Spotify is making a bold move into the world of artificial intelligence, announcing the launch of a new product that will allow fans to create covers and remixes of songs with artists’ consent. During its second-quarter report, the company announced that licensing partner Merlin, which represents more than 30,000 independent labels and distributors, has joined the initiative. This expands the base of artists participating in the project and underscores Spotify’s commitment to standing out from controversial startups that generate fully artificial tracks.
Product positioning: ‘real artists, not fake ones’
Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström emphasized that the product is aimed at ‘real artists, not fake ones.’ Unlike generative music services, Spotify is betting on musicians’ consent and their compensation.
‘We want artists to give consent for their works to be added to the catalog so that people can create covers and remixes based on their creativity,’ added another CEO, Alex Norström.
Legal clarity and compensation
The key difference of the new service is its legality. ‘We not only obtain consent and provide attribution, but also ensure compensation. This is the first legal way to participate in the AI trend we see in interactive music,’ Norström stated.
This is especially important in light of Deezer data: more than 50% of daily uploaded tracks are already AI-generated (in January 2025, it was only 10%).
Launch and monetization
research preview of the product will be available only to a subset of users, without the need for the full catalog. The exact date has not been disclosed, but it is known that the feature will become a paid add-on, creating an additional source of income for artists.
‘Our product with remixes and covers is incredibly exciting because no one else can do this. Ordinary generative music will appear without us, but this product will not appear without us, and it must exist so that artists can participate in the AI wave,’ Söderström emphasized.
Frequently asked questions
What is Merlin and why does Spotify need it?
Merlin is a licensing partner representing the interests of independent labels. Its participation expands the catalog of artists who can consent to the use of their music in AI remixes, ensuring legality and content diversity.
When will the AI remix feature launch?
The exact date has not been announced. Initially, a research preview will be available to a limited group of users, with a full launch expected later.
Will it be paid?
Yes, the feature will become a paid add-on, allowing artists to earn additional income from the use of their music in remixes and covers.
Conclusion
Spotify is betting on the legal use of AI in music, attracting partners like Merlin and emphasizing artist consent and compensation. This could become a new standard in the industry, distinguishing it from the chaotic spread of generative tracks.
Stay tuned for updates to be among the first to try the feature and see how AI remixes will change your music experience.
In the world of digital marketing, more and more evidence is emerging that artificial intelligence is not just a passing trend, but a real tool for improving efficiency. A recent A/B test conducted by kitchen appliance brand Cuisinart clearly demonstrated that AI video for advertising can outperform traditional production on key metrics. The brand, owned by Conair, compared a video created by Amazon’s neural network with classic studio creative, and the result was unexpected for many skeptics.
Cuisinart’s marketing team had long wanted to use generative AI, but the quality of images did not meet the brand’s strict standards. As Kelsey Smith-Eisen, Director of Amazon Marketing at Conair, explained, even static banners had errors: incorrect shade of green, distorted logos, inaccurate numbers and text on appliances.
“This even applied to simple banners,” she noted. However, with the rapid improvement in AI video quality, the company decided to test Amazon’s new tool — the “video creative agent.” Cuisinart became a beta tester for this solution, launched in 2024.
Flexibility vs. planning: the advantage of neural networks
Traditional marketing requires months of planning: booking studios, preparing locations. But the Amazon team works at a different pace — priorities change quickly, and it’s impossible to predict what will work in a week. Generative AI allows for quickly creating videos for current tasks, which is critical for dynamic platforms.
A/B test: AI video outperformed traditional
As part of the beta test, Cuisinart and its agency Global Overview launched two parallel campaigns with equal budgets: one used studio-shot video, the other used an AI-generated video. The AI version was refined with prompts, selecting from several options proposed by the agent. After a month, the results showed a clear advantage for generative creative.
Nikhil Naniwadekar, lead engineer for generative and agentic AI at Amazon Ads, explained: the agent doesn’t come up with radically new ideas but analyzes the brand’s past successful campaigns. It “relies on signals” and creates variations of what has already worked, but with novelty — this helps combat banner blindness among consumers.
Speed of progress: from static to nearly finished video in a year
Smith-Eisen emphasizes: the key is not just the test results, but the pace of technology development. A year ago, generating even a static image was unreliable and not worth the effort. Now AI almost fully creates video, requiring only minimal post-processing.
“In another year, if progress continues, we’ll be able to use videos immediately after generation, without refinements,” she predicts.
What’s next: personalization and new formats
Cuisinart plans to expand AI usage: creating not only product demos but also commercial videos. For example, if purchase data shows a person has moved to a new apartment, compact appliances can be shown; if a user starts cooking, relevant products can be suggested. The brand is also exploring the possibility of dialogues between AI characters, although for now it’s safer to use voiceover.
