In the sixth episode of Assistant to the CMO, Lexie Meskouris speaks with Will Nash and Harjot Singh about whether putting a label on the AI in an advertisement actually protects anyone.

New York's law is now in force, and any advertiser reaching its consumers must disclose an AI-generated performer inside the ad. The EU follows in August, while Britain has nothing. Will reads it as a canary for copycat state rules and federal ones to come, with liability landing on whoever publishes the ad. Harjot calls it a cookie banner moment that stamps AI as untrustworthy and binds only the people already behaving.

The second half turns to brands running AI customers who never existed, while platforms label everything by default. The hosts pull apart three things usually treated as one, the disclosure label, the provenance credential, and the lie itself. A fake testimonial is false whether a model or a real actor delivers it, and a label only proves a tool was used. The practical move is to record which tools touched each asset and check the claim is real.

Highlights of this Episode Include:

• The Producer Carries the Fine: New York's law puts liability on whoever pays for and publishes the ad, not the agency or the tool.
• A Canary for What's Coming: Will expects copycat state rules then federal ones, and treats this as a legal problem, not marketing.
• A Cookie Banner Moment: Harjot argues the law brands AI as untrustworthy and binds only the people already trying to behave.
• Regulation Favours the Incumbents: Big brands have compliance teams; a nail salon on Instagram gets caught by a thousand-dollar fine.
• Three Things People Conflate: The hosts separate the disclosure label, the provenance credential, and the actual lie of a fake customer.
• What a Label Actually Proves: It shows a tool was used, never whether the claim behind the ad is true.
• The Monday Move: Get suppliers to state in writing which AI tools touched each asset, and verify the claim is real.

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New episodes of Assistant to the CMO land every Thursday.

In the fifth episode of Assistant to the CMO, Lexie Meskouris speaks with Will Nash and Harjot Singh about whether AI has quietly become the thing that decides which vendors get recommended, and whether anyone can yet measure it.

LinkedIn's three-year study with Bain reports that 94% of B2B buying groups consult an LLM before speaking to sales, and argues AI retrieves whoever is already trusted rather than discovering anyone new. Neither builder finds that surprising. Will notes LinkedIn sells reputation-based advertising and has reason to describe the world this way. Harjot reads the behaviour as comfort, arguing buyers trust AI more than they trust colleagues.

The second half is where they part. DISQO claims its AI Search Lift can measure whether advertising moves your brand inside AI search. Will calls it branded search relabelled and wants the panel size before anyone signs. Harjot rates it, arguing it may reveal how buyers actually decide, and wants the methodology published. The takeaway is to find out what AI already says about you, and baseline before trusting any lift number.

Highlights of this Episode Include:

• What the Buyability Study Claims: LinkedIn says AI surfaces vendors who already carry customer proof, peer recommendation, and expert endorsement.
• Consider Who Funded the Research: Will notes LinkedIn sells reputation-based advertising, so it has reason to say reputation now decides everything.
• Buying Is a Comfort Behaviour: Harjot argues buyers trust AI more than colleagues, using it to feel safe in a decision rather than to learn.
• The Retrieval Layer Decides Who Gets Pulled: Challengers should optimise what a model can reach; incumbents should stay clearly described through rebrands.
• The Hosts Split on Measurement: Will calls DISQO's AI Search Lift branded search relabelled and demands the panel size before anyone signs.
• Answer the Questions Buyers Actually Ask: Will's Monday move is to mirror the Q&A format on your own site, since retrieval reads it even if training never does.
• Never Skip the Baseline: Harjot's rule is to trend results over time and correlate them with your other metrics before trusting any lift.

Listen and subscribe: https://AssistantToTheCMO.show

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New episodes of Assistant to the CMO land every Thursday.

AI learns to buy. Customers learn to doubt.

In the fourth episode of Assistant to the CMO, Lexie Meskouris speaks with Will Nash and Harjot Singh about whether AI moving into the buying itself is a real shift to build for now, or a loud launch that most customers are not ready to use.

OpenAI put a checkout inside ChatGPT and the ad money arrived fast, but Will and Harjot split on what it means. Will sees a real signal, though he says the change that matters is discovery - how you show up when someone asks ChatGPT, which he calls AEO - not the buy button. Harjot calls the checkout mostly noise: the revenue is real, but almost nobody will hand over a card inside a chat, so it only fits cheap impulse buys.

The second half turns to the walk-back, as OpenAI quietly pulls checkout toward retailer apps and a survey shows 60% put off by AI in brand messaging. Will reads it as normal early-curve wobble, not a crisis, and says the fix is honest disclosure. Harjot keeps it simple: hold on to the site you own, because AI strips your brand down to bare facts. The takeaway is to audit what AI already says about you before you change anything

Highlights of this Episode Include:

• Discovery Is the Real Shift: Will says the change touching every marketer is how AI describes you when asked, not the checkout inside ChatGPT.
• The Buy Button Is Mostly Noise: Harjot says the revenue is real, but almost nobody is confident enough to finish a purchase inside a chat yet.
• Build for the Agent, or the Human: The core split - Will would get your product feed agent-ready now, Harjot would build for the human and wait.
• Concentrate, Don't Go Wide: Both agree AI leans on a few big sources like Reddit and G2, so concentrate spend there, not on micro-influencers.
• The Walk-Back Isn't a Crisis: With about 20% of US adults using AI daily, Will reads OpenAI's checkout retreat as a normal early-curve wobble.
• Disclose the AI Fast: Will says the 60% flinch is about feeling deceived, so tell customers early when a persona is AI rather than hide it.
• The Monday Move Is a Self-Audit: Ask ChatGPT and Claude what they say about you versus rivals, find the source, and keep the site you own.

Listen and subscribe: https://AssistantToTheCMO.show

Learn more about Aloudable: https://aloudable.com/

Book a demo: https://aloudable.com/get-a-demo

New episodes of Assistant to the CMO land every Thursday.