Let The AI Feed
Generative AI makes it relatively easy to produce the sort of templated content that could replace stock photography and certain basic aspects of media production. But the knock has been that AI-generated videos don’t capture the ingenuity or spark or humor that marks good … well, creative.
OpenAI believes it’s ready to change that.
Wired reports that the LLM operator is preparing to launch a standalone social media app featuring a swipe-to-scroll vertical video feed – which is to say, its version of TikTok. The twist is that all the videos are AI-generated.
Truly. According to Wired, there will be no option to upload photos or videos from a camera roll or other apps.
Users create videos by prompting the Sora 2 model, and if they verify their likeness with the app, they can also generate photos or videos featuring themselves.
In theory, a scaled social app would give OpenAI a whole new advertising canvas that aligns with how advertisers spend money right now. On the other hand, OpenAI’s would-be social app comes off as a little gimmicky, equal parts marketing ploy and user feedback tool.
But, hey, if OpenAI’s slop app is as funny as Vine was, then maybe generative AI has hit an important milestone.
A Store Of Knowledge
Product and retail marketers have limited sway over the models behind generative AI search.
For example, an online seller can work with OpenAI (as of yesterday) and Perplexity (since earlier this year) on checkout integrations. Yet merchants can’t directly influence how generative searches describe their products or even when they’re cited in responses.
But Google is now testing a chatbot feature called “Ask Stores” that prompts users to pose shopping-related questions directly to retailers and online marketplaces, Search Engine Roundtable reports.
The tool functions as a direct integration, rather than an open partner program or as a broad Google shopping agent tied across its network.
Poshmark is an early tester, per in-the-wild experiments of the new “Ask Stores” bot. And what does that look like in practice? Say a shopper asks whether a certain product is available elsewhere; the bot won’t link to or mention any listing other than those on Poshmark.
Google benefits, too, though, of course. All shopper queries via the chatbot are also used to inform Google Gemini’s AI models.
Like A Peloton Of Bricks
Peloton is attempting a re-re-rebrand, this time with plans to bake in AI-based software and add first-party hardware. Think fans, phone holders and seat adapters that attach to its equipment, Bloomberg reports.
But Peloton is also an interesting case study in the “everything is an ad network” trend – in that it hasn’t yet launched one.
The company’s shares, now trading at around $8.50, were priced at over $100 until late 2021, back when investors were obsessed with subscription revenue. Except, it turns out that subscriptions aren’t forever.
Peloton’s new AI plans involve in-house personalization, such as dubbing workout sessions so English-speaking instructors can work internationally and creating personalized goals rather than defaulting to the class’s level. Peloton’s AI also upsells subscriptions and merch at opportune moments, of course.
However, Peloton hasn’t stepped into retail media, although there is a play there. People may not purchase from Peloton like a grocery store, but marketers would no doubt pay to layer its data into their campaigns.
Planet Fitness, for example, launched a programmatic advertising and data sales business last year – and Peloton can boast of a higher-earner, logged-in user base.
Hopefully, Peloton’s revival works. Otherwise, private equity will probably swoop in to snap it up for all of its untapped consumer data, and with little concern for alienating subscribers.
But Wait! There’s More!
Cloudflare updates robots.txt for the AI era – but publishers want more recourse against LLM bot scrapers. [Digiday]
Why developers are pissed at Ruby Central, which maintains libraries of open-source code that power critical tech infrastructure across the internet. [404 Media]
Microsoft Office is trying to make “vibe working” happen. [The Verge]
The use of agentic AI “memory” raises new data privacy and policy questions for companies and employees. [Tech Policy Press]
Social influencers and YouTube creators have built strong IP and enthusiastic fan bases, so why aren’t major studios investing more? [Bloomberg]
Game studio EA announced a $55 billion private buyout, with new investors, including Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. [Kotaku]
CEOs are declining interviews and speaking engagements over fears of government retaliation. [Business Insider]
You’re Hired!
Comcast hires Michael Cavanagh as co-CEO alongside Brian Roberts. [Variety]
Contextual marketing platform Mundial Media announces new leadership hires, including from Yahoo and My Code. [release]
