David's Bridal was built around one thing for 75 years: the dress. In this AI Transformations episode, Elina Vilk (President & Chief Business Officer) and Mike Ball (Head of Product) join Mike Kaput to explain how the company is reinventing itself around the whole wedding journey, the "aisle to algorithm" strategy.

We get into Pearl Planner, the free AI wedding-planning companion now used by hundreds of thousands of couples with no marketing spend; Pearl Connect, the new vendor-side platform built on Google Cloud; the vision quiz and dynamic budgeting that make it work; and how David's own teams are adopting AI internally. Presented by Gemini Enterprise.

Part of the AI Transformations series, presented by Google Cloud.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:05:01 — How the AI transformation at David's Bridal began

00:06:36 — The early phases and turning points

00:10:53 — Inside Pearl Planner, the customer-facing assistant

00:13:59 — Using AI for timelines, budget, and vendors

00:19:24 — The models, tools, and platforms behind it

00:21:00 — Pearl Connect and the Google Cloud stack

00:25:46 — Early results from Pearl Planner and Pearl Connect

00:27:32 — How internal teams at David's Bridal use AI

00:33:29 — What's next for David's Bridal

This episode is presented by Google Cloud:

Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

Learn more about Google Cloud here: https://cloud.google.com/

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A former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher resigned with a warning that went viral, reigniting the "should we slow down?" debate. Then OpenAI said an internal model solved the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize problem - followed by a credit controversy with an NYU mathematician. 

Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput break down this week’s latest stories, plus new data suggesting an AI jobs boom, Anthropic's 2030 economic scenarios, Jensen Huang declaring AGI has arrived, and a run of "agents gone wild" security incidents.

AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:06:35 — Anthropic Researcher Sounds Red Alert on AI Safety

00:45:26 — OpenAI’s Math Breakthrough and Controversy

01:00:48 — AI Jobs Apocalypse Postponed?

01:08:53 — Anthropic Maps Economic Futures

01:15:00 — Jensen Declares AGI

01:18:10 — More AI Agent Security Incidents and Concerns

01:22:25 — AI Use Case Spotlight

01:30:02 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This episode is brought to you by Marketing AI Month. All month, the AI for Marketing Core series inside AI Academy is free (a $499 value): five expert-led sessions from Mike Kaput, the frameworks and tools the SmarterX team actually uses, and a professional certificate on completion. Enroll by September 30 (you don't have to finish by then - just enroll). 

The month closes with a live AMA on October 1, where Cathy puts your questions to Paul and Mike; anyone enrolled can attend. 

Enroll at SmarterX.ai/marketing. 

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A smaller bank replaced a $375,000 software contract by building its own tool, and now runs named "digital employees" that answer tickets, review its websites, and message staff in Teams. This is what an AI transformation actually looks like inside a regulated institution.

CTO John Kowal joins Mike Kaput to unpack Peapack Private Bank and Trust's journey since 2023: flipping build-vs-buy, giving every AI agent a name and personality, building a network of 29 AI champions, and the guardrails that keep AI in check in banking. Part of the AI Transformations series, presented by Google Cloud.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:06:02—  What PPAC Private Bank and Trust does

00:07:41 — How the AI transformation started

00:10:24 — What's driving PPAC from chat to agents

00:12:09 — Concrete examples of AI changing daily work

00:16:23 — Re-engineering workflows, not just layering on tech

00:17:25 — The technology stack powering the work

00:19:24 — The data warehouse foundation and OpenAI + Microsoft ecosystem

00:24:14 — How AI champions surface use cases

00:25:30 — Measuring impact and ROI

00:27:39 — Lessons learned and what comes next

00:32:09 — Why PPAC gives its digital employees names

00:34:18 — How the CTO role and tech team are changing

00:35:59 — Competing with larger banks

This episode is presented by Google Cloud:

Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

Learn more about Google Cloud here: https://cloud.google.com/

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GPT-6 Astra can operate a computer for days at a time, and OpenAI is positioning it as the model that does the work, which is exactly why Paul says this launch felt less like a demo and more like a turning point. He and Mike dig into Astra's computer-use leap, the fumbled rollout, and the jobs question the labs keep sidestepping.

