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In the past several years, the trend of “going direct” in public relations has gotten trendy. Broadly, the idea is that certain companiesmainly tech startupsstand a better chance of advancing their own narratives by sidestepping traditional PR and media altogether. Instead, the company founder, fellow executives, and partners would post content to the internet and social media to directly communicate with their customers. There’s naturally been a lot of consternation in the media and PR industries about how effective this kind of approach is, the real value of traditional PR, and whether a company can really chart their own path without some kind of third-party validation. It’s not my intent to wade into that debate (though if you’d like a deep-dive exploration, I hosted a panel on the topic at the Consensus conference). It is, however, an undeniable trend that’s caught fire the last few years. Now AI is poised to throw gas on that flame. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","headline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} The next evolution of going direct I was struck by this after reflecting on my conversation with Scrunch AI CEO Chris Andrew on The Media Copilot podcast. Scrunch specializes in placement in AI search. Its customers are mostly brands who want to ensure their content is crawled, analyzed, and summarized when someone asks a chatbot about the brand or its area of focus. The idea is conceptually similar to SEO (search engine optimization), though the industry hasn’t yet settled on a name for it (AIEO, LLMO, and GAIO are all contenders). As Google has just aptly demonstrated in its push this week to elevate AI Mode as a standard feature in search, the purpose of an AI search is to give answers, not links. That’s a huge problem if your product is information, which is exactly why much of the media industry is locked in a legal battle with the AI industry over copyright. But if you’re a company just trying to sell something, an AI summary that informs a user about your brand is a win whether they click through to your site or not. If they do, there’s information to suggest they’ll be much more inclined to engage further and even transact. And if they don’t, you’ve effectively hit them with an ad by having the brand mentioned in the summary. On the media side of things, the click-killing aspect to AI search has many outlets throwing up defenses on their content against crawlers. They’re configuring their robots.txt file to say “no” to bots, putting up other digital defenses, and denying access to their content unless AI companies pay upeither through licensing agreements or pay-as-you-go frameworks. A recent story in A Media Operator, which covers the business side of the media industry, showed that many media companies have begun to wake up to the rapidly growing presence of AI crawlers. An executive from Cloudflare, an internet infrastructure company, said over 800,000 websites have activated Cloudflare’s most aggressive protection setting. There’s an obvious disconnect between the incentives of the media versus brands in AI search, and that creates an opportunity for an AI upgrade of the go-direct strategy. AI search engines still need to provide answers to queries, and if credible journalism about those topics is blocked, something has to fill the void. Brands that give unfettered access to their content to crawlers (because why wouldn’t you?) will have an advantage. This goes double if the company can execute on a multichannel content strategy that gets their brand cited across multiple sites or domains. One important difference between AI search and SEO, pointed out by Andrew in the podcast, is that citations count more to AI crawlers than links. That means if a brand can seed the web with consistent facts and brand citations across multiple sites, it will help ensure AI search engines “learn” from their preferred narrative. You can imagine a scenario where a major company, with enough resources, could theoretically pull off a version of what Russia has done with respect to advancing their preferred narrative on the war in Ukraine, thoroughly examined by a NewsGuard investigation. Except in Russia’s case, it was done mainly via sketchy-looking sites clearly created to “spam” AI crawlers with propaganda. A company could do this out in the open, with a content strategy that amplifies their storytelling across blogs, podcasts, social media, and more, published across multiple domains. Humans would easily be able to tell it’s all marketing, but AI engines just see it as more datadata that can have a large amount of influence in what appears in summaries. How the media can chart a smarter course There’s still hope to steer away from a future where corporate propaganda is dominant. It starts with media sites adopting a sophisticated approach to blocking, something I outlined in my newsletter last week. Blanket bans are understandablepublishers still feel burned by Big Tech’s platform dynamics of the pastbut shutting off access entirely is a short-term defense with long-term costs. A more strategic approach would involve selectively exposing certain types of content: meta descriptions, older articles, multimedia, and more. This allows media