AI-washing layoffs, the trust threshold, and marketing's human literacy problem
Plus: over-reliance on AI is poison to your brain, luxury emphasizes craft over tech, and SXSW is almost here.
What you need to know this week in AI + Marketing in 15 seconds:
Layoffs are being framed as "AI efficiency" even when AI isn't replacing the work - companies using AI language to justify cost cuts, employees growing skeptical (NYT)
57% of consumers trust brands more when they use AI - but trust drops quickly when AI feels deceptive or replaces human support entirely (MarTech)
Luxury brands double down on emotional value as AI catches on - using AI behind the scenes while emphasizing craft and human storytelling in consumer-facing work (Glossy)
Marketing is starting to sound like people fluent in algorithms and illiterate in humans - brands obsessed with algorithmic optimization are ignoring human complexity, empathy, and storytelling (Mira Kaddoura)
Adobe–Semrush partnership deepens AI ties - tighter integration between content creation, SEO data, and AI-driven optimization inside enterprise stacks (Yahoo Finance)
SXSW 2026 is almost here (Mar 12-18, Austin) - 40th anniversary brings dedicated AI + Marketing track, CMO panels from SoFi, Lyft, Samsung. Also: NVIDIA GTC, HumanX, Adobe Summit
More top news, tools, jobs, a lot of cool events, and LI posts below👇.
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🔵 TOP AI + MARKETING NEWS/GUIDES
Trust, transparency, and some more pushback against AI in marketing
the reality check: ai, trust, and layoffs (and hiring?!)
Layoffs and ‘AI-washing’
The New York Times | ~7 min read
Companies are increasingly framing layoffs as “AI efficiency,” even when the technology isn’t actually replacing the work. The piece looks at how AI language is being used to justify cost cuts, and why employees are growing skeptical of those claims.
My take: This is less about AI and more about credibility. Overusing AI as an excuse risks long-term trust with both workers and customers.
Hottest job in tech in 2026 is writing the words AI hires use, report says
Business Insider | ~5 min read
Companies are increasingly hiring writers who specialize in defining roles, prompts, and instruction sets that make AI systems work well - a specialized communication job emerging at the intersection of language, strategy, and tech.
My take: The best work often sits at the boundary between human clarity and machine execution - and that’s where the jobs are growing.
Publicis wants to be an AI marketing MVP. Now comes the hard part
Marketing Dive | ~4 min read
Publicis is pitching itself as an AI-first marketing partner, but execution, integration, and proving ROI are where the real test begins. Strategy is easy; operationalizing AI at agency scale is not.
My take: Every holding company is telling the same story. The winners will be the ones who actually simplify life for clients, not add another platform, y’all.
brand trust and consumer perception
57% of consumers trust brands more when they use AI, study finds
MarTech | ~3 min read
Survey data suggests AI use can increase trust when it improves relevance, speed, or clarity. But trust drops quickly when AI feels deceptive or replaces human support entirely.
My take: The takeaway isn’t “use more AI.” It’s “use AI where it visibly helps people.”
Why AI visibility can increase direct traffic even when nobody clicks
MarTech | ~4 min read
Explains how being cited or summarized in AI answers can still drive brand recall, later searches, and direct visits even without traditional attribution.
My take: This reframes SEO and brand as the same problem again, which honestly feels overdue.
creative bets and cultural moments
Svedka bets on AI and its ‘fembot’ to make Super Bowl history
Adweek | ~4 min read
Svedka is leaning into AI as the creative hook itself for a Super Bowl moment, reviving its long-running “fembot” character with generative tech at the center.
My take: Risky, but at least it’s intentional. Using AI as the joke or the idea is different from quietly slipping it into production! (Screaming this!)
As AI catches on, luxury brands double down on emotional value
Glossy | ~4 min read
Luxury brands are embracing AI behind the scenes while emphasizing craft, emotion, and human storytelling in consumer-facing work.
My take: Luxury understands something others don’t yet: AI makes emotion more valuable, not less.
marketing ops, data, and guardrails
Marketers are putting guardrails before growth on AI agents
eMarketer | ~3 min read
Teams are slowing down agent adoption to focus on brand safety, accuracy, and governance before scaling.
My take: This feels healthy. Fast mistakes compound faster with agents.
FAQ: Paid social, AI tools, platform costs, and brand safety in 2026
eMarketer | ~5 min read
A practical rundown of how AI is affecting paid social buying, costs, creative, and risk heading into 2026.
My take: Worth bookmarking. This is where theory meets budget reality.
email, search, and organic growth
The right and wrong way to use AI in email marketing
Entrepreneur | ~6 min read
Covers where AI actually helps in email (segmentation, testing, ideation) and where it quickly becomes spammy or off-brand.
My take: Email punishes lazy automation faster than almost any channel.
“Our marketing is not a bullshit machine”: Why Perplexity is investing in targeted organic growth
Digiday | ~5 min read
Perplexity is focusing on credibility, clarity, and slow, targeted growth instead of splashy performance tactics.