Importantly, generated videos only work within Amazon Ads — they can’t be transferred to YouTube or Instagram. But Smith-Eisen believes this isn’t necessary: each platform has its own audience, and differences in style are natural. Amazon Ads, in turn, is developing the tool: in June, a “one-click video generation” feature appeared.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AI content production?
It’s the creation of advertising materials (videos, images, texts) using neural networks. Instead of studio shoots and a team of designers, AI generates videos based on text descriptions, saving time and budget.
How much does one AI creative cost?
The cost depends on the platform and complexity. On average, generating one video can cost from a few dollars to tens, which is significantly cheaper than traditional production, where a minute of video can cost thousands of dollars.
Can I order AI UGC for a crypto project?
Yes, many services offer the creation of AI avatars and videos in UGC (user-generated content) style for cryptocurrency projects. This allows for quickly scaling advertising without involving real bloggers.
What are Synthesia alternatives?
Besides Synthesia, there are HeyGen, Colossyan, Elai.io, and others. They allow creating videos with AI avatars and subtitles. Amazon Ads also offers its own tool, but it only works within the platform.
Conclusion
The Cuisinart test is another proof that AI video generation for advertising is becoming not just an experiment, but a working tool. Neural networks are already capable of creating videos that are not inferior to traditional ones in effectiveness, and surpass them in speed and scalability.
If you’re thinking about implementing AI in your marketing, start small: test generating one video and compare the results. Maybe it will change your approach to content. And if you need help implementing AI tools into your advertising strategy — contact us for a consultation.
92.8% of dialogues in ChatGPT end without a transition to the website — this is Profound data that Kevin Indig analyzed in the digest on July 21. Measured on live traffic of a real product, the figure can be trusted. All search promotion relied on a single deal: you get to the top of search results, a person clicks the link to your site, and converting that visit into a lead is your concern. The link was the point where a business first touches a customer. In the AI response, this deal breaks at the very first step: the click most often simply doesn’t happen.
Why 92.8% of dialogues in ChatGPT end without a transition to the website
For several months, I’ve been measuring how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Alisa AQI, and GigaChat name brands in their responses: I run control prompts and see which model mentioned whom and which didn’t. Behind these runs, a figure surfaced that breaks the usual SEO logic — and made me change what I track for clients altogether. Let me break it down in order.
Three weeks ago, we ran prompts for a client in the food delivery niche through ChatGPT. Usual routine: you type a question like “which delivery service to choose in Moscow,” and look at the response. At that point, the client had far more links from external sites than the nearest competitor. In Ahrefs — a service that calculates a site’s link weight — this is immediately visible: both the overall authority score is higher, and the number of different sites linking to it is one and a half times greater. ChatGPT named the competitor. The client — no. Didn’t mention it at all, not once in twenty prompts.
I double-checked three times, changed the wording of the question, the date of the dialogue, and the region. The result was the same. For an hour and a half, I honestly couldn’t understand what was going on. Twenty years of website promotion taught a simple rule: the more links point to you, the higher you rank in Google and Yandex results, and therefore the more readily neural networks should name you. Here, the rule didn’t work. Only there was no search results page in the usual sense. There was a model that decided on its own whom to name and whom not to. And it decided not by a link counter.
A brand mention cannot be bought with links — it accumulates like reputation
At the same time, AI traffic itself is tiny in volume — Ahrefs reports that ChatGPT accounts for about 0.19% of all link transitions on the internet, compared to 42% for Google. Ridiculously small if you compare head-on. But here’s what’s more interesting: those few who do click from ChatGPT convert far more readily — conversion is about 7.1%, and the visit itself is valued 4.4 times higher than a regular one. Fewer people reach the site, but those who do — came ready to make a purchase or any other target action.
And here’s an important twist. If the decision is made BEFORE the click, inside the model’s response itself, then you need to fight not for the click. You need to fight for how you’re named at the moment when the click hasn’t happened yet and, most likely, won’t happen at all. A mention in a ChatGPT response is not structured like a spot in search results. A spot can be earned by working on the site — links, loading speed, technical cleanup. A mention can’t be bought that way. The model gathers it from two sources: from the texts it was trained on and from pages it pulls up right during the response. And what decides is not the number of links, but how the brand is generally written about — in reviews, on forums, in industry articles, in comparisons.
Search promotion used to be about taking top positions, because a position led to a click on the site. Promotion in AI answer engines works differently: you have to fight for the mention itself, because a click may not happen at all, and the person will still make a decision — based on how the model named the brand. A link is a one-time asset. It works as long as the page holds in the search results, as long as the site is alive, as long as the algorithm values it. A mention accumulates differently: it is reputation that has already settled into the texts on which the model was trained and which it reads now. Remove one article — the mention will not go anywhere; it is spread across dozens of sources.