companies to remain visible in AI search while still protecting core value. But beyond technical solutions, the real hope is in what consumers of information actually want. Review site like PCMag and The Wirecutter didnt become popular because they were algorithmically boosted. They emerged because people didnt like getting fed the company line. Similarly, if AI-generated answers start to feel like corporate brochureware, consumers will notice. Credible, independent journalism isnt just good ethics; its a market advantageif its accessible. In the end, AI engines that optimize for this balance will win out, too. It’s right there in ChatGPT’s model spec: the chatbot is designed to “seek the truth together” with the user. It can’t do that without including independent perspectives and weighing them appropriately against a barrage of go-direct content. AI may be dramatically altering the ways people get information, but audiences also hate being misled. If the public has a way to find reporting they can trusteven in an AI-mediated environmenttheyll take it. But the burden is on both the media and AI platforms to keep that path open. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","headline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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E-Commerce
Growing up, dinner table conversations at our house weren’t just about what we learned at school that day. My mom, Jill, was a CEO for my entire life, leading a nonprofit that made meaningful community impact while she simultaneously raised a family. Our dinner conversations included recaps of board meetings, talk of juggling multiple personal and professional roles, and advice for her kid (me!) on how to do right by others. My mother’s daily examples of leadership showed me that career success and personal fulfillment dont compete with each othertheyre complementary. Now, as I help lead Guild’s efforts, partnering with companies to invest in employee career development and talent pipelines, those early lessons continue to guide me. It is possible to find balance My mom taught me important lessons about balance that I use today. First, she taught me that having a meaningful career and making a positive impact aren’t mutually exclusive. People talk about “doing well by doing good” as an abstract concept, but I saw it firsthand every day. There was never a doubt in my mind that I would pursue the same. I was also lucky enough to have a role model who showed it was possible to have both a thriving professional and personal life. Being a wife, mother, a (literal) boss, and an engaged community member were identities she wove together. It wasn’t always easy, but watching her showed me that these identities were equally important for fulfillment. Often peopleespecially womenare presented with binary choices: Career or children? Devoted partner or independent social life? Many grapple with these decisions, but we dont have to. There isnt any shame in prioritizing one thing over another one day, and changing the next. My mom taught me not to feel guilty about this balancing act. This ripple effect of positive modeling extends beyond the family. I’ve seen it through stories of Guild learners, like Sherry from Oklahoma, who works at Tyson Foods. Sherry finished high school, got promoted to plant manager, and became an advocate for our program among her colleagues. Shes an example of how leaders can effectively balance everything important to them: career, family, community outreach, and learning. It’s never too late (or early!) to start a second act My mom grew up in the 1950s and 60s with three brothers and limited resources. She was a natural athlete, but didnt have the privilege of formal training in her earlier years. Decades into adulthood, as her career entered its final chapters and she had more free time, she embraced the transition to her next chapter in life. At 50, she started playing senior women’s basketball. Fast forward 25 years, and she’s now a multi-titled senior Olympian at 75. Some of her best friends came through basketball, and she serves as a board member and advocate for senior women’s sports. My mom taught me that building skills later in life is more than fulfillingit keeps you young! It increases cognitive function, improves memory, and enhances emotional well-being. There’s urgency here on a global scale, as the half-life of professional skills is less than 5 years (less than 2.5 years in technology fields). The workforce needs people willing to be nimble and adapt to the skills their field requires, just as our personal lives benefit from constant learning. We can take lessons from people who grew to be the best in their field, too.Vera Wang designed her first dress at 40, and Toni Morrison wrote her first novel after a long career in publishing. I’ve been inspired by people who pivot, learn, and succeed, and my admiration for people with this skill absolutely bleeds into the workplace. I like to bet on potential and give people opportunities beyond what their experience suggests, with faith that lifelong learners can figure things out with the right mindset and support. I believe that most career paths arent linear, and I have benefited from this myself, like in a previous role. A cofounder was the first person to really