We’re gearing up for MAICON in a couple of weeks, and I’m pumped.
Level is showing up as a Platinum Sponsor, but honestly it’s not about the sponsor logo. It’s about being in the room with leaders who are actually putting AI to work in their businesses.
The Marketing AI Conference runs October 14th to 16th in Cleveland, and if you haven’t been, it’s one of the best places to see how companies are really using AI beyond the hype.
We’re bringing our AI Brand Visibility Audit, and I’m fired up about it. See if your brand is showing up in AI-first search, where you’re getting outrun by competitors, and how to future-proof your visibility. Built to spark real conversations, not just to spit out a report.
That’s the part I love most: the conversations. Swapping stories with peers who are building in this no-playbook era. If you’re at MAICON, come find us.
And if you haven’t grabbed your spot yet, you can register here and use code LEVEL200 for $200 off.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Patrick Patterson
CEO at Level Agency
ICYMI: Higher Ed in the Age of AI
Last week on the podcast, Myles Biggs and I sat down with Dr. Michael Hageloh and Dr. Bruce Fraser from Indian River State College to talk about how they’re leading transformation in higher ed with AI.
Here’s what stood out:
Apple’s product philosophy is shaping how leaders guide institutions through change
Students act like customers, and schools need to design journeys from curiosity to success
The click economy is fading, shifting how people engage with knowledge and commerce
Fidelity and human judgment matter more in an AI-rich world
New models like apprenticeships and stackable credentials are setting the stage for billion-dollar one-person companies
ChatGPT Pulse: Your AI Morning Briefing Assistant OpenAI launched Pulse, a proactive AI that delivers daily summaries before you even open your inbox. For leaders, it’s less about convenience and more about who controls the first feed you see every day. Read more
ChatGPT as an Ad Platform: The Next Big Battleground OpenAI is staffing up to turn ChatGPT into an advertising machine. If it works, this could rival Google Ads for attention capture. Growth leaders should prepare for yet another shift in performance marketing economics. Read more
The Rise of Workslop: When Coworkers Ship AI Garbage TechCrunch is warning about “workslop”—AI-generated sludge clogging orgs with low-quality output. Leaders need to set quality guardrails fast, or watch credibility and productivity sink. Read more
AI and Cybersecurity: A New Arms Race Wiz CTO Ami Luttwak says AI is already transforming cyberattacks, from speed to scale to precision. For growth leaders, security is no longer IT’s problem. Every customer interaction carries trust as its currency. Read more
AI Agents Are Coming for Finance Teams Former Microsoft execs just launched AI agents designed to replace Excel-driven workflows in mid-market finance. Translation: AI isn’t just automating repetitive work, it’s starting to rewire how money moves through organizations. Read more
Gemini 2.5 Flash Gets Sharper Eyes and a Clearer Voice
Google’s update makes Gemini clearer, sharper, and better at reading images. Hand it a sketch or diagram and it gives you structured answers back. Search is no longer just text, it is multimodal. Read more
Deep dive: AI
How to stop AI's lethal trifecta
Notion’s AI agents got attention for what they can do, but the bigger story is what they can break. Researchers call it the “lethal trifecta”: combining web search, retrieval, and action to exfiltrate data in ways most companies aren’t ready to stop.
I’ve seen the appeal of these agents—they’re useful. But growth leaders need to treat them like interns with root access: capable, fast, and dangerous. The path forward isn’t banning them; it’s building the cultural and technical guardrails that keep experiments from becoming liabilities.
If you’re scaling AI across your org, assume misuse will happen. Design workflows where risk is visible, testable, and monitored. Because prevention only works if you plan for failure first.
Marketing careers in flux: What 100+ marketers told us
HubSpot surveyed over 100 marketers on career paths, job security, and growth. The findings confirm what many of us already sense: the old rungs on the ladder are crumbling, and AI is reshaping what roles even exist.
Career paths are shifting away from linear promotions and toward adaptability, cross-channel skills, and fluency with AI workflows. The marketers who thrive will be the ones who can evolve quickly as roles and responsibilities keep changing.
Retention and recruiting depend on building environments where people can keep learning and stretching. Static roles and rigid career ladders will push your best talent toward the companies writing the future.
Plaud is a voice recorder + AI note taker that turns meetings into structured transcripts, summaries, and action items. Its features include one-press recording, highlight markers, speaker labels across 112+ languages, and deep AI summarization via “Plaud Intelligence.”
Why I recommend it: most note-taking tools feel like homework. Plaud makes capture automatic and gives you usable output without extra effort. You get to stay in the conversation while the AI handles the details. In a world where speed and clarity are everything, that’s a real edge.
Ready to turn AI into ROI?
Level Agency is conducting a research study to understand how organizations are preparing for and adopting AI.
We’re collecting insights from teams across industries and we’d love your input. The survey takes 5 minutes and is designed to give your team a pulse on your AI readiness.
Once we’ve wrapped the study, we’ll share a full report with key findings and industry benchmarks to all respondents.
Special Bonuses:
Complimentary 90-day Action Plan: Organizations with at least 5 respondents will receive a free current-state assessment and a 90-day action plan to accelerate adoption.
Free 30-Minute Consultation: The first 10 responding organizations will receive a complimentary 30-minute consultation to discuss a use case and explore potential solutions.