This is where my mistake with that food delivery client was. His link profile was strong, but almost all of it came from aggregators and directories, where the brand is simply listed in a list. The competitor had fewer links, but had three detailed editorial reviews describing how the service differs from others. The model was trained on them, among other things. It did not count links — it read context. The first place in Google, by the way, does not at all guarantee a mention in ChatGPT. We checked this on several clients separately: search and AI engines have different selection mechanics, and the first place in regular search results does not by itself turn into a line inside the model’s answer.
Where a link still brings a client, and where the question is closed right in the answer
The link has not died entirely — it is important not to confuse this. In regular Google, 68% of searches in the US by early 2026 also end without a click, according to SparkToro citing Search Engine Land. An answer without a click to the site has also come to good old search, it is just that it was visible there earlier — through blocks with ready answers, knowledge cards, and direct answers at the top of the results.
The link still works where the decision is made AFTER the first touch: price comparison, reading reviews, technical documentation, everything that requires going into details that simply do not fit in the model’s short answer. It works in niches with a long decision-making cycle — there, a person will still reach the site, just later. The link does not work where the question is closed with one phrase in the answer. “Which delivery service to choose” — closed with a phrase. “How much does delivery from a specific restaurant in a specific area cost tomorrow evening” — not closed, a click is needed there. The same business lives on both sides of this boundary — it all depends on which specific query the user asked.
What I now measure for clients instead of search positions
I stopped looking only at positions in the search results and added a separate measurement: how often and in what context models mention the client’s brand directly, without a click, without a transition. We run control prompts — real audience questions — through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Alisa AI, and GigaChat, and see whether the model names the brand, in what order relative to competitors, and with what wording. ChatGPT is not the only one here. Perplexity builds its answer almost entirely from cited sources and shows them as a list — the model readily takes from articles on third-party platforms. Alisa AI mixes in fresh Yandex results, GigaChat answers in its own way. A brand that sounds in one model may be silent in another — so one ChatGPT is not enough for the measurement.
From this, three things emerged that I now advise any marketer to track:
Share of mentions among top competitors for your own key questions: a specific percentage for a specific set of prompts, without general ratings.
Tone of phrasing: the model may mention the brand neutrally, or it may add an evaluative word like “trusted” or “expensive” — this influences choice more than the mere fact of mention.
Sources from which the model apparently draws this phrasing: often it’s one or two articles — these should be prioritized for strengthening, instead of spreading the budget across dozens of platforms.
With that food delivery client, we ultimately didn’t chase new links. We wrote several detailed materials about the product on platforms that the model clearly reads and cites — and after a month and a half, the mention appeared, and visibility in AI responses grew. The client had more links, but ChatGPT named a competitor. Now we know why.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to measure brand mentions in ChatGPT?
Run control prompts — real audience questions — through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Alice AI, and GigaChat. Calculate the share of mentions among top competitors, record the tone and the sources from which the model draws information.
Can you buy a mention in neural networks with links?
No. Links work in classic search, but neural networks don’t count them directly. A mention depends on how the brand is written about in reviews, articles, and forums — it’s reputation that accumulates in the texts on which the model is trained.
What to do if the brand is not mentioned in ChatGPT?
Find the platforms that the model cites most often and place detailed materials about the product there. Strengthen editorial reviews, comparisons, and expert articles — they influence mentions more than link mass.
Should you abandon SEO in favor of neural networks?
No. Links still work in niches with a long decision-making cycle and for transactional queries. The optimal strategy is to combine classic SEO with work on mentions in AI responses.
Conclusion
The bottom line is simple: 92.8% of dialogues in ChatGPT end without a click, but the decision to choose a brand has already been made. A link is a one-time asset; a mention is cumulative reputation. To win in AI search results, stop chasing links and start managing how you are written about in the texts that models read. Run control prompts, track the share of mentions and tone — and you’ll see where you’re really losing customers. Start with an audit of your mentions today.
In a world where audience attention is the most valuable resource, finding viewers before a project launch often becomes creators’ biggest headache. Chronicle Media is an AI platform that solves this problem by analyzing social networks and finding potential fans even before release. Founded by Aaron Sisto, Scott Greenberg, and Ollie Lewis, the platform is an AI engine for audience growth on social media.
The platform analyzes tens of thousands of niche audience segments on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X to identify the most promising fan groups for video games, brands, animation, podcasts, and micro-dramas. Using proprietary models and AI agents, Chronicle helps campaigns and channels optimize content, attracting new viewers and retaining existing ones. Launched earlier this year, the platform already works with CC0 Studios, The Hive Studio, Simple Alien, and Wall of Entertainment.
Case Study: The Normal MFer
One of the key successes was the series The Normal MFer by CC0 and The Hive. Thanks to Chronicle’s tools, organic reach grew by 619% (to 994,000 people) in the first season, watch time increased by 1,804% (to 31,000 hours), and new viewers grew by 330% (890,000).