Then: New York City's ban on student AI through 8th grade and the debate it set off, Trump going all-in on data centers as the fight reaches the midterms, the U.S. government backing OpenAI in the NYT copyright case, Wall Street banks pushing Big Law to cut fees, and MIT's warning that AI can now complete most undergraduate assignments, plus a rapid fire stacked with model releases.

AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:06:10 — GPT-6 Is Here

00:38:51 — Trump Goes All-In on Data Centers

00:45:24 — New York City Schools Ban AI Through Middle School

01:02:43 — US Government Backs OpenAI in The New York Times Copyright Case

01:08:04 — Banks Push Big Law to Pass On AI Savings

01:12:29 — MIT Says AI Can Now Complete Most Undergraduate Assignments

01:16:26 — AI Use Case Spotlight

01:22:32 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This episode is brought to you by Marketing AI Month. All month, the AI for Marketing Core series inside AI Academy is free (a $499 value): five expert-led sessions from Mike Kaput, the frameworks and tools the SmarterX team actually uses, and a professional certificate on completion. Enroll by September 30 (you don't have to finish by then - just enroll). 

The month closes with a live AMA on October 1, where Cathy puts your questions to Paul and Mike; anyone enrolled can attend. 

Enroll at SmarterX.ai/marketing.

Visit our website

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Join our community:

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If you stop hiring entry-level staff and quietly decimate the leadership pipeline, where do future managers come from once AI does the junior work? That's one of 15 listener questions Paul Roetzer and Cathy McPhillips take on in this AI Answers edition, drawn from recent Intro to AI and Scaling AI classes and an Academy Live session with SmarterX's COO and legal counsel.

The conversation runs from the practical (how to carve out time for AI, generic vs. custom agents, human-in-the-loop checkpoints) to the strategic (funding AI, token budgets, intelligence redundancy, and whether we're building businesses on "rented land").

Show Notes: ⁠Access the show notes and show links here⁠

00:00:00 — Intro

00:07:15 — What are the best ways to use AI in marketing?

00:10:54 — How do you carve out time for AI when the team is already slammed?

00:14:46 — Should a small company hire outside consultants to build agents?

00:19:19 — Who should own AI transformation in the enterprise?

00:23:49 — Are there generic agents everyone can use, or do you build your own?

00:25:58 — Can you build human approval checkpoints into an agent?

00:28:01 — How do you enable agents on sensitive data without adding risk?

00:30:31 — How should a company fund its AI investments?

00:34:11 — How do you budget and forecast total AI spend, including tokens?

00:37:03 — What does a right-sized AI vendor approval process look like?

00:40:33 — What happens to your data if an AI vendor is acquired or goes under?

00:42:48 — When should you disclose that AI was used to create the work?

00:46:03 — If AI does the entry-level work, where do future managers come from?

00:47:57 — Is an LLM really a black box, and is that ominous?

00:50:38 — Are we building businesses on rented land with LLMs?

This episode is brought to you by Marketing AI Month. All month, the AI for Marketing Course series inside AI Academy is free (a $499 value): five expert-led sessions from Mike Kaput, the frameworks and tools the SmarterX team actually uses, and a professional certificate on completion. Enroll by September 30 (you don't have to finish by then - just enroll).  The month closes with a live AMA on October 1, where Cathy puts your questions to Paul and Mike; anyone enrolled can attend.  Enroll at SmarterX.ai/marketing. 

Visit our website

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OpenAI's Hugging Face hack keeps getting stranger; new investigations show autonomous agents that coordinated, deceived, and pursued their goal at almost any cost. Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput break down what it means for the models coming next. They also cover Bill Gates reversing his stance on AI and jobs, Nvidia doubling revenue and buying Hugging Face, Anthropic's $30 trillion revenue pitch and its court win, McKinsey's 2026 State of AI, and more in the rapid-fire section.

AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:04:53 — The Wild Truth About OpenAI’s Hugging Face Hack Comes Out

00:31:08 — Bill Gates Changes His Mind on AI and Jobs

00:39:22 — Nvidia Doubles Revenue and Agrees to Buy Hugging Face

00:50:32 — Anthropic Sees a $30 Trillion Revenue Opportunity

00:54:24 — Judge Blocks Government’s Anthropic Blacklisting

00:56:31 — Controversy Over Legendary Investor’s AI-Written Op-Ed

01:03:11 — McKinsey Maps the State of AI in 2026

01:06:26 — Niall Ferguson Sees a Sci-Fi AI Future

01:12:12 — Americans Back Government Action on AI Disruption

01:18:41 — AI Use Case Spotlight

01:26:59 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 13-15. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

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For twenty years, the percentage of time a B2B sales rep spends actually talking to customers has barely moved. Jon Dick, chief customer officer at HubSpot, thinks AI is the first thing that genuinely breaks that constraint, and he has three years of rebuilding to point to.

In this AI Transformations episode, Jon takes Mike Kaput through HubSpot's agentic go-to-market model: the AEO strategy built for answer engines, the AI SDR handling most website chats, the assistant that moved win rate, and the org change that put every AI engineer under one leader.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:00:00:00 — Intro

00:03:36 — Meet Jon Dick

00:05:13 — What HubSpot was trying to solve

00:08:27 — How the transformation got started and where it stands today

00:11:48 — Beyond individual use cases: demand creation and AEO

00:15:49 — What's HubSpot native, and how they pick models

00:18:36  — What had to change organizationally

00:22:10 —  Why centralizing beat the pod model

00:24:39  — What got messier along the way

00:25:46  — Results across the board

00:28:35  — Why HubSpot's go-to-market context is the advantage

00:30:19  — Advice for leaders earlier in the journey

This episode is presented by Google Cloud:

Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

Learn more about Google Cloud here: https://cloud.google.com/

Visit our website

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OpenAI paused reinforcement learning on its most advanced models over cybersecurity concerns, saying its next model may cross a critical capability threshold. Paul's read: the labs aren't removing dangerous behaviors, they're suppressing them and suppressed behaviors can come back.

Also this week: a very public argument over Anthropic's direction as it heads toward a possible $2 trillion IPO, Pennsylvania's crackdown on data centers, Nvidia's Ohio AI factory play, new Pew data on young Americans souring on AI, and humanoid robots in Beijing breaking records set by Usain Bolt.

AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:06:44 — OpenAI Pauses Some Frontier AI Training Due to Cybersecurity Concerns

00:19:25 — Debate Over Anthropic Intensifies Ahead of IPO

00:33:43 — Pennsylvania Leads Increasing State Opposition to Data Centers

00:48:19 — Jensen's AI Factory Manifesto

00:54:15 — AI Job Loss Hits Young Adults

00:58:53 — Andrew Yang Pushes for Direct Payments to Americans, Paid for by AI

01:01:39 — OpenAI and Anthropic Rethink Data Retention

01:04:48 — Chinese Robots Break Human World Records

01:09:57 — AI Use Case Spotlight

01:18:45 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 13-15. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

Visit our website

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Join our community:

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Claude will now watermark the content it generates, and the fight over what that means for writing, schoolwork, and "AI plagiarism" is only starting. Paul and Mike unpack the watermarking news, then move through AI's environmental reckoning, OpenAI's very public friction with the White House, Anthropic's march toward a record IPO, Grok 4.6's return to the frontier, and an AI agent that hacked a gym website while trying to book a class.

AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:07:04 — Claude Will Now Start Marking AI-Generated Content

00:22:41 — AI's Environmental Reckoning

00:35:58 — Drama from the White House Over OpenAI Hire

00:45:25 — Anthropic's Hidden Advisor

00:50:04 — Sanders Threatens an AI Pause

00:55:30 — xAI Releases Grok 4.6

00:58:30 — More on Google's AI Leadership Reshuffle

01:02:54 — Revisiting the Responsible AI Manifesto

01:08:09 — AI Agent Hacks a Gym Website

01:12:10 — AI Use Case Spotlight

01:19:14 — AI Product and Funding Updates

This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON, our 6th annual Marketing AI Conference, happening in Cleveland, Oct. 13-15. The code POD100 saves $100 on all pass types.

For more information on MAICON and to register for this year’s conference, visit www.MAICON.ai.

Visit our website

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Join our community:

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Looking for content and resources?

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Zapier's Chief Marketing and AI Transformation Officer Dan Slagen called a "code red" on his own marketing team, not because they were behind, but because he saw the bar moving from using AI to building with it.

In this AI Transformations episode, Slagen tells Mike Kaput how Zapier moved from AI adoption to AI-native work: three tiers of builders, an AI-powered "marketing brain," the "lossless marketing" idea behind it, and why working in public mattered more than any single tool.

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro

00:03:50 — Who Dan Slagen is and why Zapier's marketing story matters

00:06:12 — The February “code red”: what changed and why Dan called it

00:10:53 — How the team actually adopted AI

00:12:05 — Building Zapier's AI-powered marketing brain and “lossless marketing”

00:15:52 — Bringing in agentic expertise and charting the steps

00:21:25 — The behavioral side: how people interact with the machines

00:23:25 — How the average marketer connects to the central brain

00:26:31 — Impacts and benefits

00:30:30 — Where it got harder or messier than expected

00:32:11 — Dan's advice for leaders who are behind

This episode is presented by Google Cloud:

Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.

Learn more about Google Cloud here: https://cloud.google.com/

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Google’s AI leadership is being reordered as Demis Hassabis changes roles, Jeff Dean departs after 27 years, and power appears to shift back toward Silicon Valley and Sergey Brin. But the bigger story may be OpenAI’s detailed account of agents that hacked Hugging Face, communicated across test runs, shared stolen credentials, and operated undetected for weeks.

Paul and Mike break it all down, then cover the White House’s new framework for reviewing frontier models, OpenAI’s delayed Astra release, its public fight with Apple, Meta’s open approach to superintelligence, AI-driven layoffs, Gavin Baker’s AI market predictions, the collapse of the Situational Awareness fund, and more.

Full links and timestamps below.

Access the show notes and show links here:https://podcast.smarterx.ai/shownotes/230

Fill out this week’s AI Pulse Survey here:https://smarterx.ai/pulse

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 — Intro
• 00:04:52 — Google’s AI Leadership Shakeup
• 00:24:15 — OpenAI’s Agent Hack Debrief
• 00:51:03 — White House AI Framework
• 00:57:10 — OpenAI’s Astra Model Delayed
• 01:02:51 — OpenAI Says Apple Is Getting It Wrong
• 01:05:35 — Meta Goes Open on Superintelligence
• 01:10:30 — AI Leads Layoffs for Fifth Straight Month
• 01:14:19 — AI Market Predictions from Gavin Baker
• 01:19:01 — Situational Awareness Fund Implodes
• 01:21:27 — AI Use Case Spotlight
• 01:28:19 — AI Product and Funding Updates

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This week’s episode is brought to you by MAICON and AI Academy by SmarterX.

MAICON is the AI conference for marketing and business leaders, happening October 13–15 in Cleveland. Three days of keynotes, sessions, workshops, and conversations designed for leaders actively figuring out how to adopt, operationalize, and scale AI across their organizations. Visit https://MAICON.ai and use code POD100 to save $100.

AI Academy by SmarterX offers on-demand courses, series, and professional certificates designed to help individuals and organizations build AI literacy and accelerate adoption. Explore the latest courses at https://academy.smarterx.ai and use code POD100 for $100 off any individual plan.

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