take a chance on me. He truly let me run by giving me a role that, on paper, wasn’t congruent with my experience but leveraged my skills in a meaningful way. You’re a role modelwhether you know it or not Another lesson I learned from my mom is something I observed from her actions,not something she intended to share. She was, and is, a role model to me and many others without asking for the title. She modeled behavior, like taking initiative on difficult problems, championing innovation, or methodically pursuing ambitious goals, that those around her naturally emulated. Im again reminded of Sherry from Tyson, who not only completed her own education and rose through the ranks, but then supported her husband as he continued his education. Her son now works at Tyson too, and is pursuing his degree simultaneously. Her drive to better herself was contagious and positively impacted her familys trajectory. Other high-achievers come to mind as natural role models, too. Take four-time Paralympian Matt Stutzman, who competed in the recent Paralympics for archery. He’s using the same drive that took him to Paris to pursue a career transition that will support him and his family post-games. The examples are endless. It takes courage to take on new challenges or champion change, especially when countering established norms. Whether pitching a fresh approach to customer research or volunteering to test a new platform, lifelong learners blaze trails for others to follow, and we have the power to be those leaders for others. Your continuous growth will have a ripple effect on others The most powerful lesson from my mother’s journeyfrom CEO to senior Olympianis that our growth journeys create ripples far beyond our own lives. When we commit to continuous learning and development, we become living examples of what’s possible. For business leaders, this means investing in growth while creating cultures where employee development is prioritized. For professionals at any career stage, it means embracing opportunities that stretch you beyond your comfort zone. For parents, it means focusing your energy where its needed mostat the boardroom or dinner table. The result? More resilient organizations are populated by adaptable individuals who find deeper fulfillment in both personal and professional realms. More importantly, you’ll inspire others along the wayperhaps even your own children, who might someday write about the dinner table lessons that shaped their leadership journey. Rebecca Biestman is chief marketing officer of Guild.
Category:
E-Commerce
A new TikTok trend, set to a snippet of Charli XCXs I Think About It All the Time” featuring Bon Iver, sees users, particularly Gen Z women, sharing lists of propaganda theyre not falling for in 2025. One list, shared by TikTok creator Lxyzfbxx, includes the “clean girl look,” “the normalization of OF [OnlyFans],” and “preventative Botox,” among other things. Another user listed organic deodorant, Teslas, and mouth tape among the modern-day propaganda. A third user included push-up bras, being anti-sunscreen, and branded sweatshirts. A fourth took aim at working,” a 9-5,” and employment.” From social media trends to beauty standards, internet users are drawing attention to the capitalist, political, and aesthetic pressures that theyre subjected to daily, and they are de-normalizing those they see as unhealthy, undesirable, or just cringe. “Propaganda I won’t be falling for”: How did the trend start? While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the trend began, it’s clear that it’s caught on: If theres one thing social media loves, its a hot takeand it can be on anything from working a full-time job to singer-songwriter Benson Boone. For instance, 2024 was the year of the in and out lists. Now, with the hashtag “propaganda” currently at over 240,000 posts on TikTok, we have the 2025 version of a similar trend. However, what is and what isnt propaganda varies wildly, depending on whom you ask. The comments section below many of these videos is a hotbed for debate. “Sorry but i WILL be falling for the Labubu propaganda everytime,” one person commented under a list that included the viral dolls. “I hate to admit it but Dubai chocolate is soooo bomb,” another commented under a propaganda list that included the pistachio-flavored chocolate. Take these opinions with a rather large pinch of salt. One frequent name that appears on many of these lists is singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. Does that mean the poster actually dislikes Abramss music? Not necessarily. As one TikTok user told The New York Times: I think sometimes the internet just likes to have a running gag. (Jumping on the Gracie Abrams hate train, in other words, might just be good for views.) Casey Lewis, of the youth consumer trends newsletter After School, did the legwork and tallied up the most commonly mentioned propaganda across hundreds of TikToks. The top 10 list she compiled included matcha, the tradwife movement, MAHA-adjacent trends like beef tallow and anti-seed oil, author Colleen Hoover, and milk (both of the oat and cow variety). Coming in at the No. 1 spot, to no ones surprise, is ChatGPT.
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E-Commerce
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