Growth was achieved by identifying previously untapped segments, including male audiences aged 13–34 and fans of animation, horror, and dark fantasy (Adult Swim, Solar Opposites, Rick & Morty).
Founders’ Experience
Scott Greenberg, former executive at Starz and Film Roman, co-founder of Bento Box Entertainment (Bob’s Burgers, Hazbin Hotel), notes: “Even with our biggest shows on TV, the biggest problem was distribution. YouTube has always been challenging.” He saw the power of digital fandom when Bento Box brought in Vivienne Medrano with Hazbin Hotel.
“You can put content on YouTube, and it might work, but if it doesn’t, you don’t know whether the content didn’t resonate or the audience just didn’t see it. Chronicle solves this: we identify who your audience is, where they are, what they watch, and then place content in the feeds of the most likely viewers.”
Aaron Sisto, who holds a PhD in AI simulation from Stanford, adds: “No one will argue that audience discovery and growth are among the biggest challenges. We focus on applying AI power effectively. Our model allows you to upload content and get a complete map of audience segments and the total addressable market with niche details.”
Over the next 12 months, Chronicle plans to scale. “We want to be a partner for everyone—from independent creators to major publishers and brands. We’ll help creators own their audience and engage with it,” summarizes Ollie Lewis.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Chronicle identify the audience?
The platform uses AI models that analyze tens of thousands of audience segments on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, identifying the most relevant groups.
Do I need to use generative AI for content?
No, Chronicle does not require the use of generative tools. The platform works with already-created content, helping with its distribution.
What types of projects does Chronicle work with?
Video games, brands, animation, video podcasts, micro-dramas, global franchises, creators, and studios.
How to contact Chronicle?
You can reach the team through their website: Chronicle Media.
Summary
Chronicle Media demonstrates how an AI platform for audience discovery can radically change the approach to content promotion. Instead of guessing whether a project will work, creators get precise data on who their viewer is and where to find them. This is especially important in a saturated market where organic reach is becoming increasingly valuable.
If you’re a creator, studio, or brand looking to expand your audience before a project launch, it’s worth checking out Chronicle’s capabilities. Visit the platform’s website to learn how it can help your next release find its viewers.
Snapchat bans fully AI-generated videos in Spotlight but promotes its own AI tools
Every major social network is run by a tech giant, and in the era of AI content, this has become especially noticeable. Snapchat is the latest platform trying to balance monetizing generative AI with preserving “authenticity”. New Spotlight rules introduce a complete ban on fully AI-generated videos, but the company is actively promoting its own AI tools.
New Spotlight rules: complete ban on AI videos
Snapchat has announced that fully AI-generated videos will no longer appear in Spotlight recommendations. This means creators of such clips will not be able to submit them or receive payments through the monetization program. The key word here is “fully”: videos partially created with AI are still allowed.
“As low-quality, repetitive AI content becomes increasingly common online, we want Spotlight to remain a place where people can discover authentic creativity from real people,” the company said in its official blog.
Why Snapchat isn’t abandoning AI entirely
Despite the ban, Snapchat is actively promoting its own generative features: AI Lenses, My AI, AI Snaps, song generation from chats. The statement emphasizes: “We are not rejecting AI.” Content enhanced with built-in tools will remain in recommendations, but with transparency labels.
“We know that for some, AI is an important part of the creative process, and we believe it can unlock new forms of self-expression,” — Snapchat.
Context: what other platforms are doing
Snapchat is not the first platform to tighten rules on AI content. YouTube has been fighting “slop” for several months and last month banned videos with AI “experts” in medicine and finance. LinkedIn added a button to report AI content, and Pangram data shows that up to 41% of LinkedIn content is LLM extrusion.
Snapchat’s strategy: “video DNA” and bypassing bans
For marketers and content creators, this is a signal: platforms are learning to distinguish “clones” from “originals.” Content repurposing is not just re-uploading, but deep reworking: changing the background, tone, structure. With AI tools, you can create dozens of variations of one creative, adapting them for TikTok, Shorts, and Reels without breaking the rules.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use AI to create videos on Snapchat?
Yes, but only as a supporting tool. Fully generated clips will not pass Spotlight moderation and will not receive payments.
How to bypass the ban in advertising using repurposing?
Create creative variations: change the background, voice tone, subtitles, angles. This reduces the risk of a ban and increases the effectiveness of A/B tests.
Should I order a new video or repackage an old one?
If the budget is limited, repurposing is more profitable: one webinar can be turned into 50 clips for different social networks. It’s cheaper than shooting from scratch and faster.
Conclusion
Snapchat is balancing between “authenticity” and its own AI tools. For creators, this is an opportunity: use AI to speed up work, but add a “human” layer. Adapt content to each platform, test different variations, and remember: algorithms love uniqueness.
