Need to Know News - May 28th, 2025
In this week's Need to Know News edition:
🤖 One beauty brand's AI is so crazy-smart it knows what you want before you do...and it's driving a remarkable 95% repurchase rate.
🤖 PepsiCo cracked the AI code by doing what most companies skip entirely...and now they're seeing wins across every market.
🤖 The AI lender that approves 92% of loans with zero human involvement.
And whole lot more!
Ulta Beauty Hits 95% Customer Repurchase Rate Using AI
Ulta Beauty had customer data everywhere—emails, loyalty programs, stores, credit cards. They couldn't use it fast enough for marketing. So they put everything in one system and used AI to build complete customer profiles.
Now their AI sends messages that change instantly based on what customers do. Browse mascara online? Get a mascara deal in your next email. The timing feels personal, not random.
The payoff is huge: 95% of customers come back to buy again. Plus, their AI-powered print campaigns cost less while working just as well. With 38 million loyalty members growing yearly, automation keeps personalization scalable.
AI Will Handle Most Customer Support by 2028, Cisco Study Shows
Cisco surveyed 7,950 global business leaders and found something surprising: they expect agentic AI to handle 68% of customer service interactions with tech vendors by 2028. But here's the kicker—56% predict this will happen within just 12 months. Companies expect more personalized, predictive support that actually prevents problems before they happen. But there's a balance: 96% still want human connection available when needed.
Is Your Landing Page Missing One of These 5 Essential 'Copy Blocks'? - it might be costing you a fortune!
Two $100+ million copywriters discovered what REALLY drives conversions—5 simple building blocks arranged in a specific order. This framework is so powerful that beginners are generating 5-figure profits with it. And you can learn the full system in just 33 minutes.
Discover All 5 'Copy Blocks' Now
Perplexity Has Offered Ads for Half a Year — Marketers Already Want Scale
Perplexity launched ads six months ago with big brands like Indeed and Whole Foods testing the platform. But marketers are frustrated. The slow rollout and limited opportunities beyond the pilot group are a few reasons why.
The numbers tell the story: Perplexity has 22 million users while ChatGPT has 400 million and Google's AI Overviews reach 1.5 billion monthly users. That scale gap makes it hard to justify ad spend. Most buyers also say Perplexity only works for brand awareness, not sales-driving campaigns.
Google's AI Mode Changes Search from Links to Custom Apps
Google just launched AI Mode for all US users. It creates personalized search pages with charts and interactive tools instead of traditional blue links. Think custom mini-apps built instantly for each search.CEO Sundar Pichai will gradually move successful AI features into regular Google Search. Publishers aren't happy. The News Media Alliance called it content "theft."
This changes everything for marketers. Instead of driving clicks to your website, Google might keep users in its AI-powered search results. Website traffic could become much harder to capture.
Will AI Be the New UI?
AI assistants are learning to work across multiple apps at once. Instead of opening different apps to book flights, find restaurants, and make reservations, you'll just tell your AI what you want. It handles everything behind the scenes.
Early AI devices like the Humane AI Pin failed badly and got discontinued. But tech giants are pushing forward. Google's Project Mariner can handle 10 tasks simultaneously. OpenAI's Operator fills out forms and orders food automatically.
This means apps need APIs that AI can access. The user interface becomes less important than backend integration. Computerworld put together a fantastic deep dive into the possibility.
CVS Health Builds AI Agents for Personalized Patient Care
CVS Health is using AI to create personal health agents for each patient. These agents build custom care plans using real-time data from wearables, medical records, and lab results. No more generic treatments based just on age and condition.
The AI updates plans daily based on actual progress. It also translates confusing medical language into plain English patients can understand. CVS focuses on four areas: personalized care, connected systems, prevention, and accessibility.
Full Story
Upstart Uses AI to Approve 92% of Loans Without Human Help
Upstart has used AI for lending since 2012, years before ChatGPT existed. CEO Dave Girouard says 92% of loans last quarter got approved by machines alone. No humans touched them.
The company crashed in 2022 when interest rates jumped. Their AI couldn't adapt fast enough to new conditions. Now they update their risk models much quicker when the economy changes. Upstart works like an auction. About 100 lenders bid to give each borrower the best rate. The AI helps more people get loans at lower costs than old credit scoring methods.
LinkedIn Publishes Complete Guide to AI Accelerate Campaigns
LinkedIn just released a new FAQ guide explaining its AI-powered Accelerate campaigns. The guide answers 10 key questions marketers have been asking about the tool.
Accelerate lets AI build your ads automatically. You give it a URL about your business and it creates targeting, copy, and bidding for you. Tests show it cuts ad costs by up to 42% versus manual campaigns. The guide covers setup, targeting options, and performance tracking.
PepsiCo's AI Success Started With Fixing Their Data
PepsiCo moved beyond AI pilots to real business wins by fixing their data first. The company had scattered information across different systems that couldn't talk to each other.
Working with IBM, they built one unified data platform with clean "golden" data that AI could actually use. They also got top leadership support, dedicated 2,000 staff members, and focused on just 28 high-value projects instead of trying everything. The results show up in better financial forecasting and business planning
Google Made an AI Coding Tool Specifically for UI Design
Google launched Stitch, an AI tool that turns text ideas into working app designs. Just describe what you want or upload a rough sketch. The AI builds functional code in minutes.
Stitch creates multiple design options so you can try different looks fast. Everything can export to Figma for editing or go straight into real apps.
This puts Google in direct competition with Figma's new AI tools. For marketers and business teams, it means you can build app prototypes quickly without design skills or coding experience.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time!
The AI Marketers
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