Summer 2025 | State Of AI
I recently gave a presentation for Brand Innovators called The State of AI 2025, and what I shared there is something every business leader, marketer, and parent needs to hear: we’re not just witnessing technological evolution—we’re living through a cultural revolution driven by AI.
For 25 years, I’ve been helping brands adapt to changing consumer behavior. From the early days of the internet, to the social media boom, to the mobile-first era—each shift has introduced new challenges, new power dynamics, and massive opportunities. But nothing I’ve seen compares to what’s happening right now.
We are officially in the AI era. And Gen Alpha—the generation currently aged 0 to 15—will never know a world without it. They’re growing up talking to machines, learning through AI, and navigating a society shaped by algorithms. This is no longer a futurist prediction. It’s the lived reality of today’s youngest consumers.
In my talk, I told the story of how I built one of the first AI automations at my company, Suzy—not with a dev team or a product roadmap, but with ChatGPT and a clear problem to solve. I took sales call transcripts trapped inside Gong, and used them to build sentiment scoring, automated blog generation, and even new keyword strategies. It transformed our business, and it started with one question: “How can I make this better?”
But I didn’t stop there. I applied the same approach to my personal life. I built a health bot, trained on 20 years of MRIs, blood tests, and doctor notes. I asked it what would kill me in five years—and it told me. Brutal honesty, zero bedside manner. But that’s the point. AI can reveal insights that humans either overlook or sugarcoat. And once you get those answers, the real question becomes: what are you going to do about it?
This is the playbook. Start with a problem. Use the tools. Build something. Learn by doing. That’s how you future-proof yourself. Because the truth is, many people—especially inside large organizations—won’t be allowed to use these tools at scale just yet. Legal, compliance, IT—all valid blockers. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build in your personal life. And once you do, the skills translate everywhere.
In 2025, the conversation has already shifted from tools to agents. The most forward-thinking companies aren’t just giving employees access to ChatGPT. They’re developing AI agents that act autonomously—writing emails, generating proposals, summarizing meetings, and making decisions.
That’s where the future is headed: away from prompts, and toward intention.
This shift is already disrupting jobs. Major companies are reducing headcount as they integrate AI across departments. But it’s not just about layoffs—it’s about role evolution. The skills required for the next wave of jobs won’t be about execution. They’ll be about critical thinking, creativity, and problem definition.
Education is not keeping up. Most schools are still built around memorization and regurgitation. But in a world where AI commoditizes knowledge, those traits are worthless. We need systems built around creativity, ethics, and experiential learning. Other countries are moving faster—China is teaching AI to kids as young as six. America risks falling behind unless we act fast.
There are four layers of the AI value chain:
Infrastructure – The compute power and GPUs from companies like Nvidia
Models – The large language models like GPT, Claude, and Gemini
Data – Your proprietary information that fuels model performance
Applications – Where AI meets the consumer and the business user
In that stack, data is the differentiator. If everyone has access to GPT-4, what matters is what you feed it. Your CRM. Your customer calls. Your product history. That’s what makes your output better than anyone else’s.
And when it comes to AI-generated content, we’re entering a new creative paradigm. AI can already produce image, text, video, and voice on command. What took design agencies weeks can now be done in seconds—by anyone with an idea.
That doesn’t mean creativity is dead. It means creativity is being democratized. Success won’t be about knowing Photoshop. It’ll be about knowing what to make, and how to guide AI to make it. The power is shifting from executors to curators.
That’s why I keep saying: AI isn’t about replacing people. It’s about replacing people who don’t know how to use AI.
And brand still matters. In a sea of sameness, trust, identity, and emotion are more valuable than ever. AI can scale creation, but it can’t replicate brand love. The Rock, Reese Witherspoon—these aren’t just celebrities, they’re brand systems. In the age of AI, personal brands and IP will be the ultimate differentiators.
In the closing moments of my talk, I gave the audience one piece of advice: pick a problem in your personal life and solve it with AI. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait for a mandate. Just start. Because the gap between the 1% who are experimenting and the 99% who are sitting still? That gap is your opportunity.
This is not a fear story. It’s an empowerment message. AI is your co-pilot. Your multiplier. Your creative partner. It’s time to stop watching from the sidelines and start building.
If you’re curious to go deeper, check out my new book Generation AI. It unpacks the cultural, economic, and human impact of AI—and what we all need to do to stay ahead.
