Retailers saw record traffic from AI tools like chatbots and recommendation engines, which influenced over $14B in sales
This year, U.S. consumers spent a record $44.2 billion online over Cyber Week - the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. But buried in that headline is something more interesting: AI quietly became a part of how people shop.
According to Adobe and Salesforce, traffic from AI-powered shopping assistants like Walmart’s Sparky or Amazon’s Rufus - surged up to 805% year-over-year. These aren’t backend tools optimizing logistics.
In the past, most eCommerce traffic was driven by search, ads, or email. This season, AI became its own channel - one that influenced over $14 billion in online sales globally during Black Friday alone. And it wasn’t just hype-driven usage. These assistants actually made buying easier. People used them because they worked.
The bigger story here is about user behavior. AI isn’t just automating processes - it’s also reshaping how we make decisions online. Discovery is faster. Comparison is easier. And the expectations for “shopping support” are now higher.
If you’re building or selling online, this is the takeaway: AI is moving from back-of-house to front-of-experience. Whether you sell software, apparel, or consulting, your next conversion advantage might come from reducing friction - not adding features.
This holiday season showed us what that looks like at scale.
You can now generate and edit 3–10 second videos using only text, images, or clips - no design team needed.
We’ve used Kling before to brainstorm ad concepts and spin up quick visuals. It was helpful - especially for idea generation. But with the launch of Kling VIDEO O1, it’s moved from “creative sidekick” to something much closer to a full production studio.
The big shift? Kling now combines video generation and video editing in one place.
You can start with a written prompt, an image, or even a short video clip. Kling takes that and builds a full video sequence. Want to change the lighting? Adjust the camera angle? Swap out a product or scene? You can just type it - no editing timeline, no design tools, no production crew.
Here’s what’s new:
You can make multi-step edits like “change their outfit and make it nighttime.”
It keeps characters and visuals consistent across shots, which is a big deal for storytelling.
You can generate short videos between 3-10 seconds, ideal for ads or product demos.
And it supports mixed inputs - so you can blend images, text, or video to guide the output.
If you’re running ads, testing content, or trying to scale creative — this matters. Video has always been effective, but expensive to test. Kling lowers that barrier. It’s not just about saving time - it’s about making iteration part of your creative process.
When we acquired Neat™ at the end of 2023, we had no idea how much we’d learn. In 12 months, we’ve grown it from $9K/ mo to $114K/ mo - all while building in public and sharing the highs, lows, and lessons with you in real time.
This week at Neat ....
I got to go behind the scenes of our 2026 ad campaign shoot for Neat.
Watching actual comedy writers do their thing? Kind of amazing.
So… why are we pouring a big chunk of our marketing budget into one video Because 2026 is the year of big swings at Neat.
Some bets are data-driven. Some are delusional. This one? It’s about our biggest leverage point: ad creative.
Great video content is what helped us scale to six figures a month.
Now we’re doubling down - but this time, we’re trying to be… funny.
Yikes.
For this to work, we’re also setting aside:
The ad spend to promote it properly
The inventory to support (hopefully) big demand
It’s a risk. But it’s the kind of risk we need to take.
An image-generation test turned into a viral campaign that reinforced brand recognition and loyalty.
In 2022, Heinz faced a quiet but real problem: younger consumers weren’t connecting with the brand the way previous generations had. Legacy status wasn’t translating to loyalty. So instead of shouting louder, they got smarter.
They asked a simple question: What does ketchup look like to AI?
Using OpenAI’s DALL·E 2, they ran prompts like “ketchup bottle,” “tomato sauce,” and “hot dog with ketchup.” No brand names. No logos. Just words. And nearly every time, the AI generated something unmistakably Heinz - the shape, the label, the red. Even the squeeze bottle made an appearance.
That was the spark. If an algorithm - trained on billions of images - instinctively renders your product without being told to, you’ve crossed from recognition into cultural imprint.
Heinz turned that into a campaign:
A hero video of the test results
User-submitted AI prompt challenges
Limited-edition bottles with AI-generated art
Real and virtual galleries showcasing the work
It became a cultural moment, not just a marketing one. 1.15 billion impressions. A 38% lift in engagement. Loyalty scores ticking up among 18-34 year-olds. And a moment of pride for the brand: even the machines know who makes ketchup.
The Takeaway: Familiarity Scales Further Than Novelty
Heinz didn’t go viral by being edgy. They went viral by being unmistakable.
They didn’t invent something new - they reminded the world of what was already true. And they used a modern canvas to do it. If your brand has something people instantly associate with you - shape, color, tone - that’s worth more than any stunt.
In a world chasing the next thing, make sure you haven’t ignored the best thing: being easy to recognize.That’s what actually sticks.
I'm Jim, I’m a proud husband, a dad to two girls, and a multi-company founder. After 15 years of building and breaking things, I’ve learned one truth: Big wins don’t come from working harder. They come from better leverage. Every Thursday, I’ll share a quick hit or two to help you scale smarter, not sweatier and finally build a business that prints cash and buys back your time. Jim Huffman, GrowthHit & Neat Apparel CEO(Want a friend? Let's connect on Youtube, Twitter or LinkedIn) ⚙️ Scaling...
I'm Jim, I’m a proud husband, a dad to two girls, and a multi-company founder. After 15 years of building and breaking things, I’ve learned one truth: Big wins don’t come from working harder. They come from better leverage. Every Thursday, I’ll share a quick hit or two to help you scale smarter, not sweatier and finally build a business that prints cash and buys back your time. Jim Huffman, GrowthHit & Neat Apparel CEO(Want a friend? Let's connect on Youtube, Twitter or LinkedIn) ⚙️ Scaling...
I'm Jim, I’m a proud husband, a dad to two girls, and a multi-company founder. After 15 years of building and breaking things, I’ve learned one truth: Big wins don’t come from working harder. They come from better leverage. Every Thursday, I’ll share a quick hit or two to help you scale smarter, not sweatier and finally build a business that prints cash and buys back your time. Jim Huffman, GrowthHit & Neat Apparel CEO(Want a friend? Let's connect on Youtube, Twitter or LinkedIn) ⚙️ Scaling...