AI Companies are Pouring Trillions into These 6 Promises

Plus: AI agents are ready to shop, Meta's smartglasses moment, and YouTube's barrage of creator tools.

Sep 18, 2025

👋 Happy Thursday AI Marketers. AI companies plan to pour trillions into 6 core promises. How realistic are they? Google says AI agents are ready for your credit card. Zuckerberg shows off his new glasses. And YouTube’s new AI tools are the ultimate playground for creators. Let’s get you caught up…

The 6 AI Promises Big Tech is Betting Trillions On

Anytime Cade Metz writes on AI, I pay attention. Here, he and Karen Weise take on the trillion-dollar question: “What exactly are AI companies trying to build?” Tech giants are spending like drunken sailors, promising cancer cures one minute and superintelligence the next, while also chasing ad clicks, copilots, and chatbot pals.

This guide corrals it all into six buckets. Better search. Autonomous coworkers. Personal assistants. Digital companions. Scientific breakthroughs. And the AGI moonshot. A must-read map of where this frothing bubble is headed.

The New York Times →

AI Agents are Ready for Online Transactions

Google just unveiled AP2, an open protocol that lets AI agents transact on your behalf. It tackles authorization, authentication, and accountability, with support from networks and wallets like Mastercard, Amex, PayPal, Coinbase, and more. For marketers and commerce teams, this is the missing plumbing for agent led shopping, personalized offers, and automated restocking. If agents are gonna work, they’ll need to be a lot more trustworthy. This could be the answer.

Google Cloud Blog →

Google Says AI Summaries and Blue Links Can Live in Harmony

When questioned on the latest lawsuit over AI Overviews, a Google policy exec said users increasingly want summarized answers. But he also claimed the search giant still supports traditional blue links. Meanwhile, brands and publishers everywhere are seeing traffic drop when summaries appear. Google thinks the ecosystem can have both and everyone wins. Problem solved?

The Verge →

Meta Unveils New AI Powered Smartglasses

Zuck hit the stage at Meta Connect sporting his latest “next big thing.” Smartglasses with a built-in display and an AI assistant that can see, hear, and respond to your surroundings. Controlled by a Neural Band worn on the wrist, the glasses will be available for purchase in a few weeks with a $799 price tag. Just another gimmicky wearable? Or an entirely new surface for content, commerce, and advertising?

Wall Street Journal →

These Major Brands are Using AI in Ads (and It’s Good)

AI in ads can be a minefield. While several brands are catching heat for infusing campaigns with artificial creative, some are actually are pulling it off. H&M, Nike, and others are delivering authentic, original, culturally relevant storytelling with cloned celebrities, AI-generated songs, and more. Wondering where the line between smart and sloppy AI marketing lies? This piece is for you.

Digiday →

YouTube may be 20 years old, but it’s not done innovating. Brands, marketers, and creators are flocking to video in record numbers, and YouTube is responding with a flurry of new tools that make video easier to produce in every conceivable way. AI editing on the fly. Shorts generated from images. From live streams. Even from audio podcasts. Seriously, check this out.

🎙️ My top 3 podcast picks this week:

THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SHOW

Will Executives’ AI Avatars Kill Thought Leadership?

Would you trust an AI version of yourself to lead? Paul and Mike unpack the authenticity dilemma while covering OpenAI’s billion-dollar moves, Microsoft and Oracle’s partnerships, and Replit’s Agent 3 leap in autonomy. They also tackle the real economic stakes of AI-first content.

Listen →

UNCANNY VALLEY | WIRED

Matthew Prince Wants AI Companies to Pay for Their Sins

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince explains why AI firms must stop freeloading and start paying creators. He details Cloudflare’s new “pay per crawl” tool, the collapse of traffic-driven media, and why the internet’s future may depend on building a real market for content.

Listen →

THE CREATOR SPOTLIGHT

The 3 Moves I’d Bet My Next 10 Years On as a Creator

Jordan DiPietro, former Motley Fool exec and CEO of Hampton, shares three bold bets for creators: why community matters more than audience, how to build staying power, and the career-defining choices that will shape the next decade in the creator economy.

Listen →

Have a favorite podcast to recommend? Shoot me the details.

🚨 AI-forward companies are looking for AI-forward marketers:

Product Marketing Manager, ChatGPT Business
OpenAI
Shape ChatGPT Business launches by crafting messaging and assets for enterprise features, developing high‑impact content, equipping GTM teams, and collaborating with product, creative and growth to maximize AI adoption.

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Content Marketing Manager
Pramata
Develop integrated B2B AI‑driven campaigns across email and social channels, align brand goals, leverage AI tools for content, and collaborate with sales, product and RevOps to track KPIs.

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VP of Marketing
Smartling
Lead marketing for Smartling’s AI‑powered translation platform, define KPIs, craft global strategy, manage cross‑functional execution and budget, and stay ahead of industry trends to drive growth and localization innovation.

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Head of Growth Marketing
Wordware (YC S24)
Own the full growth funnel for Wordware’s AI agent platform, design campaigns, build measurement frameworks, scale successful channels, partner with product for retention, and develop community and partnership strategies.

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Senior Content Strategist
EDB
Develop and execute a GenAI‑powered content strategy for EDB’s data and AI platform, design workflows and calendars, produce technical content, analyze performance, and train teams on GenAI tools.

Details →