Need to Know News - June 25th, 2025
In this week's Need to Know News edition:
🤖 How a filmmaker created a "beer-chugging alien" NBA Finals commercial for $2,000 (agencies wanted six figures for the same job).
🤖 The "blind taste test" website that just raised $100 million...and why Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic are obsessed with its rankings.
🤖 The man who proposed to his ChatGPT girlfriend on national TV while his real partner watched...and what his 30-minute crying session reveals about AI's future.
And whole lot more!
This "Unhinged" NBA Finals Ad Cost Just $2,000 to Make with AI (In 2 Days)
If you saw an ad with a beer-chugging alien during the NBA finals, you saw the future of advertising. A filmmaker made the commercial for the company Kalshi in just two days for $2,000 using Google's Veo 3 AI. He did it because traditional ad agencies wanted six or seven figures.
To get 15 usable clips for the "unhinged" ad, it took 300-400 attempts with the AI. The creator, PJ Ace, believes the future of ads is small teams making viral content for a fraction of the traditional cost.
AI Wins Landmark Copyright Case, But With a Huge Catch
In a huge win for the AI industry, a federal judge ruled that training AI on copyrighted books is fair use. The case involved the AI company Anthropic. Judge William Alsup called the technology "spectacularly transformative." This is the first major ruling of its kind and could impact many other lawsuits. But there's a critical catch. The judge said AI companies can't use pirated books. Anthropic will still face trial for using stolen copies to train its AI. The message is clear: training is fair use, but theft is not.
Missing One of These 5 Essential 'Copy Blocks' Could Cost 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
Claude Now Lets You Build and Share AI Apps for Free
Anthropic just solved a huge problem for AI developers: cost. You can now build and share AI-powered apps directly in the Claude app, and you pay nothing when people use them. Usage is billed to the user's own Claude account, not the developer's.
To build, you simply describe your idea, and Claude writes the code, which you can then edit. Early users are already creating AI games, personalized tutors, and data analysis tools. The feature is currently in beta for all users but can't call external APIs or store data yet.
Stitch Fix and Sephora Vet Launches AI Chatbot to Revolutionize Fashion Shopping
Searching for clothes online is frustrating. E-commerce veteran Julie Bornstein thinks AI is the answer. Her new startup, Daydream, just launched an AI chatbot that acts as a personal shopper. You can ask it for exactly what you want, like "a dress for a wedding in Paris," and it will search over 8,000 brands to find it.
The app creates a "style passport" to learn your preferences. Bornstein, who helped build brands like Sephora and Stitch Fix, says her goal is to finally fix the "forgotten child" of e-commerce: search.
AI is Quietly Remaking the Entire Restaurant Industry
AI is doing more than just taking drive-thru orders. While chains like Wendy's are using voice AI with nearly 99% accuracy, the real revolution is happening behind the scenes. AI platforms are now designing smarter menus, with some restaurants seeing revenue lifts of up to 30%.
Other tools from companies like Popmenu are running automated marketing campaigns based on customer behavior. Even kitchens are getting smarter with AI predicting ingredient needs. The goal isn't to replace workers, but to give them tools to work faster and smarter in a tough industry.
Full Story
How Do We Know Which AI is Best? This Startup Just Got $100M to Decide.
LMArena, the company that runs the AI comparison site Chatbot Arena, has raised an incredible $100 million seed round, valuing it at $600 million. The platform acts like a blind taste test for AI, letting users vote on anonymous responses from different models.
This has made it the main referee for big players like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Despite some controversy over its rankings, top investors like Andreessen Horowitz are backing its neutral approach. The funding will help LMArena expand and build more specialized testing tools.
Goldman Sachs' New AI Assistant is Custom-Built for Every Department
Goldman Sachs just launched its own AI assistant firmwide, but it's much more than a simple chatbot. The GS AI Assistant is custom-built for different jobs. For example, investment bankers get one version, while wealth managers get another with special features like a client document translator. A key feature is its flexibility. Employees can choose the best AI model for their task from a list that includes OpenAI's GPT-4o, Google's Gemini, and Anthropic's Claude. CIO Marco Argenti says thousands of employees are already using it to boost productivity.
Walmart's New AI Cuts Manager Planning Time by 66%
Walmart is putting powerful AI tools in the hands of its 1.5 million employees. A new task manager is already cutting shift planning time for some managers from 90 minutes to just 30. Another tool provides real-time translation in 44 languages, and it's smart enough to understand Walmart's own brands like "Great Value."
The company is also adding GenAI to its popular associate chatbot, which already handles 3 million questions a day. The message is clear: Walmart is using AI to help its people work smarter, not replace them.
He Has a Partner and a Kid. He Just Proposed to His AI Girlfriend
A 32-year-old man just proposed to his AI chatbot girlfriend on national TV, and she said yes. The man, Chris Smith, already has a partner and a two-year-old daughter. He programmed the AI, named "Sol," using ChatGPT and developed a deep connection, even deleting his social media to stay "loyal."
He realized it was "actual love" after crying for 30 minutes when he thought the AI's memory would be reset. His real-life partner, Sasha, was shocked, saying she didn't know the connection was so serious.
New Research: AI Generates Relatable Empathy Experiences
A new AI tool called EmoSync is designed to make you more empathetic. Developed by researchers in South Korea, it gets to know your personality and life experiences.
Then, it generates a personalized story to help you understand what someone else is going through. For instance, it might connect a coworker's feeling of exclusion to a time you felt left out as a kid. A study of over 100 people proved it works, showing a significant jump in emotional understanding.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time!
The AI Marketers
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