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Tag Archives: artificial intelligence
Your Product is “AI-Powered”? There Are Two Problems With That Marketing Message.
How does this sound?
“State-of-the-art, frontier AI.”
Or this?
“The ultimate creative AI solution.”
There are two problems with these “AI-powered” product marketing messages, and you probably don’t even realize the first one.
The first problem
Because you and your friends are so used to seeing the letters “AI” that you know to pronounce each letter separately, as in A I.
But most people don’t know this. Really, they don’t. So when they see those two capital letters next to each other, they think they’re supposed to emit a high-pitched scream.
Try it yourself. Read the sentence below, but instead of speaking the letters A and I in a normal tone of voice, yell them as a single interjection.
“State-of-the-art, frontier AI.”
Is that how you want your customers to talk about your product?
The second problem is more obvious…I hope.
The second problem
Despite its undeniable impact on all of us, artificial intelligence is just a feature. Like the Pentium, or Corinthian leather.
And it’s a feature that everyone has. Not a differentiator at all.
To say your software is AI-powered is like an automotive company saying their cars have tires.
How many times do you see Ford or Toyota saying their cars have tires?
They don’t waste their time talking about something that everyone has.
And you shouldn’t waste your time talking about your AI feature.
(Also see Pavel Samsonov’s statement that “Powered By AI” is NOT a value proposition.)
Talk about your critically important benefits instead.
And if you need help with this, talk to Bredemarket.
Not because Bredemarket uses AI. My use of AI for client projects is strictly limited.
But because I work with you to speak to your prospects and customers.
Talk to me: https://bredemarket.com/mark/
Meta Challenge, Sunday October 5 Edition
For background, see https://bredemarket.com/2025/10/01/messing-up-meta-data-via-the-meta-challenge/
The Semantics of “Likeness” vs. “Deepfake”
A quote from YK Hong, from the post at: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPWAy2mEoRF/
“My current recommendation is strongly against uploading your biometrics to OpenAl’s new social feed app, Sora (currently in early release).
“Sora’s Cameo option has the user upload their own biometrics to create voice/video Deepfakes of themselves. The user can also set their preferences to allow others to create Deepfakes of each other, too.
“This is a privacy and security nightmare.”
As I read this, one thing hit me: the intentional use of the word “deepfake,” with its negative connotations.
I had the sneaking suspicion that the descriptions of Cameo didn’t use the word “deepfake” to describe the feature.
And when I read https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12435986-generating-content-with-cameos I discovered I was right. OpenAI calls it a “likeness” or a “character” or…a cameo.
“Cameos are reusable “characters” built from a short video-and-audio capture of you. They let you appear in Sora videos, made by you or by specific people you approve, using a realistic version of your likeness and voice. When you create a cameo, you choose who can use it (e.g., only you, people you approve, or broader access).”
The entire episode shows the power of words. If you substitute a positive word such as “likeness” for a negative word such as “deepfake”—or vice versa—you exercise the power of to color the entire conversation.
Another example from many years ago was an ad from the sugar lobby which intentionally denigrated the “artificial” competitors to all natural sugar. Very effective for the time, in which the old promise of better living through chemicals was regarded as horror.
Remember this in your writing.
Or I can remember it for you if Bredemarket writes for you. Talk to me: https://bredemarket.com/mark/
Messing Up “Meta Data” via the Meta Challenge
I confess that Meta AI’s cluelessness often amuses me. I need to start collecting examples, but it is often off the, um, mark.
But if you REALLY want to confuse Meta AI, participate in Bredemarket’s “Meta Challenge”:
Meta Challenge: at least once per day in October and November, go to Facebook and/or Instagram and ask Meta AI the most inane questions you can think of.
And feel free to ask these inane questions of Bredemarket’s own two Instagram bots.
Because we all want to know who is the best Osmond brother.
And Mark Zuckerberg’s shoe size.
Why?
Now since Bredemarket’s readers are of above average intelligence (and also have extremely magnetic personalities), you are probably asking why I am promoting this activity.
Simple reason: the data we feed to Meta AI in October and November will be used in December, according to PYMNTS.
Meta will begin using people’s conversations with its artificial intelligence to create personalized ads and content.
The change is set to go into effect Dec. 16, the tech giant announced Wednesday (Oct. 1),
If you are concerned about the Really Big Bunch knowing too much about you, feed them false information just to confuse them.
