introduce AI-generated screensaver ads featuring users' faces on its Gemini streaming devices starting in early 2026, partnering with ad company Glance. The move represents another attempt by the struggling satellite TV provider to diversify revenue streams as it faces declining subscriber numbers, dropping from over 20 million in 2015 to approximately 11 million in 2024. What you should know: The AI-powered screensavers will replace Google wallpapers on DirecTV's Gemini Air and Gemini set-top box devices when TVs are idle for 10 minutes. Users can create AI avatars of themselves by scanning QR codes displayed on the screensaver, then...
read Oct 14, 2025France’s Publicis raises growth forecast as AI powers 73% of operations
French advertising giant Publicis raised its full-year organic growth forecast for the second time in 2025, crediting artificial intelligence as its primary growth driver. The company now reports that 73% of its operations are AI-powered, demonstrating how strategic AI implementation can deliver measurable business results amid ongoing debates about AI's practical value. What you should know: Publicis has systematically invested €12 billion ($12.7 billion) in data, technology, and AI infrastructure since 2015, enabling the company to monitor consumer behavior across more than 4 billion individuals globally. The advertising firm now individualizes marketing strategies at unprecedented scale, leveraging this massive data...
readGet SIGNAL/NOISE in your inbox daily
All Signal, No Noise
One concise email to make you smarter on AI daily.
Elon Musk’s own Grok confirms Lucid Air beats Tesla Model S
Lucid Motors used Elon Musk's own AI chatbot Grok to validate claims that its luxury electric vehicles outperform Tesla's offerings, with the AI confirming the 2025 Lucid Air as the best luxury EV option. The marketing stunt highlights intensifying competition in the premium electric vehicle market, where Lucid is positioning itself as a more advanced alternative to Tesla's aging Model S lineup. What happened: Lucid posted a social media video asking three AI chatbots—Grok, ChatGPT, and Copilot—"What's the best luxury EV?" All three AI systems identified the 2025 Lucid Air as the top luxury electric vehicle choice. Grok specifically praised...
read Oct 10, 2025How to choose the right AI writing assistant for your team
Most content teams waste thousands of dollars on AI writing tools they abandon within months. The problem isn't the technology—it's choosing the wrong tool for your specific workflow. A solo freelancer managing three clients needs different capabilities than a 50-person marketing department launching quarterly campaigns. This guide breaks down how to choose AI writing assistants based on your team size, content volume, and business objectives. We'll examine the key evaluation criteria, pricing models that make sense for different scenarios, and highlight the leading options currently available. What are AI writing assistants? AI writing assistants are software tools that use artificial...
read Oct 10, 2025Visual AI will transform business storytelling within 24 months, suggests survey
Generative artificial intelligence for visual content is reshaping how businesses create and deploy marketing materials, product demonstrations, and customer experiences. Unlike text-based AI that generates written content, visual AI systems can produce, modify, and enhance images, videos, and 3D graphics by learning from existing visual data to create contextually relevant content. The technology has reached a tipping point where enterprise adoption is accelerating rapidly. Global executives report being "fascinated by the progress made on video generation in just six months," with platforms like Adobe Firefly, Canva, HeyGen, Runway, OpenAI's Sora, and Google's Veo democratizing sophisticated visual content creation that previously...
read Oct 10, 2025Bobbing and leaving: Friend CEO avoids New Yorkers after $1M AI subway ad campaign
Friend CEO Avi Schiffmann, who spent over a million dollars plastering AI ads across New York's subway system, is now avoiding face-to-face conversations with New Yorkers about his controversial campaign. The 22-year-old entrepreneur's reluctance to engage directly with the public highlights the growing disconnect between tech executives and the communities affected by their marketing strategies. What happened: Schiffmann declined to interview subway riders alongside Gothamist reporters at West 4th Street station, which houses 53 of Friend's more than 11,000 AI ads across the transit system. He requested that reporters not announce his identity to people in the area and refused...
read Oct 9, 2025Personal injury lawyers use AI to create fake but convincing news ads targeting victims
Personal injury lawyers are using artificial intelligence to create fake newscasts and testimonials in advertisements, blurring the line between legitimate journalism and marketing. The trend has accelerated with the recent launch of powerful AI video tools from Meta and OpenAI, making it easier and cheaper for companies to generate convincing synthetic content that can mislead consumers about legal services and potential payouts. The big picture: AI-generated legal ads are becoming increasingly sophisticated, featuring fake news anchors, fabricated victims holding oversized checks, and synthetic influencers promoting legal services as if they were genuine news stories. Key details: Companies like Case Connect...
read Oct 7, 2025The customer journey of a 1,000 miles begins with 3 ways data, AI are shaping audience engagement
Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping how businesses connect with their audiences, but the transformation goes deeper than most companies realize. Traditional marketing approaches—built around predictable customer journeys through company websites and advertising touchpoints—are becoming obsolete as consumers increasingly rely on AI-powered search tools and conversational interfaces to make purchasing decisions. This shift creates both unprecedented challenges and opportunities. While audiences fragment across an expanding array of digital channels, their expectations for personalized, frictionless experiences continue to rise. Companies that master the intersection of data strategy and AI implementation can accelerate their marketing effectiveness from months-long campaign cycles to real-time optimization....
