CASual #40: the functionality AI is bringing

Issue #40

Psst... we're moving the CASual to biweekly. Next issue will be Nov. 10th!

Last night, I spoke on a panel and manned (woman-ed?) the booth for BrandWell , a partner of Jessica Campos ?? Attorney-Turned-Demand-Gen-Marketer and Alexander Rodriguez ' company MFG SEO. Jessica runs the ATX Professionals & Entrepreneurs Network (ATXPEN), a community of 7,000 strong.

The conversations we had were amazing.

The majority of people there were either BRAND NEW to AI, or had been using it for months.

Talk about a polarizing divide.

The idea of an AI content writer that didn't plagiarize, didn't share your data outside of your own project, and generated truly humanlike content - 3,000 words written in minutes, with real-time research done, facts sourced and listed right there for you, optimization scoring done for SEO, all your keywords there...

Was novel to many there.

Novel - see what I did there?

In fact, some people couldn't believe it. I explained the concept of an AI writer that was just as good as a human writer as simply as I could. And even then, I had to slow down. I should have brought more books. I ran out in minutes!

One of the big questions was around the "wild west" nature of AI.

When Alex Rodriguez, Jess' partner at MFG SEO, pulled out his phone and vocally asked the ChatGPT app to start putting together a complete content strategy for a local brick-and-mortar business...

There was stunned silence at the result.

People couldn't believe AI was that good, that fast.

The functionality of AI is unbelievable.

1.4 billion people are going to be impacted by this. 300 million jobs will forever go away, or change. As Micki Gram , my fellow panelist said, "it's adapt - or get left in the dirt." Truth, sista.

Good times. Wild times.

(Also, first time I was called a "tech executive." ?? My explanation of "LLM" would probably make a true LLM engineer shudder, but hey. I'm getting there.)

P.S. Have you heard? Content at Scale is changing and growing up - a LOT! A whole new version of our technology is coming out - we're talking entire new technology suites inside Content at Scale ?? , topic reports generated by our AI, blueprints and AI agents, the rehaul of Scalers into a new & improved community, and so much more. You'll hear more from me and our own Diana Richardson via email in the days to come. Second week of November, all of it is official!

P.S.S. Content Hacker 2.0, which is Content at Scale's educational brand (run by yours truly - me, Julia, but owned by Content at Scale) - launches 10/31. Spooky scary educational goodness comin' at ya. Keep an eye on your email for the deets!

#StraightOuttaAI

John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing

I had an amazing podcast recording with John Jantsch, creator of Duct Tape Marketing, this week.

We talked all about AI and how it's changing everything – especially content.

Funny, because he started out the conversation saying "so I heard you say on stage that AI is horrible. What changed?" ??

I did, back in December of 2022. I was anti-AI. It was only when I found the technology that did actually save me time, that I adapted. (That story is here on the Content at Scale blog, if you haven't read it.)

(Also - try saying "I used to be anti-AI" in a full AI costume. Did that last night. I had no one able to believe I was ever anti-AI. ?? )

Anyway, it was wild catching up with John - last time we talked, I had a 100-person writing agency!

He's a fan of Content at Scale.

Check out a blog John recently published using Content at Scale, 100% #StraightOuttaAI: How to become a. fractional CMO

It's ranking for a featured snippet. ??

Rob + Kira from Copywriter's Club

A couple of months ago, I had a great conversation with Rob and Kira from The Copywriter's Club.

They asked some eyes-wide-open questions about the reality of AI and how hard it will hit writers.

I got real about it all.

I talked with Simon over at Strategy Sprints this week all about AI-assisted content.

We covered Content at Scale, plus some other tools I use for regular research and strategy - like VidIQ for YouTube and more. Good stuff:

AI in the news*

*Complete with Julia's human commentary; best read with a touch of sarcasm.

Oops! Microsoft Spots GPT-4's Goof-ups: Microsoft's been playing detective and found some quirks in GPT-4. Breaking news: GPT-4 has strange quirks. Guess AI isn't perfect, and we need humans after all.

OpenAI's Desert Drama with Arrakis: OpenAI's model, Arrakis, is having a "Dune" moment, facing some desert-like setbacks. Sandworms or coding glitches? You decide! I'm a mega Dune fan. But naming a project after the magical substance Arrakis, only for said project to fail miserably? That's just sadness, all day.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and DALL-E 3 generative AI products, is exploring the possibility of manufacturing its own AI accelerator chips. Citing anonymous sources, the Reuters report indicates that OpenAI is considering the option due to a shortage of specialized AI GPU chips and the high costs associated with running them. That's one expensive business to run: ChatGPT costs $700,000 daily.

ChatGPT's Big Bucks Moment: OpenAI's ChatGPT officially hit an $86bn valuation. I repeat... 86 billion... ?? Might be worth that $700k/day GPU cost after all.

Amazon & MIT's Robo Rendezvous: Amazon and MIT are teaming up to study how robots affect jobs. This just out: AI will affect lots of jobs. I repeat. Lots. of. Jobs.

North Korea's AI-powered Cyber Shenanigans: North Korea's tinkering with AI in cyber warfare. This can't be good.

Looking for SEO case studies ??

Want to get featured in front of ~80,000 marketers and agencies on our channels? We're currently looking specifically for case studies from people that have ranked Content at Scale content in the top of Google.

Have content that's ranking? We want to feature you! Here's the form to fill out if you're in. This would get featured along with you/your business name on all of our channels.

Join us in-person

I'm crafting cutting-edge talks with the latest and greatest on AI.

Want to be in the room? Here's where you should be:

Want to make bank referring?

by Steven Harvey , Partner Manager

Our top affiliates are earning thousands in recurring commissions per month by adding Content at Scale affiliate links to their blogs! ?? You can, too.

Find out how you can make the most of becoming a member of our Content at Scale affiliate program and get the lowdown on promoting a cutting-edge tool that'll, simply put, help you make money.

Get started with Content at Scale

Want in? Join us and start dramatically scaling your content marketing with ease!

xo,

Julia