I’m incredibly bullish on AI.

In fact, I truly believe that if you’re not setting aside at least one hour every day to explore, learn, ask questions and utilize this rapidly developing technology, you’re setting yourself up to be left behind. The more I touch on this topic, the more I notice something troubling in my comments: so many of you are so consumed by your fear of what’s new and different that you’re unwilling to try.

Look, it’s OK to be scared. I’ve stayed up late at night thinking about how AI will impact my businesses, including VaynerMedia. It’s OK to not know or be uncertain about the future!

But I’m not here to convince you of anything. Those who live in a world of “no” will continue to be suffocated by fear. Meanwhile, those who operate with a “yes” or “maybe” mentality will win. That being said, I don’t want any of you to be on the losing side of the AI era, because, and let there be no confusion, the era has only just begun.

So, I want to take this opportunity to dive deep into what’s behind these fears, how AI will change the future of the workforce for all of us, and how you should be using AI now to prepare for what’s to come.

AI Is Inevitable, Not Optional

The first thing to understand is that technology doesn’t care about your opinions; it just keeps moving.

I’m not pushing my community and all of my employees to learn about AI just because I want to. I’m doing it because I have no choice. This is the reality we’re facing, and I know because we’ve faced it before. Technology shifts have always happened: the tractor, the car, the computer, the plane, the boat, the sword, books. These were all things that changed the world in big ways.

Fear is often the reaction to these big changes, but I promise you that it will get you nowhere. Rather than being afraid, why not take this opportunity to get ahead of the curve while so many are still asleep?

Look, I’ve been tracking technology for 30 years pretty aggressively. I was right about e-commerce in 1995, ‘96. I’ve been “on it” and I’ve never seen anything like the current moment with AI. The only comparison in modern times is the introduction of the internet itself.

When I launched an e-commerce site in 1996 in the wine space, people made fun of me for not opening up another physical store instead. And most people don’t realize that in a 36-month window, I built the largest wine store in the country because I had a technological advantage. I was already “good,” but going all in on e-commerce meant I had a better “weapon” than everyone else.

Well, AI is a weapon, and you must must must start using it every day.

This Is a Mount Rushmore-Level Shift

Everyone’s life is going to be completely engulfed by this technology.

This technology sits in the Mount Rushmore of human innovations. This is electricity. This is like when the plane was invented like this is going to change the calculus in a very substantial way.

Of course, we must be thoughtful and understand the macro impacts of massive new technologies, but too many of you are staying away or demonizing AI out of fear it will make you lose your job, or hurt you financially. The reality is, this is actually your biggest opportunity, maybe ever, to grow, expand, and create your dreams.

I’m empathetic that you might not like that AI is happening, but let there be no confusion, it IS happening. There’s a massive wave coming and everyone is on the beach front with two choices. Most people are putting their heads in the sand; crossing their fingers, holding their breath, and hoping the wave passes. The people who will win are grabbing a surfboard and preparing to catch that wave. I hope that’s you.

I like spending a lot of time thinking about tomorrow, but I don’t like wasting my time on tomorrow, which is what I think a lot of people make a mistake about. And I definitely don’t like being excited about yesterday.

Do you realize the serendipity of your career and put you in a place where you can understand this stuff more? And more importantly, do people in this organization know that the customer service CX leaders in this room actually could become one of the loudest voices within the organization alongside a CTO or CIO around the effectiveness or the realities of these tools because you’re coming from a place of practitioner-ship and practicality, not academia and thesis.

I launched the e-commerce website in 1997. It was one of the first three to four e-commerce wine retail sites in America. And I remind all of you that in business like sports, speed is a big advantage.

How AI Will Change the Workforce

When it comes to the topic of AI, it always boils down to the same concern: Will AI eliminate our jobs? The truth is, yes, some jobs may become obsolete, but there will also be many new opportunities for growth and advancement for those who are ready to adapt.

For employees, it becomes a matter of, how can you use AI to level up your skills and make your eight-hour day dramatically more impactful and productive? How do you take a task that once took you an hour and a half to complete and reduce it to 15 minutes? Most importantly, think about how much more of an asset you become when you work with AI instead of against it.

For business owners and companies, this is major. It’s not necessarily about how many people you can fire and replace with AI, it’s about leveraging AI to retain the best of the best talent and increase your revenue with roughly the same overhead.