read Oct 7, 2025Whatcha gon’ do? Friend AI CEO embraces vandalized subway ads as marketing strategy
Friend AI startup CEO Avi Schiffmann is embracing the backlash from his company's controversial New York City subway advertising campaign, even posing for photos in front of the heavily vandalized billboards. The 22-year-old executive claims the negative reaction was intentional, designed to spark conversation about Friend's AI pendant that constantly listens to users and sends AI-generated text responses. What you should know: Friend's subway ads became targets for public frustration, with vandals covering the white billboards with handwritten criticism. "Befriend something alive," one person wrote, while another scrawled "AI wouldn't care if you lived or died." A third vandal warned:...
read Oct 7, 2025NYC’s Advertising Week draws record 20K attendees as AI reshapes marketing talent
Advertising Week New York drew record attendance as marketers grappled with AI-driven disruption across talent acquisition, creative production, and brand authenticity. The 20,000 attendees confronted mounting pressures from broken measurement systems, widening AI-created skill gaps, and evolving definitions of authentic brand engagement in an increasingly synthetic content landscape. The big picture: Generative AI is fundamentally reshaping advertising talent requirements, forcing agencies to prioritize creative intuition over technical training. Entry-level roles that rely on automated mechanisms are being redefined as AI tools eliminate traditional production barriers. One anonymous CMO now seeks candidates with successful TikTok portfolios rather than traditional ad school...
read Oct 6, 2025Jargon-heavy AI ads blanket San Francisco, leaving non-techies scratching their heads
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Carl Nolte observes how artificial intelligence advertising has dramatically transformed the city's visual landscape, with AI company ads now dominating public transportation and subway stations. The ubiquitous presence of these cryptic, tech-focused advertisements signals San Francisco's latest reinvention as it emerges from recent challenges with a new identity centered around AI innovation. What you should know: AI advertising has become inescapable across San Francisco's public transportation system, featuring messages that would have been incomprehensible just a year ago. Muni buses display ads for AI code review tools like "Code Rabbit," while entire subway stations are covered...
read Oct 6, 2025“Do you fear me now?” Verizon uses AI to match competitor bills and steal AT&T customers
Verizon has launched an AI-powered "Bring your bill" promotion targeting AT&T and T-Mobile customers, promising to analyze competitor bills and match or beat their pricing. The tool applies promotional credits and discounts to create competitive rates locked in for 36 months, marking Verizon's attempt to shed its premium-price reputation in an increasingly price-sensitive wireless market. The big picture: All three major carriers now offer similar network performance and features, making price and value the primary differentiators in the wireless market. Verizon has traditionally commanded higher prices due to its network quality, but T-Mobile's 5G leadership has shifted competitive dynamics. Rather...
read Oct 3, 2025Ringing the AI bell: 70% of independent hotels say tech is crucial to compete with major chains
Independent hospitality businesses are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence to compete with major hotel chains, with new research showing 70% of property owners view AI as crucial for staying competitive. The technology is democratizing tools once exclusive to large corporations, allowing boutique hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and vacation rentals to streamline operations while preserving their personal touch. What you should know: AI adoption among independent hospitality operators is driven by immediate efficiency gains and competitive necessity. Nearly 39% of current AI users say it provides a significant competitive edge, while 30% consider it essential for survival. Time savings and efficiency are the top...
read Oct 1, 2025Superfiliate launches AI creator discovery tool using Meta’s first-party data
Superfiliate has launched an AI-powered creator discovery tool that uses first-party data from Meta to match brands with social media influencers. The Venice, California-based company aims to streamline what has traditionally been a time-consuming process of manually searching for content creators, leveraging recommendation intelligence similar to Netflix and Spotify's algorithms. How it works: The tool allows marketers to search for specific types of content creators and conduct comprehensive research on potential partnerships. Users can type search queries like "Find me home decor creators with 50K+ followers" to surface viable influencer options. Brands can upload a creator's social media handle to...
read Oct 1, 2025Adobe’s new Harmonize tool uses AI to automate Photoshop compositing
Adobe has quietly unleashed what might be Photoshop's most transformative feature in years. The new Harmonize tool, currently available in Photoshop's beta version, uses artificial intelligence to automatically adjust lighting, shadows, and color temperature when combining multiple images—a process called compositing that typically requires hours of manual work. Compositing involves taking objects or people from one photograph and seamlessly placing them into a different background image. Traditional methods require painstaking adjustments to match lighting conditions, shadow directions, and color temperatures between the source image and destination background. Harmonize eliminates most of this tedious work with a single click, producing results...