Ready to repackage your videos? Start small: change the background, add subtitles, re-voice. And you’ll see your reach grow.
Banner advertising in Shorts and other short video formats is becoming a powerful tool for brands seeking massive reach without huge budgets. The restaurant chain Sweetgreen proved this in practice by launching video banners on the Atmosphere TV platform during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This case is a vivid example of how banner advertising in video can draw attention to a product and increase foot traffic to offline locations.
Why Banner Advertising in Video Proved Effective
Sweetgreen launched new wraps in May 2025, and the World Cup became the perfect moment to promote them. Vice President of Marketing Katie Sheehan noted that portable dishes like wraps are better suited for sports content than salads. Video banners allowed the brand to integrate into the atmosphere of sports broadcasts without resorting to traditional influencer videos.
The campaign was part of a broader wraps promotion, including social media and TikTok. However, it was the video banners on Atmosphere TV screens that provided message repetition, which, according to Sheehan, is critical for ad recall.
How Banner Advertising in Video Works: Technology and Reach
Atmosphere TV positions itself not as a DOOH platform, but as connected TV for people outside the home. The technology allows placing banners in video on screens in venues such as bars and restaurants. This enables brands to target audiences within a 2-3 mile radius of their locations, which is more effective than regional DMA buys (up to 10 miles).
For Sweetgreen, this meant focusing on key markets: Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington. This approach avoided a “broad national buy” and concentrated on areas with high density of the target audience.
Campaign Results: Numbers and Statistics
According to the brand, audiences who saw the campaign on Atmosphere TV screens visited Sweetgreen physical stores 113.9% more often than those who did not see the ad. This proves that video banners can be an effective tool for driving traffic to offline locations.
It is worth noting that in July, due to a cyclospora outbreak, foot traffic dropped by 4.7% compared to the average Saturday figure. However, the campaign was not a reaction to this incident, Sheehan emphasized.
“Repetition over time is a good way to reinforce a message, especially when the ad is tailored to the environment,” she added.
Why Banner Advertising in Video Is an Alternative to Influencers
Banner advertising in short videos, such as YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Reels, offers brands cheap reach and transparent statistics. Unlike influencers, where the cost per million impressions (CPM) can be high, video banners allow for CPMs cheaper than 50 rubles. This is especially relevant for info-businesses, mobile apps, and crypto projects, where mass reach without big budgets is important.
Programmatic video banners automate placement across hundreds of videos, saving time and money. Hypothesis testing can be done for as little as 1000 rubles, without spending on production. This makes banner advertising in video attractive for small and medium businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is banner advertising in video?
It is overlay advertising that appears on top of video content on platforms like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, or Reels. It can be static or animated and is often used for quick audience reach.
How to place a banner on TikTok?
To place a banner on TikTok, you can use the platform’s official advertising tools or contact partners that offer automated solutions for video banners. It is important to set up targeting to reach the desired audience.
What is the cost of CPM in banner advertising?
CPM (cost per thousand impressions) can be below 50 rubles, especially when using programmatic platforms. This makes advertising accessible to small businesses and startups.
Conclusion
Banner advertising in short videos is an effective way to get massive reach for pennies, without resorting to expensive influencers. The Sweetgreen case shows that even large brands use this tool to draw attention to new products. If you want to test video banners, start with small budgets and analyze the results.
The real math speaks for itself: a banner without production can bring traffic and sales. Don’t pay an influencer until you’ve tried this format. Start small—and you’ll see how banner advertising in Shorts can become your main customer acquisition channel.
YouTube automation is often perceived as an easy way to make money, but in reality, it is about creating repeatable systems and processes for scaling a channel. In this guide, we will break down what YouTube automation is, development stages, launch strategy, realistic income and expense expectations, the use of AI tools, best practices, and risks in 2026.
What is YouTube automation?
YouTube automation is the delegation of repetitive tasks required to run and grow a channel, using freelancers and AI tools. The goal is not to remove yourself from the creative process, but to free up time for strategy and growth.
Systematic delegation allows you to create a repeatable workflow that produces quality content. This enables scaling: managing multiple channels, exploring new niches, or simply saving time while building sustainable income.
Three stages of YouTube automation
Stage 1: Automating repetitive tasks
At this stage, you still create content yourself, but you remove friction in production. Automated tasks include: topic research, scriptwriting, creating thumbnails, and basic editing. The goal is consistency and repeatable templates.
Stage 2: Automating creative elements
You delegate some creative tasks while maintaining creative direction. Typically delegated: scriptwriting, thumbnail creation, editing, and voiceover. Your role shifts from executor to director.
Stage 3: Full automation of the production line
You manage an entire system: hiring managers, coordinating teams, and analyzing metrics. You become a media business owner. It is important not to rush into this stage until the format works.