The truth is, AI will change the workforce as we know it. Instead of hiring people to “do,” we’ll be hiring people to “think.” Those who are able to use AI as a partner to think, strategize, and create will rise to the top.

The Architect vs. The Mason

Think about it this way. In life, there are two groups: architects and masons. The architect has the vision, lays out the plan, and oversees its execution. The mason does the physical labor and lays the bricks.

I believe that, in the world that’s coming, a lot of that labor will be done by AI. Many of the tasks that drive our industries every day will be done much quicker and much more efficiently, so I ask you, where does that leave the masons?

You want to win in the new world? You need to become the architect.

If you’re reading this right now and you know that most of your job is taking commands from other people, you may be in trouble. On the other hand, if you can make that strategic pivot from a doer to a thinker, there’s no need to fear AI. In fact, it will only make you stronger.

Be a Practitioner, Not an Observer

I think it starts with execution. I think the biggest thing I’m actually asking and the biggest thing that I would implore all of you to do, not knowing how senior some of you are or where you are in the organization, you must become a practitioner of these tools. This is very important.

This is not something you should know on paper. This is something you should know deeply because that knowledge shows up.

Tools are only as good as the mechanic using them. Right? The ROI of a basketball for LeBron James is billions of dollars. The ROI of basketball for me is two torn meniscuses and probably a negative $50,000. This tool doesn’t do the work for you. You do the work.

Humility is often the gateway to success and happiness. This would be a really good time to be professionally humble and get your hands very dirty on every AI tool you possibly can.

Why the Most Human Will Win in an AI World

The more we become like the Jetsons, my belief is those who act like the Flintstones will win.

My belief was in 2011 that technology would do what it’s done, it would commoditize much, but it was the humans that knew how to be the most human that would actually win by weaponizing or understanding those tools.

Now, I had heard of AI concepts back then, but that’s not really what I was alluding to. It was more that I was alluding to if you treated Twitter and Facebook and Instagram not to just post stuff with the hope that you get something, but you get into the comments and the DMs and you actually care about people and you listen to what they say and you actually engage with them, you could win.

We can have such meaningful impact with our human part while the AI part continues to grow and become psycho-expert on AI and then become remarkably good at understanding what becomes double offense on human capabilities that are not replaceable in an AI world.

As we become more AI-ed out and more tech-ed out, it’s the people that are most human that will win. And I think we need to think about that.

Customer Service and Customer Experience Are the Front Line

I genuinely believe that anyone who is in customer service and customer experience in this exact second is uncomfortably fortunate.

You have found yourselves in a sector and industry that is first potentially first very clearly one of the industries that is going to move first hardest fastest in integrating AI.

Out of all the things in the world that one could be doing for a living right now, this is one of the most meaningful sectors that will most taste the impact of this extraordinary technology.

You will look back at this moment with either phenomenal joy of the serendipity or with regret that you did not squeeze the opportunity harder.

You really do. You’re already using it. You’re already in it. And I could not recommend more. You not live with regret and let this moment pass. You’re in the right spot. Squeeze it. Take advantage of it.

More Emphasis on Humanity Over Skills

What are humans going to do in this new AI-scaled world? More human sh*t.

In fact, everybody who’s been listening to me talk for 15 years about soft skills and emotional intelligence, you’re ahead of the game because with AI, “skills” mean nothing to me.

As a business owner in this new world, I don’t need information from you, I don’t need processes. Editing? Filming? Okay, cool, but we’re going to be able to do those things for ridiculously lower costs with these new apps and technologies.

The fact is, skill is a commodity, and it’s about to become an even bigger commodity with AI.

What I really need from employees is humanity. Teamwork, self-esteem. I need to know how you’re dealing with adversity, feedback, and stress. In the era of AI, I think mindset matters above all, and only then do I start caring about skill. I think this will be the same for many employers.

EQ is about to eat up the oxygen of the world, and that means humanity, not skill, is at the tippy top of my list, and it’s about to really f*cking matter.

How to Use AI Right Now (Voice, Depth, Prompting)

I encourage every one of you to spend an hour every day using AI. It starts with using chatbot apps like ChatGPT and Perplexity. You can use them as a search engine, yes, but you can also use them as a thinking partner to work through different projects or problems.

The number one thing I use AI for by a country mile is to think with me.