My take: This reads like a response to AI fatigue. Trust is the growth loop.
deals and power shifts
Adobe–Semrush deal deepens AI ties
Yahoo Finance | ~3 min read
The partnership signals tighter integration between content creation, SEO data, and AI-driven optimization inside enterprise marketing stacks.
My take: This is about owning the full loop: create, optimize, measure, repeat, all inside one ecosystem.
🟣 LINKEDIN POSTS YOU SHOULDN’T MISS
Don’t forget the human brain!
Allie K. Miller – “Over reliance on AI is poison to your brain”
Allie warns that delegating “brainy” tasks to AI may speed you up but reduces comprehension and even brain activity. She urges students, parents and teachers to treat AI as a tool for sparring and challenging ideas - not a crutch- and notes that young people fear over‑reliance more than hype.
Joe Lazer – “Storytelling Tops AI Age Business Skills”
Joe writes that as AI makes mediocre content cheap, exceptional storytelling becomes a CEO‑level priority: brands can no longer buy attention but must earn it with original IP, entertaining shows and scalable narrative systems. He points to companies hiring “Chief Entertainment Officers” and suggests that great storytellers who can manage change are more valuable than ever.
Emily Kramer – “Wistia Embeds Boost AI Video Visibility”
Emily notes YouTube has overtaken Reddit as the top social source cited by language models, but LLMs rely on text metadata rather than watching video; YouTube iframes hide those transcripts. She advises adding transcripts and metadata to video embeds or using Wistia’s LLM‑friendly embed code so AI search can “see” your content.
Mira Kaddoura – “Marketing & Advertising Are Starting to Sound Like People Fluent in Algorithms and Illiterate in Humans”
Mira writes that marketing is obsessed with algorithmic optimization and ignores human complexity; she calls for more listening and empathy. She describes a world split between a “synthetic web” of bots and real communities withdrawing from the noise, and argues that brands must understand people’s pain and stories to rebuild trust and create work that heals.
❝
Over reliance on AI is poison to your brain. … If you delegate the brainy stuff to AI, maybe you gain a little speed, but you reduce your own comprehension, and in the MIT study’s case, even brain activity.
- Allie K. Miller, #1 Most Followed Voice in AI Business on LinkedIn
🟡 LATEST & TRENDING AI MARKETING TOOLS
A banana in Gamma
Datalinx AI
Datalinx raised $4.2M to build an AI "data refinery" that turns messy enterprise data into clean, AI-ready marketing assets. The company is led by ex-Amazon/Oracle exec Joe Luchs and backed by High Alpha, Databricks Ventures, and Okta co-founder Frederic Kerrest.
OpenAI Codex App
OpenAI launched a desktop app for Codex, positioning it as a "command center" for coding agents. You can run multiple agents in parallel, create reusable skills, and set up background automations. It's now available on Free and Go tiers, with doubled rate limits for paid plans.
Gamma - Nano Banana Pro
Gamma added Nano Banana Pro, the first image model that handles text perfectly inside images, with a 4K HD option. The Generate API is also now in general availability with Make.com integration.
⚫️ COOL AI + MARKETING JOBS
Sendbird to eBay: who's hiring this week
OpenAI - Growth - Emails, Notifications and Lifecycle
eBay - Sr. Manager, CRM AI Transformation
Databricks - AI GTM Leader
Adobe - AI Evangelist, Adobe Enterprise
Sendbird - AI-First Full Stack Marketer
Luma AI - Senior Product Marketing Manager
🟢 UPCOMING AI + MARKETING EVENTS
SXSW is almost here, and a dedicated AI + Marketing summit
SXSW 2026 (Mar 12-18, Austin TX)
The 40th anniversary brings all three tracks - Innovation, Film & TV, Music - together for the first time. Dedicated "Brand & Marketing" and "Tech & AI" tracks with 850+ sessions. AI-dominated PanelPicker submissions. CMO panels from SoFi, Lyft, Samsung, plus Amy Webb's annual tech trends report. Badges from $1,865.
NVIDIA GTC 2026 (Mar 16-19, San Jose CA)
Essential for understanding where AI is actually headed. Jensen Huang keynote, 500+ sessions on agentic AI, inference, and physical AI. Less marketing-specific, but critical for grasping the tech powering next-wave tools. Hybrid format.
HumanX 2026 (Apr 6-9, San Francisco CA)
Premier AI conference for decision-makers, expecting 6,500 attendees. Marketing track covers funnels, campaigns, personalization, and predictive analytics. Speakers include Dr. Fei-Fei Li and AWS CEO Matt Garman. From the Money20/20 and HLTH team.
Adobe Summit 2026 (Apr 19-22, Las Vegas NV)
Adobe's enterprise marketing flagship with 200+ sessions across 13 tracks. Focus: AI-native platforms for content at scale, personalized experiences, GenStudio. Free online option available. Early bird $1,995 through Feb 13.
AI x Marketing Summit (Apr 23-24, San Francisco CA)
Practitioner-focused two-day event. CMOs from Box, Writer, Webflow, Samsara speaking, with Clay workshops. Covers B2B and e-commerce AI marketing. Early bird $249.
🟠 You made it to trivia!
Which job task is AI oddly bad at compared to humans?
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