How to start YouTube automation: a case study
Noah Morris, an automation expert, earned a seven-figure sum in a year while managing more than 20 channels, dedicating only one day a week to it. His advice:
Consider not only the niche but also content gaps, demand, and the potential for systematization. A good sign is channels with high views but low subscriber counts.
2. Find the “content gap” in your niche
Use tools like vidIQ Outliers to find topics that perform well but have few competitors. Look for videos with a high Outlier Score and views per hour.
3. Study your competitors
Analyze their successful videos: CTR, retention, and systematic elements. Use the vidIQ extension for quick analysis.
4. Build a team
A basic team includes a scriptwriter, editor, thumbnail designer, and voiceover specialist. Hire one person at a time to maintain quality control.
5. Continuously improve your videos
study the analytics, experiment with formats, and improve retention. Automation doesn’t mean no work—you remain the channel’s director.
How much can you earn from YouTube automation?
Income varies depending on the niche, audience geography, retention, and monetization. Noah earned $500,000 in 90 days, but that’s an exceptional case. A realistic approach is to focus on a repeatable format and gradual growth.
Beyond AdSense, you can use sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and selling digital products.
How much does YouTube automation cost?
The cost depends on delegation and quality. Noah spent about $100 per video and broke even after 12 videos. Beginners may need 35 videos and $3,000–3,500 to see initial results.
Budget by role:
Scriptwriter — $50–100 per video
Editor — $100–200 per video
Thumbnail designer — $20–50 per video
AI tools for YouTube automation
AI can speed up the process but shouldn’t create templated content. Useful applications include idea generation, script drafts, voiceovers, and thumbnail improvements.
Risks: mass-producing similar videos, copyright infringement, and losing originality.
Best practices and risks
Automation can harm your channel if content looks templated and unoriginal. YouTube may deny monetization for “inauthentic” content. In 2026, YouTube requires disclosing synthetic content.
Use AI for assistance, but add human creativity.
Example niches for automation
True Crime and mystery: strong storytelling, narrative format.
Celebrity news: fast cycles, but requires accuracy.
Sports highlights: analysis and commentary.
Personal finance: high RPM, but high trust expectations.
Luxury and expensive items: lists and comparisons.
History: evergreen topics, series.
Science and space: explanations and storytelling.
Psychology: “why we do things” and examples.
Technologies: reviews, affiliate marketing.
Motivation: narrative arcs.
Conclusion
YouTube automation is a path from a solo creator to a system owner. It requires time, iterations, and investments, but can become a legitimate scalable business.
Start small, focus on quality, and gradually delegate. Choose a niche, find a content gap, and build a team—and within a few months, you can see the first results.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is YouTube automation?
It is delegating routine channel management tasks: scripts, editing, thumbnails, voiceover—to improve efficiency and earnings.
How does YouTube automation work?
It combines human creativity and AI tools. Tasks are delegated to specialists or automated, while the owner focuses on strategy.
Can automation harm a channel?
Yes, if content looks templated. YouTube may deny monetization for unoriginal content. It is important to add value and originality.
How much can you earn?
Income varies: from $100 per month to $100,000+ per month for top channels. It depends on the niche, views, and monetization.
How much does it cost to start?
You can start with $0 using free tools. Average costs: $100-200 per video, and to break even, you need 12-35 videos.
CPM under 50 rubles: how brands save on Twitch integrations
Jean Paul Gaultier launched an advertising campaign for the Le Male Elixir fragrance on Twitch, building a virtual island in the game Let’s Build A Dungeon. We calculate how much it cost and why this format is more profitable than classic banners. CPM below 50 rubles is not a myth, but a real figure that can be achieved with a competent approach to native integrations in streaming services.
What happened
In 2026, Gaultier decided to promote men’s perfume through gaming streams. Together with Twitch Brand Partnership Studio and developers Springloaded Games, the brand created Le Male Island — a special location in the game Let’s Build A Dungeon.
Streamers from Saudi Arabia were invited to the island: swimy and 3Gaming. They explored the world, unboxed the product, and did “sniff tests” live. This approach allowed the product to be organically integrated into entertainment content without causing rejection from the audience.
Campaign numbers
According to Amazon, the integration brought 27,000 video views and 16,594 chat messages. The average concurrent viewership was 1,694 viewers, and swimy’s peak engagement rate reached 68.4%.
Now let’s calculate the unit economics: if we assume the campaign budget was within $50,000 (the average cost of such integrations), then the CPM comes out to about $1.85 — that’s less than 170 rubles. For comparison: a regular banner on a gaming site costs from 300 rubles per thousand impressions.
Why it’s cheaper than bloggers and targeting
Favorable CPM: 27,000 views with a budget of $50,000 — that’s $1.85 per thousand, which is several times lower than standard display formats.
