AI Field Notes – Issue No. 18

The number one question I’m getting right now—whether from clients, podcasts, or family—is about jobs and AI.

It’s on everyone’s mind, especially the younger generation. And they’re right: this is going to be a real issue. As I’ve said before, once we get over the initial hump, things will stabilize and even improve. The challenge is we don’t know how long that hump will last, or what the job market will look like on the other side.

My advice: stop thinking of AI as just a tool. Start thinking of it as intelligence—a new kind of intelligence you must learn to pilot. Tools are part of it, but the real value is knowing how to route, manage, and harness AI’s intelligence. That’s what will insulate you from job loss.

The second theme I see everywhere: the noise. Blogs, videos, LinkedIn threads—it’s deafening. For business owners and employees, the key is to filter it out. Noise is noise. Instead, set a simple goal: walk out of each week with one new AI skill. That’s it. One per week compounds fast. Pro tip: you can literally have ChatGPT or Gemini generate a personalized AI training course for you. Start there.

On the product side, three big stories this week:

1. ChatGPT Instant Checkout: This is a major shift. Etsy is the first partner live in ChatGPT, and Shopify is next. If you’re in e-commerce, run—don’t walk—to understand this. It poses a direct challenge to Amazon and Google PPC. The funnel is being redefined: discovery → recommendation → purchase, all in one chat. That’s a seismic disruption.
2. ChatGPT Pulse: A daily feed of curated updates, customizable to your interests. Don’t miss the bigger signal here: this is where ads are going. OpenAI will monetize Pulse with ads, but likely paired with subscriptions—not a straight copy of Google or Meta. Another tectonic shift in the ad world.
3. Google AI Overviews: A new BrightEdge study shows AI Overviews overlap with organic search just 54% of the time. Nearly half the citations are from sources outside the top-ranked organic results. Translation: traditional SEO no longer guarantees visibility. We’re in the early stages of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), where authority, brand trust, and structured clarity matter more than keyword tricks. The playbook is being rewritten in real time.

Takeaway:

The AI noise is loud, the job fears are real, and the product shifts are seismic. Filter the noise, focus on one skill per week, and watch where the AI platforms are pulling revenue and visibility—because those monetization and discovery models will reshape your business faster than you think.