I prompt only in voice because I am a much better communicator in voice than I can write. Now it’s like my friend. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini are like my homies — they’re my thinking partners.

More people need to learn how to prompt AI better and use it to their advantage. For example, I did a 39-minute prompt not long ago. I’m serious. If you’re unbelievably curious and unbelievably detailed and unbelievably human, you will get great answers.

So, start going much deeper and much more nuanced in your “prompts” … because too many still use ChatGPT like it’s Google search when it has much more power than that and can give you much more in-depth answers and more importantly, can be a working partner versus a quick tool.

Hope this inspires more to use their voice. I think voice will be the main interface with AI in the next decade, and I hope this inspires someone to ask much more detailed questions and go much deeper with their details and nuances.

Increased Opportunities for Young People

Do you know how many kids are about to become millionaires because they understand AI? This is the biggest financial opportunity for somebody under the age of 25 ever. Ever. Bigger than the internet in 94.

A 17-year-old can call a business and be like, I’ll build you a new website, yours is old, for $500.

They’re like wait, my last one was $4K. “Yeah, this is only $500.” You know why? You’ll be able to build it in a minute. And by the way, everyone’s about to ask this, so let me say it: The way you learn about AI is with AI.

The Disruption of Influencer Marketing

One industry that’s about to be massively affected by AI in the next 10 years is influencer marketing. Why? Because of AI influencers. We will see more people getting famous on social media that are not “real” people. They’re AI. And we’re going to see companies and entrepreneurs own those people and monetize, selling stuff. It’s going to be wild.

Brands have all sorts of feelings about influencers. They pay them a lot of money, then the influencers don’t post the content the way the brand wanted, or do what they wanted, or they do another brand deal with their competitor the day after the 6-month exclusive. So, you know what they’re going to do about it? They’re going to create their own influencers.

AI people are going to be some of the biggest influencers in the world in a decade, and the companies and humans who are going to own those fake people will be huge.

To me, that means companies and people owning a large amount of AI influencers is clearly a business of the future.

If you’re a marketer or an entrepreneur to be paying close attention to the moments we are heading into and before you talk about if this is a good or bad thing remember, technology doesn’t care about your opinions, it just keeps it moving.

Adaptability Wins, Squeeze the Moment

At the end of the day, this is about adaptability. When faced with change, do you run or do you embrace it? I hope after reading this that you’ll lean into curiosity instead of fear.

I will tell you that all of you find yourself in the perfect spot. You really do. You’re already using it. You’re already in it. And I could not recommend more. You not live with regret and let this moment pass. You’re in the right spot. Squeeze it. Take advantage of it. And I hope that makes someone go harder.

As always, thank you for reading. Now, I want to know: What’s the longest AI prompt you’ve made so far? What are you using these apps for so far? What excites you the most in this space?

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In this video, I break down the 5 major consumer and cultural trends that will define 2026. If you’re paying attention, these shifts will open up huge doors for entrepreneurs, creators, and anyone looking to stay ahead of culture.

#1 - The Individual Empire

As I think about the individual empire, I think we're at a tipping point to a conversation I started years ago with my book, Crush It. Crush It came out in 2009 and the message was simple: “Hey, you can cash in on your passion." Then there was Grape Story, when I started the first influencer agency, and later there was my follow-up book, Crushing It.

Many years later, we’re now in this world where it's very clear to people that being an influencer is a business in a way that it wasn't 18 years ago. But more importantly, I'm using the word “empire.”

Now, we’re talking about individuals not just making money from brand deals, but something bigger:

The CPG and consumer product opportunity.

Look at the fact that the Kelce brothers just raised a $200 million valuation on their beer … or look at what's going on with Logan Paul and Jake Paul and their brands (especially Prime, Logan Paul and KSI's brand) … think about Charli D’Amelio going for her popcorn… or Emma Chamberlain and her coffee. All people who built massive brands and then launched successful CPG brands.

It’s similar to building your brand on Instagram, but then going and standing up a Patreon or Substack, etc. In those scenarios, social platforms still take some of the action. However, when that’s built on a decentralized sever instead of a centralized server or a platform that owns it, then YOU own all the money. You’re maximizing all of your revenue and not sharing it. Yes, you will share with the places that give you the attention: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, whatever the platform is. But you’re going to be monetizing in a decentralized way where you keep 100% of that dollar, not 80% or 90%.