Price comparison: one video from a blogger with a million followers costs from $10,000, but here — a whole world with engagement.
What this means for arbitrage specialists
Such integrations are not only for luxury brands. The format of custom worlds on Twitch provides cheap hypothesis testing: you pay for reach, not for the “opportunity” to show.
If compared to AI-generated videos — 100 videos cost about 0, but they need to be promoted. Here, you get a ready-made platform with an audience.
The main question is how much money each ruble spent will bring. In Gaultier’s case, it’s 68% engagement, which indicates high viewer loyalty.
Frequently asked questions
How much does 1 million impressions via banner cost?
On average in Russia, banner CPM is 300–500 rubles. On Twitch integrations, you can get a CPM below 50 rubles if you count by actual views.
What’s cheaper: banner or targeting?
Targeting is usually more expensive by CPM but more precise in terms of audience. A banner is cheaper but gives junk traffic. Stream integrations are the golden mean.
Is it worth using AI to create videos?
AI videos save budget but require investment in promotion. If compared to seeding with bloggers, AI content can be 10 times cheaper with comparable reach.
Conclusions
The Gaultier campaign showed that Twitch integrations are a budget-friendly alternative to seeding and classic display advertising. For arbitrage specialists, this is a signal: look for non-standard platforms where CPM is below 50 rubles, and test hypotheses without extra costs.
Calculate the unit economics of each channel — and profit won’t be long in coming.
Start small: analyze your niche, find streamers with a relevant audience, and offer them a creative integration. Perhaps your brand will be the next example of how saving on advertising turns into high engagement and sales growth.
4 questions before implementing AI in event organization
Implementing artificial intelligence in event organization can free up time for tasks that require human involvement. Katie McPhillips, marketing director at SmarterX, shared practical experience at the MAICON conference: an AI agent compiled a list of top-100 marketers for outreach while she handled other tasks. This is a vivid example of how AI helps without replacing humans.
Event organization is a complex process that includes planning, promotion, programming, and post-event activities. Each stage requires attention to detail and human judgment. But what if part of the routine could be delegated to algorithms? Let’s break down how the SmarterX team uses AI at each stage and what questions to ask before implementation.
Planning: AI brings back context for decision-making
McPhillips’ team tasked AI with gathering competitive data: analyzing websites, creating sponsor and package tables. This freed up time for more important tasks. AI also helped structure pricing and forecasting, despite MAICON lacking a proper history.
Now you can ask AI for data on past events and understand whether a change is a trend or a forecasting error. AI brings back context for decision-making that was previously unavailable due to unstructured data.
Promotion: the inbox remains human
McPhillips clearly defined the boundary: email is the most important channel, and she is not ready to send clients messages that don’t sound like their brand. An experiment with a GPT persona showed that AI recommendations for emails led to a drop in open rates and clicks.
AI itself diagnosed the problem: the emails stopped answering clients’ questions. This confirms: AI does not replace strategy. It can analyze data, but it doesn’t understand the nuances of human communication that are critical for building trust.
Programming: client feedback shapes the program
A few months before the event, the team compares the draft program with feedback from conference evaluations, Slack discussions, webinar chats, and podcast comments. This helps identify strengths and weaknesses.
One review revealed a gap between beginners and advanced AI practitioners, leading to the creation of two new session formats: a transformation stage with 15-minute interviews and build sessions where participants create a working agent in 30 minutes. Client feedback shapes the program, and AI helps structure it.
During the event: clips in an hour and speaker kits
Goldcast connects to main stage recordings, and within an hour after each session, the team receives 10 short clips for social media. This helps attract attendees who missed the first day. By the end of the event, about 150 clips accumulate for announcing the next year.
The next day, each speaker receives a kit with key moments, audience questions, clips, and graphics, compiled in the Claude project but reviewed by a human. This encourages speakers to return. Automating content creation allows the team to focus on engaging with attendees.
Post-event: AI finds themes across days of content
Many teams underestimate the opportunity to turn an event into year-round marketing. AI analyzes three days of sessions, identifying recurring themes and connections between speakers who have never appeared together.
These themes turn into podcasts, social content, Slack discussions, and webinars. The team also links content to search queries for SEO and answer engines. AI finds themes across days of content, creating the foundation for a long-term marketing strategy.
4 questions before implementing AI in event organization
1. Does it eliminate administrative work or replace human relationships?
Creating lists saves time for communication. Automating the communication itself can weaken relationships. Agent McPhillips enriched the contact list, but she sent the messages personally, with personal notes for 60-70% of acquaintances.
This is a key distinction: AI should eliminate administrative work, not replace human relationships. If a tool starts interfering with personal communications, that’s a signal to reconsider the approach.
2. Will someone review the output before sending it to a client, speaker, or sponsor?
Inaccurate content undermines trust. Speaker kits go through Claude, but every element is reviewed by a human, because a speaker who receives an incorrect review won’t appreciate the speed.
