A Better Lemonade Stand #290

 📈 Trends

👩 AI Girlfriends - The Next Billion-Dollar Romance Revolution?

This week, I couldn't stop thinking about Greg Isenberg's recent tweet on the potential of AI girlfriends. As a tech entrepreneur and investor, Greg has a keen eye for spotting the next big thing – and his story about a 24-year-old guy spending $10,000 per month on AI companions definitely caught my attention.

At first, I was skeptical. But then I watched Mustafa Suleyman's fascinating TED talk, where he introduces the concept of AI as a new "digital species." Mustafa, the newly appointed CEO of AI at Microsoft, and former co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI, argues that as these systems become more sophisticated and capable, we need to start thinking of them as more than just tools.

When you combine Greg's anecdote with Mustafa's framing, it's not hard to see how AI companions could become a massive industry in the near future.

As these digital beings become more knowledgeable, empathetic, and engaging, they could fill a wide range of roles in our lives – including, yes, even romantic partners.

Greg's tweet highlights a few key selling points: customization, comfort, and the ability to interact through voice notes. And with platforms like Candy and Kupid already gaining traction, it's clear that there's a growing market for these services.

Of course, this raises all sorts of fascinating questions about the nature of relationships, intimacy, and companionship in the age of AI. But one thing is clear: the potential here is huge. As Greg points out, Match Group (the company behind Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid) has a market cap of $9 billion. An AI-powered alternative could easily become a billion-dollar business in its own right.

If you're curious to learn more, I highly recommend checking out Greg's full tweet and watching Mustafa's TED talk. And if you're feeling inspired, why not start brainstorming some ideas for your own AI companion app? With the right approach, you could be at the forefront of this exciting new industry.

• Customizable Companions: Platforms like Candy.ai and Kupid.ai lead the way, offering custom experiences where users can create custom AI girlfriends' personalities, likes, and dislikes. People might see this as a space to interact without fearing rejection, judgment, or emotional vulnerability that comes with human relationships.

• Trending Market: Isenberg predicts this niche could become a billion-dollar industry, similar to major dating platforms. He also mentions a Miami man spending $10,000 monthly on AI relationships, stating, ‘ Some people play video games, I play with AI girlfriends’ illustrating this shift in action.

• Action: Use a no-code platform that supports the OpenAI API integration and chatbot functionalities like Bubble. Stand out by building a niche platform for AI girlfriends catering to specific interests, cultural backgrounds, or personal preferences, similar to how dating apps stand out.

🔗Greg Discusses This in His Podcast Here

 💡 Insights

👨‍💻 Gunnar Holm's AI Facebook Ad Nets 18,139 Subscribers

Gunnar introduces an interesting AI experiment that tests longer-form Facebook ads that go against your typical fast-paced, flashy norm that many of us are tired of.

• Content: His ads start with a bold headline that clearly states the benefits and grabs attention. This is then followed by a long 10-30-second ad script.

• Integration of AI: He then uses Kapwing for background visuals and Eleven Labs for realistic AI voice-overs, which makes the ad’s message soothing and persuasive.

• Thoughts: This ad experiment looks simple, but the results are powerful, as Gunnar got an average of $1.37 CPA with 18,139 subscribers. I plan on starting a similar experiment with my newsletter. Stay tuned for the results.

🔗 Take a Look at Gunnar's Ad Here

🥊 Make vs. Zapier: Which One Should You Use?

Choosing the right automation tool can significantly streamline your workflow. Make and Zapier are especially relevant for those looking to enhance productivity.

• User Experience: Zapier offers a no-code interface ideal for beginners, while Make's visual interface caters to those with a deeper understanding of automation.

• Advanced Features: Make allows for complex workflow creation and historical data processing, which Zapier lacks without workarounds.

• Thoughts: I am a Zapier guy myself because of its user-friendly design and integration options, which make automation more accessible.

🔗 Explore the Complete Comparison Here

🧐 MKT1’s Showcases the Power of AI in Marketing

AI is transforming the marketing landscape beyond basic content creation. MKT1's AI Showcase event highlighted innovative tools and workflows reshaping how marketers approach their craft.

• Beyond Content Creation: While AI has been mainly used for writing tasks, the event showcased its broader applications, including making engaging presentations and building no-code web tools.

• Real-world Applications: Discover tools like Tome and Softr to enhance efficiency for advanced marketing functions. These tools allow marketers to execute tasks that traditionally require specialized technical skills.

• Thoughts: The transition to a fully autonomous marketing environment could happen faster than expected. As AI evolves, it might soon handle major strategic decisions in marketing, potentially positioning AI on par with key strategists.

