Destreza / Thinking

The business of better work

What AI saves, what it costs and what a marketing team gets in return.

Newest first. Monthly analysis is ordered by its editorial “as of” date.

14 pieces

A group of friends around a dining table in a room with Sonos speakers. — Sonos 27 launch photography, released on 1 September. Its connection to external AI assistants enters Early Access on 8 September; this scene is launch imagery, not evidence of customer satisfaction. Source: Sonos.

Analysis 005

A better model. A better customer experience?

Analysis 005As of 8 September 20265 min read

September brings new AI controls and fresh evidence of customers’ reluctance to retry a failed chatbot. A launch needs to prove what happens after the conversation.

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A smiling Goldfish snack wearing sunglasses poses before a camera against a backdrop made to look like a slice of cheese. — Inside The Weekly Cut 017: Goldfish’s “Photoshoot”, from the campaign discussed in System1’s 27 August review. This is campaign context; the review’s 5.1-Star score relates to the execution it tests, rather than proof about this particular frame. Source: Goldfish / Mischief / Blinkink; still supplied by Marcus Lim SO.

The Weekly Cut 017

Campaign agents, holiday shoppers and creative control

The Weekly Cut 01728 August 20268 min read

Media-buying assistance, preparation for returns and a customer-search experiment make AI’s commercial use more concrete.

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Two people at a pub bar in a scene from This is our BBC. — Inside The Weekly Cut 016: A scene from the BBC’s July campaign “This Is Our BBC”, the subject of System1’s 20 August review. The image belongs to that campaign, rather than a new August launch. Source: BBC / Blink.

The Weekly Cut 016

AI advertising, synthetic people and creative trust

The Weekly Cut 01621 August 20268 min read

Consumer comfort and new creative tools meet a concrete example of where released marketing capacity can go.

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A server holding an orange drink approaches two people in a beach chair outside a seaside kiosk, with the FLENS mark above. — Inside The Weekly Cut 015: FLENS’s “Neulich mit Spritz”, one of the films launched with its 1 May brand refresh. System1 revisits this execution in its 13 August review; it is not a new August launch. Source: Flensburger Brauerei.

The Weekly Cut 015

AI referrals and the product page’s new job

The Weekly Cut 01514 August 20269 min read

Referral data, a customer-journey case and UK attitudes put the consequences for the customer ahead of the latest vendor launch.

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Nick Louisson presenting ISBA’s 2026 Gen AI survey, with the original subtitle “Nothing scales better than mediocrity”. — Nick Louisson discusses ISBA’s 2026 Gen AI survey in its 9 July preview. The results, released on 22 July, distinguish widespread use from reported business impact. Source: ISBA.

Analysis 003

Where should the time saved by AI go?

Analysis 003As of 31 July 20265 min read

July’s ISBA findings expose a gap between using AI and getting a business result. The next decision is what to do with capacity you can prove you have released.

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The GEICO Gecko in a sink wearing a snorkel, with the original Drain title and GEICO mark. — Inside The Weekly Cut 013: GEICO’s “Drain” campaign, released in April, is the subject of System1’s 30 July review. The official thumbnail shows the Gecko adapting a familiar character to another insurance message. Source: GEICO.

The Weekly Cut 013

Growing ad spend. A changing route to purchase.

The Weekly Cut 01331 July 20268 min read

Platform earnings and channel investment put commercial context around a customer-facing AI shopping case.

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Mohamed Salah and Vini Jr. sit on BMX bicycles beneath a concrete flyover in Pepsi’s Football Nation campaign. — Inside The Weekly Cut 012: Mohamed Salah and Vini Jr. in Pepsi’s April 2026 Football Nation campaign. Pepsi features in this week’s YouGov brand study; the research does not establish that this campaign caused the movement. Source: Pepsi.

The Weekly Cut 012

AI adoption is widespread. Business impact is uneven.

The Weekly Cut 01224 July 20268 min read

UK advertisers report near-universal AI engagement, Google improves its working models, and Semrush tests who owns a topic inside ChatGPT.

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A complete desktop Chrome window displays a Jet2holidays hotel page beside Gemini’s comparison of three open tabs and a map. — Inside The Weekly Cut 011: Google’s July 14 UK demonstration shows Gemini comparing holiday options across Chrome tabs, alongside the retailer’s desktop website. The assistant moves closer to the buying task. Source: Google / Jet2holidays.

The Weekly Cut 011

Search starts doing the work

The Weekly Cut 01117 July 20269 min read

Search moves closer to the task, AI discovery meets the sales conversation and the money available to marketers comes with a harder commercial brief.

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Laura Wade seated for the ExchangeWire interview, with the publisher’s original programme title and her name. — Inside The Weekly Cut 010: Laura Wade of ISBA in ExchangeWire’s 8 July interview on sustainability and the risk of making an ineffective system faster. Source: ExchangeWire.

The Weekly Cut 010

ChatGPT Work and the value of a completed assignment

The Weekly Cut 01010 July 20269 min read

A bigger brief for AI at work, a clearer account of how ads are made and a research product that brings real people back into the answer.

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Anthropic’s OSWorld-Verified chart plots computer-use accuracy against average cost per task for Sonnet 5, Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.8. — Anthropic’s Sonnet 5 launch chart compares computer-use benchmark performance and cost across effort levels. Its cost axis uses the scheduled standard token rates, rather than the introductory rates available through 31 August; it is a vendor benchmark, not a marketing-workflow result. Source: Anthropic.

The Weekly Cut 009

AI attribution meets the brand-search question

The Weekly Cut 0093 July 20268 min read

Two measurement developments ask what follows attention, while a model update promises better follow-through on work.

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The opening screen of Conductor’s 10 June demonstration of its AI Brand Visibility Report Agent in Optimizely Opal. A supplier demonstration is the starting point; a paid trial should follow the work through to a usable result. Source: Conductor / Optimizely.

Analysis 002

What to ask an AI marketing supplier

Analysis 002As of 30 June 20265 min read

A paid trial on a real brief can reveal the work, costs and responsibilities behind a persuasive AI pitch. June’s spending evidence makes that scrutiny timely.

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