Human review is not a luxury but a necessity. Even the most advanced AI can make mistakes in interpreting context or tone. Therefore, always assign someone responsible for final control.
3. Does this process put client data at risk?
Establish a data policy before experiments, not after an incident. SmarterX removes identifying details from every review before adding it to the knowledge base. “We’ll put anything into AI, even P&L, but not client data,” says McPhillips.
Protecting client data should be a priority. Before implementing AI, make sure your team understands which data can be used and which cannot. This will protect you from legal and reputational risks.
4. Can an existing tool handle 80% of the task?
SmarterX prefers to hire staff rather than buy new software. A new tool should answer the questions: does the team need it, can it be trusted, and is it compatible with HubSpot. Start with the question: “Can the tool you already pay for solve 80% of the task?”
Often companies buy new solutions without using the potential of what they already have. Optimizing existing tools can save budget and training time. If the current tool handles most tasks, it may not be worth complicating things.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does AI help in event planning?
AI automates the collection of competitive data, price analysis, and forecasting, freeing up time for strategic decisions. This allows the team to focus on creative aspects that cannot be automated.
Can email marketing be fully automated with AI?
It is not recommended. A personal approach maintains customer trust; AI can help with analysis, but not in creating personalized messages. Automation can lead to decreased engagement, as shown by the SmarterX experiment.
How does AI improve the event program?
AI analyzes participant feedback and identifies gaps, allowing the creation of new formats that meet audience needs. This makes the program more relevant and interesting for different skill levels.
Conclusion
The answers to these questions will change as AI evolves, but responsibility for relationships with clients, speakers, and sponsors will remain with people. This is where human contribution is most valuable.
If you want to optimize event organization with AI, start with these four questions and ensure that technology serves your strategy, not replaces it. AI is a tool, not a replacement for human judgment. Use it to automate routine tasks, but keep control over key aspects of interaction.
Ready to implement AI in your processes? Start small: choose one task, test the tool, and evaluate the results. Remember that success depends not on technology, but on how you apply it.
The online school «100ballny repetitor» achieved 44.48 million views by integrating teachers into entertainment videos and distributing them through a network of TikTok accounts and YouTube Shorts. This case shows how mass video posting with automatic publication of short videos allows you to go beyond traditional advertising and build sustainable content distribution.
Instead of relying on a single blogger or viral video, the team bet on a systematic approach. The result is tens of millions of views and a working model of brand presence in entertainment content.
Campaign objectives and approach
The client is the online school «100ballny repetitor». The task is to go beyond educational content and gain mass presence in short videos. The campaign period is May 2026.
Instead of classic advertising with bloggers, the brand integrated teachers into familiar entertainment formats. The videos were distributed through a network of TikTok and YouTube Shorts accounts with clips in four themes: movies, educational and entertainment content.
Campaign results
The campaign showed classic short-video mechanics: stability gives a large number of videos, additional growth comes from the upper tail of successful publications. The top 10 videos gathered 8.14 million views, the top 50 — 22.51 million (more than half of all views).
Total views: 44.48 million
Unique accounts in placement: 1.26 million
Average views per video: 5.27 million (YouTube Shorts)
Maximum views for one video: 10.72 million
Breakdown by platform
The bulk came from TikTok — 38.87 million views (87%). YouTube Shorts gave 5.27 million, other social networks — a negligible share.
Campaign dynamics
The peak of activity occurred on May 14–20, 2026. Maximum views were recorded on May 17 and 19 — 10.72 million and 9.10 million, respectively.
Why it worked: 3 reasons
Authenticity: the brand is integrated into the video through teachers’ clothing, not a direct offer.
Scalability: many publications across different accounts instead of one big blogger.
Flexible placement logic: you can choose the topic, platform, audience, and format of presence.
«For us, it’s important not just to get views, but to understand whether this format can create brand awareness without feeling like intrusive advertising», — Natalya Zolotova, head of Influence and UGC at «100ballny repetitor».
Frequently asked questions
How to publish 100 videos a day?
Use mass-posting services with API that allow you to upload videos to multiple platforms simultaneously and schedule delayed posting.
How much does mass posting cost per month?
The cost depends on volume: a package for 500 publications usually costs from 10,000 ₽, monthly tariffs with uploading to 10+ accounts start from 25,000 ₽.
Modern services support TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, VK Clips, and other platforms — up to 5 platforms in one interface.
Conclusion
The case of «100ballny repetitor» proves: mass video posting with automatic publication of short videos is an effective distribution method. The brand goes beyond a narrow audience, and the integration does not seem intrusive.
If you want to scale your presence in short videos, consider mass-posting services with a unified panel for TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Start with a test campaign of 100 videos and evaluate reach on schedule.