read Oct 1, 2025Meta will mine AI chat data to personalize ads starting December 16, no opting out
Meta will begin using people's conversations with its AI chatbot to personalize content and advertisements across Facebook and Instagram starting December 16. The social media giant said users cannot opt out of the new data collection practice, which affects the 1 billion monthly active users of Meta AI and represents a significant expansion of how tech companies monetize artificial intelligence interactions. What you should know: Meta's AI chat data will join existing user information like likes and follows to shape content recommendations and advertising across its platforms. Users will receive notifications about the changes starting October 7, but they won't...
read Sep 30, 2025Friend’s $1M NYC subway ad campaign faces fierce, unfriendly anti-AI vandalism
New Yorkers are defacing a million-dollar subway ad campaign by AI startup Friend, with vandals scrawling messages like "AI wouldn't care if you lived or died" and "stop profiting off of loneliness" across thousands of ads. The company's 22-year-old CEO Avi Schiffmann admits he deliberately provoked the backlash, spending over $1 million on more than 11,000 subway car ads to spark social commentary about AI companionship in a city he knew would be hostile to the concept. What you should know: Friend sells a $129 wearable device that hangs around users' necks and listens to conversations, positioning itself as an...
read Sep 30, 2025Study finds AI ads perform equally to human-made campaigns, with no audience pushback
Advertising creatives are increasingly embracing AI-generated content in campaigns, marking a dramatic shift from previous resistance to the technology. A new Kantar study found that AI-involved ads perform just as effectively as traditional advertisements, with audiences showing little negative reaction to AI-generated visuals in TV, digital, and social campaigns. The big picture: The advertising industry has undergone a complete reversal in AI adoption, moving from cautious experimentation to full client demand in just one year. "We have seen a shift in client openness to fully AI developed campaigns," said Christian Pierre, global chief intelligence officer at Gut, a creative agency....
read Sep 29, 2025Top advertising org’s new framework places 84 AI use cases into 6 categories
The advertising industry stands at an inflection point where artificial intelligence transforms every aspect of campaign development and execution. Yet for many marketing organizations, navigating this technological landscape feels like trying to read a map written in a foreign language. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the industry's primary trade organization representing digital advertising companies, recently addressed this challenge with the release of its comprehensive AI in Advertising Use Case Map. Published in September 2024, this framework organizes 84 distinct AI applications across six strategic categories, providing marketing professionals with a structured approach to understanding, evaluating, and implementing artificial intelligence solutions....
read Sep 26, 2025Apple faces 69-plaintiff lawsuit over delayed iPhone 16 AI features
Apple has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging the company misled customers about delayed Apple Intelligence features when marketing the iPhone 16. The case, which consolidated multiple lawsuits and features 69 plaintiffs, centers on Apple's promise of enhanced Siri capabilities that have been delayed until 2026, potentially setting a precedent for how tech companies can market products based on future promises rather than current capabilities. What you should know: The lawsuit, Landsheft v. Apple Inc., specifically targets Apple's marketing of two delayed Siri features: personal context awareness and in-app controls. Apple argues it cannot support the...
read Sep 23, 2025TikTok AI suggests shopping items on…Gaza war footage
TikTok is tagging videos from Gaza with AI-powered product recommendations, matching items visible in war footage with shop listings. The algorithm has been suggesting clothing items like "Dubai Middle East Turkish Elegant Lace-Up Dress" on videos showing Palestinian women searching for family members amidst rubble, highlighting the platform's failure to consider appropriate contexts for its new shopping feature. How it works: TikTok's new AI tool automatically scans video content to identify objects and suggest similar products from its shop.• When users pause a video, the system displays a "Find Similar" pop-up with product recommendations that match visible items in the...
read Sep 19, 2025“I made this in like two days, in my underwear”: AI studios slash advertising production costs
AI-powered creative studios are emerging as a significant force in advertising, with companies like The Dor Brothers charging €200,000 for major campaigns while dramatically reducing production costs and timelines. This shift represents a fundamental change in how brands create content, as 76% of global ad agencies plan to increase AI spending this year, driven by the technology's ability to compress six- and seven-figure budgets into five-figure productions. What you should know: AI studios are attracting both corporate clients and investor interest by offering production-grade campaigns at a fraction of traditional costs. The Dor Brothers, a German AI studio, charges roughly...
read Sep 17, 2025Amazon’s Creative Studio AI agent creates free video ads for small businesses
Amazon has launched a new AI agent that automates the entire advertisement production process, from audience research to video creation, targeting small businesses that typically lack access to high-quality ad production resources. The tool, available through Amazon's Creative Studio, leverages the company's vast e-commerce data and multiple AI models to create professional-grade advertisements at no additional cost to advertisers. What you should know: The AI agent handles every aspect of ad creation, from initial concept to final video production. The tool suggests product taglines, generates custom imagery, creates music and voiceovers, and assembles multi-scene video ads. It's powered by Amazon's...
read