Choose good or fast. There’s a knob with two settings when we’re using AI research tools: quality and speed. And there’s no middle setting, because a middle setting would deliver half-assed results that were neither fast nor correct. The more I use AI tools for research, the more I realize that you only get two…
_Almost Timely News: 🗞️ What Are Open Weights Models? (2026-10-18) :: View in Browser_ The Big Plug(s) 🚗 Missed MAICON 2026? You can catch the replay of my session here! ✍️ Enroll in my new course, AI for Writers and learn how to make AI write better. My Unofficial LinkedIn Algorithm Guide is updated for…
Leave Claude set on Opus 5.5 Medium. If you want the best blend of performance price brains and brawn, Anthropic pulled off something magical with Opus 5.5. It’s an extremely smart model, but it is also a parsimonious model. In the Artificial Analysis benchmarks, Opus 5.5 parallels the capabilities of Fable 5.1 in terms of…
It’s two weeks to one of the biggest events of the year, the annual Marketing AI Conference, MAICON, put on by SmarterX. Which means today, right now, is the perfect day to get your COVID and flu boosters if you’re planning to attend. Most vaccines take at least a week to ramp up, and you…
Use AI at the peak of the previous best. If you want to get the most benefit out of AI without expending the most resources (and cost), here’s a simple rubric for you to remember: use AI at the maximum level of the previous generation. For example, Anthropic released Opus 5.5 yesterday. Record-breaking performance, faster,…
What’s going on with AEO/GEO/AI Visibility/etc.? This week, Ashley Zeckman invited me to come share my POV at the annual Spotlight Summit, and in a blisteringly fast 25 minutes, I walked folks through the three stages of GEO, how agentic is changing search, and the two platforms that provide REAL AI visibility measurements AND are…
_Almost Timely News: 🗞️ The Road to MAICON 2026 (2026-10-11) :: View in Browser_ The Big Plug ✍️ Enroll in my new course, AI for Writers and learn how to make AI write better. My Unofficial LinkedIn Algorithm Guide is updated for October 2026! 👉 Get the free version here. 👉 Get the paid version…
How do we make better AI tools? This is the hottest topic right now in the field because model makers are saying they need to slow down the development of new models in the USA while it’s full steam ahead everywhere else in the world, particularly China. When it comes to making AI smarter, there’s…