#2 - The Unplugging of Gen Alpha

This one is so fun for me. I am completely convinced that Gen Z, Gen Alpha (that's coming next), and very honestly, maybe even Young Millennials are all understanding that the phone 📱 is great, but it’s not the end-all, be-all… and we don’t want to live on it 24/7, 365.

(By the way, I know you all want to demonize it, but this 📲 is great… it has changed your life. I know we’re all shitting on it, but how do you order food? How do you get a date? How do you do a million things? So, yes, this is great, AND we can try something else.)

So the unplugging is just a pendulum swing. In 2006, smartphones and social platforms didn’t exist as they do today and didn’t have any of the market share. Now, the pendulum has swung the other way and phones have gotten so much market share that we’re starting to unplug 🔌

I think within the next decade, starting in 2026, we’ll see more businesses around the concept of unplugging. I recently talked about a business concept where you get paid to walk with people—like, literally walk with them.

Number two biggest trend in 2026: the unplugging of Gen Alpha, which is an indicator to the unplugging of every generation.

#3 - The Monetization of Random Content

This is a weird one and I'm excited about this because I think this is going to be the breakthrough for some people…

When I wrote Crush It in 2008 (it came out in ‘09), the message was that you can cash in on your passion. So if you're a hardcore Star Trek collector, if you really go crazy for two years on your blog (at the time), and on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, eventually you'll get to a place where you can get t-shirts sold, sponsorships… you can go speak at Star Trek Con, and all that stuff. What I'm saying here is very different…

This is about where we are now in overall marketing and communication. We're now in the interest graph, not the social graph. We're now in a place where I, Gary, could tomorrow make my first ever piece of content around surfing… and even though all my followers do not follow me for surfing, the way the AI algorithms now work is when I post about surfing, and why surfboards are good, and why you should buy a surfboard from me, or why this is a good surfboard, or surf chalk, or whatever the hell I learned about surfboards… that content is going to reach people that are in a high propensity interest of surfboards.

Why is this important?

You're curious, you're exploring, you're on training wheels, but you're learning.

My brother, AJ, does not know how to ride a bike… but if he started making content as a 39-year-old man, about his journey on learning to ride a bike, here is my belief of the world we now live in: For many of you, these random pieces of social content become the first indicator to a massive financial and happiness opportunity. The monetization of random content.

You post something funny about sunflower seeds because you spit one out on your friend and you're like, "That's funny. Let's make another one." And you find yourself, six months later, getting $5,000 from a sunflower seed brand to do content. It's about a very simple concept, which is why not? Why not post something random, all the time, that you're genuinely interested in? It’s not about reading this and posting random things just because you believe I'm right—though honestly, that's probably not a bad idea either. But obviously, if it's grounded in truth and authenticity, it's going to work better.

When all of you start putting out more random content, when that post gets three million views, it opens up the opportunity for you to build on top of it. Now, you might not be able to. You might get inspired by me in this post, eat a pickle, put out a video about pickles and it hits. It gets 3 million views… and now you're getting DMs from people like, "What do you know about pickles?” and “Do you want come to the pickle festival?" You might be like, “I don't… and honestly, I don't care and I have nothing else to contribute. I just eat pickles.” Well, there are a lot of people that have made full careers out of ridiculous things. The Rizzler just says ridiculous things and makes a face… The “Where's the beef?” lady in the 80s just said, “Where's the beef?” and that was her career. So, you could be a random spokesman or something of that nature… but if you keep it authentic, if it's something you really know about or it's something you want to know about, it actually allows you to build in-depth, not just randomness. And so your random thing becomes the documentation of your journey, which then becomes your monetizable framework of content.

It's a left-field thought that I think a lot of people are going to struggle with grasping. I myself am in my journey of really getting this narrative down, but it's very clear to me. Do I believe it's in the vested interest of all of you to post way more often on TikTok completely random stuff that is grounded in things that you really know about or things that you're curious about? The answer is yes.

If you just got motivated by that, let me give you the list of what you need to do. If you're going to go down the random play in social, make sure your bios on your TikTok and Instagram accounts are really tight and awesome—meaning they have your email and phone number listed. Don’t forget, there's a whole left field thing here. Let’s say you’re a golf trainer and you give people lessons. You start putting out content about random things like pumpkins, wet hair, or porcupines—just random ass shit. When your porcupine video gets three million, people are going to land on your account. If they see that you're a professional golf expert and you do golf lessons, and you have an email there and a phone number, of the three million people that see your porcupine video, nine of them are looking for golf lessons.