And maybe you’ll get some wild entertaining ads in return.
And if they complain that you’re intentionally messing up their algorithms, tell the Really Big Bunch that you’d be more than happy to provide the REAL data.
For a price.
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Self-Deprecating One-Liners?
(Imagen 4)
By now all of you are able to see the words that I originally saw several days ago: Bredebot’s writings on a content marketer’s need to practice empathy.
And Bredebot’s closing words: “Keep it human!”
Closing words that were written by a Google algorithm, not a human. And weren’t even envisioned in my original prompt; they just came out in the result.
Unlike the time that I explicitly prompted Bredebot to write about “his” inability to truly think. I knew what I was getting into there.
Because while Bredebot can say things that sound human, it can’t truly experience them.
He can say to the running woman (the one unrealistically running in high heels), “I love you,” but he cannot love.
Or, to return to the Philip K. Dick phrase I referenced in the post title, he cannot dream of sheep, real or electric.
In the past, I’ve touched upon the need for emotion in content marketing. And yes, the emotion can be simulated…as long as it evokes real emotion in the reader.
And this is true whether the content is written by a bot or a human. There are thousands of content marketers who write about cancer treatments…despite the fact that most of them have never experienced the fear and dread of a cancer diagnosis themselves.
But the right words can address a prospect’s needs.
Just remember…keep it human!
Is Your Content Up-to-date?
Are you a technology marketing leader who lies awake at night worrying about the following?
“Keeping up with the speed and complexity of the digital landscape.”
Well, maybe not that exact phrase. That sounds like something generative AI would write.
And in fact, my buddy Bredebot wrote it when answering a question about Chief Marketing Officer pain points relative to content.
But I’m not going to let Bredebot write an entire post about it, because I’m going to write it myself.
The human way to reflect the sentiment above is to ask whether your content is up-to-date, or is as dated as a Pentium.
And that’s something that a marketing leader DOES worry about, because they (usually) want their firms to be perceived as innovative, not old fashioned.
Let me give you an example of outdated content that persists today.
SEO, AEO, GEO…I believe they’re different
For years we have been discussing search engine optimization, or SEO. The whole point of SEO is to ensure that your content appears at the top of results when you use Google or Bing or another search engine to launch a search. (Ignore “sponsored content” for a minute here.)
In case you haven’t noticed, fewer and fewer people are using search engines. Instead, they are searching for answers from their favorite generative AI tool, and now the new term the kids are using is answer engine optimization, or AEO. Or perhaps you can follow the lead of Go Fish and refer to generative engine optimization, or GEO.
Now some people are continuing to use SEO when they mean AEO and GEO, under the theory that it’s all just optimization, and it’s all just searching but just with a different tool. Personally, I believe that continuing to refer to SEO is confusing because the term has always been associated with search engines.
Plus, the concept of keywords is fading away, as Lisa Garrud noted in May.
“Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking for keywords, AEO concentrates on providing comprehensive, authoritative answers that AI systems can easily process and deliver to users….
“Think about how you use AI tools today. You don’t ask for ‘electrician Auckland residential services’, you ask, ‘What’s causing the flickering in my kitchen lights?’ or ‘How much should it cost to rewire a 1970s house?’ You want answers, not search results.”
But forget about XEO and let’s return to the content YOU create.
How do you keep YOUR content up-to-date?
Let’s say that you’ve reached the point in your content calendar where you have to write a blog post about pop music.
And let’s also say that you’re old enough to remember the 20th century.
You may have a problem.
For example, when you see the words “pop music,” you may immediately spell the second word with a “z” and a “k” when you TALK ABOUT.
Or if someone mentions INTERPOL, you immediately respond with Deutsche Bank, FBI, and (und?) Scotland Yard.
And now that I’ve lost half my reading audience, you can see my point. While personas are approximations, you need to refer to them when crafting your content. If your hungry people (target audience) tend to be in their 20s and 30s, they’re probably not going to understand or respond to songs from M (Robin Scott) or Kraftwerk.
There are other things you can write that are obviously old, such as “fingerprint identification decisions are infallible.” That statement was questioned back in 2003…BEFORE the whole Brandon Mayfield thingie.
