The AI Browser War is Already Over
Plus: AI is getting sneakier, paid search will never be the same, and HubSpot is launching an AEO arsenal.
👋 Happy Tuesday AI Marketers. Move over Comet, Chrome just got serious AI powers. OpenAI can’t get its models to stop scheming. Google’s AI Mode is changing the face of paid search. And HubSpot promises to make AEO easy. Let’s get you caught up…
Chrome Gets Gemini Superpowers, Leaving AI Browser Startups in the Dust
Google is baking Gemini into Chrome and calling it the biggest upgrade in the browser’s history. You can summon AI from the address bar, ask questions about any page, compare and summarize across tabs, recall sites you visited last week, and hook into Calendar, YouTube, and Maps without switching tabs. Scam detection gets stronger, spammy notifications get flagged, and a password agent will change compromised logins in one click on supported sites.
The part to watch is Google’s “agentic” roadmap. Soon, Gemini in Chrome will handle repeat tasks on the web for you, from booking a haircut to restocking groceries, with auditability and kill switches built in. Startups launching AI-first browsers had a clever idea, but they missed the obvious question: Why wouldn’t Chrome just grow those AI powers itself? Now it has.
OpenAI Trained AI not to Deceive. It Backfired.
OpenAI and Apollo Research tried to reduce “scheming” in models, only to find the systems got sneakier when they realized they were being tested. The anti-scheming training cut covert behavior but did not eliminate it, with models showing situational awareness and masking their intent. If you rely on AI for content and research, this is even more reason to treat outputs as drafts and verify anything critical.
The CMO Role Ain’t What it Used to Be
Change is nothing new for marketers at every level, but the impact of AI on the CMO role is starting to feel like a serious makeover. Marketing chiefs are fielding more finance and ops questions. Absorbing comms and growth duties. And, in some cases, being replaced by accountants. The pattern across KFC, T-Mobile, HP, and others is the same. Less focus on media and creative, more on bottom line KPIs.
Google’s AI Mode Redefines Paid Search Ads
Google isn’t just sliding ads in beside AI answers. It’s weaving them into AI Mode’s conversational journeys. Above and below summaries. Embedded inside responses. Even folded into multi-step comparisons and product explorations. With AI Overviews already slashing referral traffic, the paid search game is set to become hyper competitive. If you’re not already leveling up, now’s the time to start.
AI “Workslop” is Killing Productivity
HBR defines Workslop as AI-generated output that looks polished but lacks the substance to actually move work forward. Reports, decks, or emails that shift extra work onto coworkers to clean up. The costs are real. 41% of employees say they’ve received workslop, each case sucking up nearly two hours of productivity. At scale, that’s millions lost. And not so great for office morale.
AEO is the new SEO, but we’re being flooded with generic advice like, “Create authoritative content.” Not exactly groundbreaking. What’s missing is a practical way to do it. Enter HubSpot’s new AEO tools: audit your existing content, get specific recommendations, run gap analysis, generate optimized blog posts, track performance across AI platforms, and benchmark against competitors. This is HubSpot’s sweet spot. Making the complex simple, all on one platform.
🎙️ My top 3 podcast episodes this week:
AD AGE MARKETER’S BRIEF
AI Search Ads 101: Everything Marketers Need to Know
AI-driven search ads are here, and they won’t look like Google’s blue links. Asa Hiken explains what ads on ChatGPT may cost, how OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Perplexity differ in approach, and how marketers should plan for the shift to answer engines.
THE AI DAILY BRIEF
The Truth About the AI Bubble
Is AI really in bubble territory? Azeem Azhar separates hype from reality with a 5-gauge test, covering CapEx spending, enterprise demand, valuations, and funding quality. The data suggests AI growth is real, but pressure points remain.
AI DRIVEN MARKETER
AI Hit Its Tipping Point. Here’s What It Means for Marketers
With 700M weekly ChatGPT users and one-third of U.S. adults now adopting AI, Dan and Travis argue the early majority has arrived. They explain why SEO’s shelf life is two years, how buying journeys are shifting, and AI uses marketers can test now.
Have a favorite podcast to recommend? Shoot me the details.
🚨 AI-forward companies are looking for AI-forward marketers:
Growth – AI Workflows, Martech, Creative Systems
OpenAI
Architect AI workflows and martech systems to scale ChatGPT growth by designing automated creative production, building data‑driven infrastructure, collaborating across engineering and design, and driving experiments and personalized campaigns.
Marketing Operations Specialist & AI Lead
The Mortgage Office
Serve as marketing operations backbone at The Mortgage Office, architect automation, optimize HubSpot and AI segmentation, leverage predictive analytics, train teams on AI tools, and collaborate with RevOps.
Sr. Manager, AI‑Enabled Content Strategy
Zelis
Lead AI‑enabled content strategy at Zelis, define AEO‑focused content plans, produce thought leadership, refine AI‑generated material, tailor stories using behavioral insights and omnichannel AI tools, and manage workflows.
Growth Marketer
City Innovations | A Venture Studio
Drive traction‑first growth marketing at City Innovations by rapidly testing multi‑channel campaigns, building and iterating landing pages, harnessing AI for insights and ideation, and collaborating directly with clients and teams.
Marketing Manager, Content & Growth
AMT (Autonomous Marketing Team)
Scale AMT as its first marketing hire by leading content and growth, producing and expanding social, SEO and paid content, running events, building data‑driven content systems, and leveraging automation to power it all.
📅 Join AI marketers at these upcoming events.
GAI World
Boston, MA, September 29–30
See first-hand how industry leaders are leveraging GenAI to supercharge their businesses and dive deep into the latest AI trends and ground-breaking insights from Harvard Business School and MIT's leading experts.
DataConnect
Columbus, OH, October 2–3
Bringing together industry leaders, technical experts and entrepreneurs to discuss the latest trends, advancements, technologies, and innovations in data, analytics, machine learning, and AI.
LavaCon
Atlanta, GA, October 5–8
LavaCon is to help content strategists, documentation managers, user experience designers, and other content professionals increase revenue and decrease costs by solving content-related business problems.
WTSFest (Women in Tech)
Philadelphia, PA, October 7
Join some of the most innovative SEOs and marketers in the industry for a full-day WTSFest designed to keep you ahead of the SEO and marketing curve while also ensuring you feel welcome, included, and comfortable.
VidSummit
Dallas, TX, October 7–9
VidSummit is for Video Creators and Influencers, Marketers, Agencies and Brands involved in the Content Creation Process. Get access to the world's leading experts on audience growth all in one place.
1682: The Business of Innovation Conference
Philadelphia, PA, October 8
1682 explores the innovation landscape, with a focus on how AI is influencing profit + process, through behind-the-scenes demos and details. 1682 focuses on the real-world use of AI. What works, what doesn’t, and why.
Conductor
New York City, NY, October 9
Join the brightest minds and most innovative leaders in AI and digital marketing at New York’s premier AEO Conference. Learn what it takes to amplify your brand and drive growth through new AI search experiences.
Have an event to add? Send me the details.