So, this gets very practical of just general awareness, relevance on an individual thing you connect on with a new audience. Some of you liked me because we're both sad New York Jets fans, right? But then when you needed, four years later, some wine or you needed an agency, you went to me because we're Jets fans. Somebody loves porcupines. They loved your video. They may choose you to do the golf lessons.

So there's two things. Your career might be about porcupines because you decided to go down that path… or it became a gateway drug to your service or your business, because you want on interest in a micro moment, not a macro moment. Your profile's got to be tight.

#4 - The Rise of the Continent of Africa.

The numbers are staggering. When you look at how much youth of our overall population in a decade will be in the continent of Africa… when you're worldly enough to interact with many of the incredible young talent from these countries… when you understand that the way the world turns is every continent gets its time. (Many of us who are in my age group watched the rise of Asia and the rise of the Middle East)…

Do you have relatives there and you're like, "Wait a minute, Gary, you're saying that my professional career’s growth is actually from my grandparents and cousins that live in Kenya or Nigeria?" Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. The opportunity there is extraordinary, both doing business there and two, understanding how amazing the raw firepower of the young talent is in that country from an intellect and hunger standpoint. Again, follow what I'm saying here, similar to what we saw in India, Japan, China, overall Asia, and the Middle East over the last 25, 30, 40 years here in the west—in Europe and the US.

So, huge opportunities, the cultural impact—I don't have to tell anybody that follows music. We've already seen any early indications. Just like we saw Latin music massively impact the US over the last 25 years, we've already been seeing African music impact top hits in the US. African influencers, the culture, the food, the sport, and it goes both ways. Just like you're seeing manga and anime and Asian culture massively impact the west, the west has massively, always—because of the Hollywood machine in America—impacted the East. The opportunity in Africa is very clear. You have to understand it. It's either direction.

You're 23 and you want an adventure? You're a white boy in Kansas and you're like,
"I'm an entrepreneur. Wait, Gary's saying Africa?” Yes, I'm saying Africa.

Obviously, Africa is a massive continent. In fact, it's so much bigger than you think because it's misrepresented on the globe… and obviously, every country has its geopolitical stuff, its entrepreneurial opportunities. Some are great, some are not great—really no different than Europe or anywhere else. But overall, the impact is enormous. The basketball culture, both the African Basketball League, but the talent coming in… Nigeria's athletes starting to penetrate the NFL in a massive way. Like, do I believe that? Yes, I do. Does it take patience? Yes, it does. Is that how great businesses are sometimes built? For damn sure.

Africa's impact is massive and the opportunities are massive in both directions.

#5 - The Rise of Alternative Sports

This has been massive for me. I've been following esports for a long time. We represent a bunch of esports—Mongraal, Clix, and all these great athletes in VaynerSports. Obviously, I got involved in pickle ball early on. That's been very fruitful. I'm obsessed with what's going on with wiffle ball, padel, 3-on3—Big3 and Unrivaled basketball, both men's and women's. I’ve had my hands deep in this…

Obviously, many of you also know my long-term ambition to own the New York Jets. I’m involved in slam ball as well… I had a conversation a few months ago about bowling and I’m like, “Ooh, I like that.” There are countless examples, but it’s very clear to me is that this is going to keep going.

Look at the rise of UFC and esports in the last 30 years. It’s very clear. Do you think these exhibition fighting matches between Tyson and Jake Paul, and Mayweather and Paul, and Paul and Paul… do you think these things would work if social and YouTube didn't exist? Nobody would care. Nobody would watch. So it goes from YouTube to Netflix.

This is going to continue to happen. This 📲 is the device that’s changed the world as we talked about. And there’s going to be room for more and more sports.

Basketball and football and baseball and soccer were invented by human beings, and guess what? There's a kid reading this right now—right now on Substack—who got inspired by this and is going to actually invent the next hockey, basketball, and football… and in 53 years will reference this blog, and that makes me feel good. I hope I’m alive to get those flowers!

And I’ll save #6 for 2026…

You’ll have to wait for a special video in the future. Thanks for reading!