🔗 Watch the Full Recording of the AI Showcase

🏫 Stanford Analyzes the Current State of AI

The latest AI Index from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence provides a comprehensive view of AI’s current state through detailed charts and analyses.

• Foundation Model Growth: The release of foundation models has increased significantly, with a notable rise in open-source models, making AI more accessible.

• Economic and Geographic Disparities: The U.S. significantly leads in AI development and private investment, highlighting a global disparity in AI capabilities.

• Thoughts: It’s interesting to see how the power balance in AI development influences global technology strategies and reshapes competitive dynamics.

🔗 Get the AI Index Report Here

🧰 Apps & Tools

🍴 Digest: Get all your favorite content from social media, news, and more into one personalized newsletter. You can add your favorite sources, like specific IG and Twitter posts, and your RSS feed all in one, so you don’t have to spend all day jumping from one tab to the next.

👗Try Out 2.0: Levels claims that his modeling AI software finally works and believes that Shopify sellers can use this tech to showcase clothing online with a few clicks, without the cost and time spent on traditional model photoshoots.

🎭 Pietra: This tool supports every aspect of building a successful online store, whether designing products, sourcing materials, or fulfilling orders. Pietra's integrations include major platforms like Shopify, TikTok, and Amazon.

📰 LaterOn: Create a hub for all your newsletter subscriptions. This tool changes the newsletter game by decluttering your inbox and offering a sleek reading experience. With support from major platforms like Substack and Mailchimp.

🧲 LinkSend: This is a clever and simple tool to turn any link/article into landing pages that capture visitor emails, making it the easiest way to build your subscriber list's lead magnet.

📲 Uizard: Use this tool to turn concepts into visual designs in less than a minute. Create and iterate on user interfaces with the ease of text prompts and a drag-and-drop editor trusted by leading companies globally.

🤖 Product Updates

🐝 Beehiiv Introduces 2 Key New Updates

Beehiiv has changed its pricing plan and introduced the latest Website Builder update, which allows you to create and customize your UI without coding.

• Extensive Customization: The new builder offers customization tools, from global styles like colors and fonts to detailed layout options, including custom web pages and navigation.

• Enhanced Access with Scale Plan: Advanced features such as ad networks and automation tools, previously part of the $99 plan, are now available in the Scale plan for just $39/month, and your fees increase with # of subscribers.

• Thoughts: There are many mixed feelings about this pricing update, If you have a 25k+ list, your pricing has probably doubled. However, it still remains one of the most affordable platforms in the market.

🔗 Check Out Beehiiv’s Pricing Here

💬 Poe Introduces Multi-Bot Chat to Revolutionize Your AI Interactions

Poe released its latest multi-bot chat feature, which gives you a new option to interact with multiple AI bots simultaneously within a single conversation thread.

• Dynamic AI Collaboration: Seamlessly integrate responses from top models like Claude 3 Opus and GPT-4, as well as user-created bots, enhancing the depth and breadth of your interactions.

• Effortless Integration: Utilize in-chat recommendations to explore different bots' perspectives or summon any bot directly into the chat using @-mention.

• Thoughts: This makes accessing a range of perspectives easier and more efficient when making strategic decisions, creating a virtual board of expert advisors available anytime.

🔗 Discover Multi-Bot Here

📺 Adobe Dives Deeper into Generative AI Video

Adobe announced its latest move into generative AI, with a new video model that is planned to join the Firefly suite within Premiere Pro.

• AI Features: The new tools include object addition, object removal, generative extension, and enhanced video editing capabilities.

• Content Credentials: Adobe integrates a system to track AI-generated content, addressing concerns about authenticity and deep fake risks.

• Thoughts: Adobe could leverage its diverse content access to offer personalized AI models tailored to specific industries or creative styles, distinguishing itself by enhancing user creativity with more relevant AI functionalities.

🔗 Learn More About Adobe's Innovative Steps

🖇️ Everything Else

🎨 Create 3D Characters with AI

Spline Design has launched the ability to create 3D characters with an AI prompt, so now anyone can bring their visions to life. (🔗Link)

🍜 Tools Top Creators Are Using

Explore and add your tech stack to the directory used by top Indie Hackers for enhanced visibility and project growth. (🔗Link)

📈 10 Lessons From Building a Newsletter

Ciler Demiralp's shares lessons on community building and networking from top newsletter creators. (🔗Link)

🗣️ Highlights from Microsoft VASA-1

Get examples of Microsoft's VASA-1 capabilities in transforming images into audio-visual content. (🔗Link)

🤖 A New Era of Robotics

Boston Dynamics launches a fully electric Atlas robot, promising great mobility and agility for real-world industrial applications. (🔗Link)