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Welcome back Rankers! This week I take you on a deep dive into the rapidly evolving world of generative AI and digital marketing. I share firsthand insights into the latest models and research tools that are shaping the industry—from breakthroughs with Grok 3 and GPT-4.5 to innovative updates from Anthropic Claude. You’ll also discover practical tips on managing the overwhelming pace of AI advancements and learn about our upcoming webinar designed to help you navigate these changes with ease.
What I learned
- The evolution and key features of Grok 3 and its deep research capabilities
- An in-depth look at the newly released GPT-4.5 model and its integrated functionalities
- Updates and breakthroughs from Anthropic Claude, including its agentic coding tool
- Tips on staying current with AI trends and details about our upcoming webinar on April 10th
Transcript
Hey, welcome back, Rankers. How are you going? There is a lot happening this week in the world of generative AI and digital marketing more broadly. This week’s news covers developments from xAI with Grok3, updates from Anthropic with two (or three) announcements, and news from Open AI, which is rolling out new products to Australian users. And there’s another piece of news that I can’t quite recall at the moment—but we’ll get to it, I’m sure.
Before diving into how these updates will affect business and you personally, I want to address a concern I heard recently: someone mentioned feeling overwhelmed by the pace of change in AI. If that sounds like you, relax—because on the 10th of April, we’re hosting another webinar. This session is designed to take the stress away by sharing tips, tricks, workflows, and tools we’ve built using AI to streamline daily work and life.
Webinar Announcement and AI News Introduction
In our upcoming webinar, you’ll learn how to decide which AI model fits your project best, even with the overwhelming number of models available. Although topics like prompting have been discussed ad infinitum by others (like David Meerman Scott on last week’s show), there are simple techniques that can take your results to the next level. For example, one technique involves having the models generate the prompts for you. We’ll cover all of this in detail during the webinar—so be sure to like, share, and subscribe for more details, including the exact time and link for the webinar.
Deep Dive into AI Models, Tools, and Research Techniques
Let’s talk about the latest from Grok. Grok is the large language model from xAI—the company associated with Elon Musk—and I’ve been using it for a while. It’s particularly effective because it taps into the latest data, including historical Twitter data and x.com’s recent updates, offering real-time feeds from influential voices. With the release of Grok 3 just 72 hours ago, it quickly became the top model for coding and more. Although its performance has since shifted slightly, it remains a powerful tool with advanced features like reasoning and extra inference time for understanding problems.
In addition to reasoning, Grok includes a deep research tool—a feature now also available from ChatGPT for its Plus users. After trying both, I found that ChatGPT’s deep research tool delivers more comprehensive information compared to Grok’s output, even though both are accurate and useful. In the upcoming webinar, I’ll demonstrate how to use these deep research tools to better analyse your own data and make well-informed decisions.
Last year (and even in 2023), I was using a tool called GPT Researcher. This tool, much like OpenAI’s deep research feature today, works as an agent—an application with a live language model that has access to a suite of tools, including search and document creation. Essentially, it acted as a team of agents (a publisher, a researcher, etc.) to provide thorough research outputs. The evolution of these tools has been extraordinary.
Another highlight from this week is the release of GPT-4.5, a model that now integrates reasoning and image generation into a single package. Whether you’re using ChatGPT or one of the other models available, this update marks another significant leap forward. The rapid pace of innovation—pushed by developments like DeepSeek from China—means that these tools are becoming increasingly accessible and powerful.
As a reminder, if you’re looking for budget-friendly options, consider starting with Grok AI at around $8 US per month before jumping into more expensive plans like full-blown ChatGPT subscriptions.
Updates for Anthropic Claude
There’s also exciting news about Anthropic Claude. I was on the verge of cancelling my Claude subscription when a new model was released that outperformed Grok, even if only for a brief period. Claude has long been my go-to for writing and coding—it consistently outshines many other models. The new version introduces an agentic coding tool that operates with minimal human input, enabling more autonomous decision-making for building projects. While I’m still exploring its full capabilities, early tests show that it can achieve feats that other models like Gemini and Grok couldn’t.
You might wonder how I keep up with all these rapid changes. I read a lot and spend considerable time on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where AI news breaks almost every minute. My colleague Nick, for instance, gets his updates from Reddit. The key takeaway is that while these tools continue to evolve, remember that your ability to use them effectively—your agency—is far more important than the raw intelligence of the models. We all have the same tools (think of it like having the same hammer), but it’s how you use them that counts.
With our webinar on the 10th of April, I hope to help you navigate these changes with confidence and ease. Mark your calendars and prepare to dive deeper into AI strategies.
Thank you very much for reading. If you have any comments or questions about the webinar, feel free to leave a comment on any of our platforms—Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or YouTube. This is our 20th year on YouTube, and I’m grateful for your continued support. You can reach me at [email protected]
Until next week—bye!
And don’t forget! We’re excited to remind you of our two groundbreaking reports that will catapult your business into the AI-driven future: The SAMScrum Report—a comprehensive analysis that will provide actionable insights to optimise your website for the AI era, and the Brand Intelligence Report – that reveals brand sentiment, competitive positioning, and product associations in the AI realm.
The SAMScrum Report: Your Website’s Secret Weapon
- Analyses your entire online presence: SEO, Google Ads, UX/UI
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The Brand Intelligence Report: Your AI Visibility Booster
- Examines your brand through the lens of leading AI models (Claude, ChatGPT, Google Gemini)
- Reveals brand sentiment, competitive positioning, and product associations in the AI realm
- Uncovers hidden opportunities to dominate your market in the age of AI
These aren’t just reports. They’re your battle plan for the AI revolution. (And you get a FREE Brand Intelligence Report with every SAMScrum purchase!)
Check out the reports here https://research.stewartmedia.com.au/
Jim’s been here for a while, you know who he is.