So how does a marketer ensure that their content is not dated? By remembering to ask, then act. Question your assumptions, do your research, write your content, then check your content.
Question your assumptions
Before you write your content, ensure your premise is correct. For example, I didn’t assume without questioning that “keeping up with the speed and complexity of the digital landscape” was a pressing issue. I KNEW that it was a pressing issue, because I encounter it daily.
Do your research
Next, take a moment and check what you are about to say. Was your assumption about fingerprint examiner infallibility affected by the NAS report? Was your assumption affected by activities that occurred after the NAS report?
Write your content
At some point you have to stop asking and start acting, writing your content. Write your draft 0.5 to get your thoughts down, then write your draft 1.0. And keep your personas in mind while you do it.
Check your content
Once it’s drafted, check it again. Have your dated assumptions crept into your writing? Did you use the term “SEO” out of habit, by mistake? Fix it.
The results of up-to-date content
If you do all these things, you’ll ensure that your competitors don’t laugh at your content and tell you how out of touch you are.
Ideally, you want your competitors to show how out of date they are.
“Look at WidgetCorp, who doesn’t even know how to spell! Their writer’s left finger slipped while typing, and they typed the so-called word ‘AEO’ rather than ‘SEO’! Everybody know the term is SEO!”
Which gives you the opportunity to write a succinct reply to your bozo competitor.
I’ll give you the joy of writing it yourself.
Unless you want Bredemarket to write it, or other content. Book a free meeting to discuss your needs. https://bredemarket.com/mark/
The End of Human Resources
I admit to being old enough to remember that a particular corporate department was always called “Human Resources.”
Times have changed.
This hit me when I saw a reference to a “People Manager.”
I initially thought to myself, aren’t ALL managers People Managers?
Then I remembered that we live in the days where AI helps companies jettison people…I mean, rightsize corporate outcomes to maximize efficiencies.
At the rate we’re going, hardly any managers will actually manage people.
Stop Making Sense
When I created the AI-generated imagery for my most recent reel, I tried to instruct Google Gemini to have Theodore Roosevelt wear the suit from the film Stop Making Sense.
I didn’t quite get there.
If you haven’t seen the reel, here it is. The music is not “Girlfriend is Better,” but from an older song by Brian Eno and David Byrne entitled “Mea Culpa.”
As you can see from the Instagram caption text, I still have Panama on my mind.
A Californian, an Illinoisan, and a Dane Walk Into a Videoconference
I was recently talking with a former colleague, whose name I am not at liberty to reveal, and they posed a question that stymied me.
What happens when multiple people join a videoconference, and they all reside in jurisdictions with different privacy regulations?
An example will illustrate what would happen, and I volunteer to be the evil party in this one.
The videoconference
Let’s say:
On a particular day in April 2026, a Californian launches a videoconference on Zoom.
The Californian invites an Illinoisan.
And also invites a Dane.
And then—here’s the evil part—records and gathers images from the videoconference without letting the other two know.
The legal violations
Despite the fact that the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, requires written consent before acquiring Abe’s facial geometry. And if Cali John doesn’t obtain that written consent, he could lose a lot of money.
And what about Freja? Well, if the Danish Copyright Act takes effect on March 31, 2026 as expected, Cali John can get into a ton of trouble if he uses the video to create a realistic, digitally generated imitation of Freja. Again, consent is required. Again, there can be monetary penalties if you don’t get that consent.
But there’s another question we have to consider.
The vendor responsibility
Does the videoconference provider bear any responsibility for the violations of Illinois and Danish law?
Since I used Zoom as my example, I looked at Zoom’s EULA Terms of Service.
TL;DR: not our problem, that’s YOUR problem.
“5. USE OF SERVICES AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES. You may only use the Services pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. You are solely responsible for Your and Your End Users’ use of the Services and shall abide by, and ensure compliance with, all Laws in connection with Your and each End User’s use of the Services, including but not limited to Laws related to recording, intellectual property, privacy and export control. Use of the Services is void where prohibited.”
But such requirements haven’t stopped BIPA lawyers from filing lawsuits against deep pocketed software vendors. Remember when Facebook settled for $650 million?
So remember what could happen the next time you participate in a multinational, multi-state, or even multi-city videoconference. Hope your AI note taker isn’t capturing screen shots.
Bredemarket 