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When Using AI Bots Repels Customers

AUGUST 5, 2025

A new study across five experiments and 71,000+ reviews reveals that people are up to 30% more likely to stop using a service if it’s delivered by AI or robots instead of a human… particularly in settings like hospitality, travel, or wellness where warmth, empathy, and enjoyment are key.

This lack of perceived warmth leads to:

23.7% lower intent to continue using the service.
29.8% drop when people seek fun and pleasure.
19.5% decrease in perceived warmth of AI vs humans.

Key takeaways from the data:

Avoid AI-only service in warmth-driven contexts like hotels, spas, or restaurants.
Blend AI + human support, using machines for low-touch tasks like check-out, etc.
Make AI feel human with a casual tone, friendly punctuation, and warm interjections like “wow!”
Efficiency-focused environments (like grocery checkout or airport security) are safer bets for AI-only rollouts.

Dig into the data at Science Says.

How to Plan a Month of Content in Just 1 Hour

AUGUST 5, 2025

Planning an entire month’s worth of content can feel overwhelming, but an incremental, intentional approach can reduce your planning time to 1 just 1 hour.

🧠 Step 1: Prep.

Lay your foundation so you’re not creating blindly.
Set your monthly goals (growth, promotion, engagement).
Decide how often you’ll post (3–5x per week).
Choose 3–5 content pillars (BTS, tutorials, product tips).
Mark down key dates like holidays, launches, or events.

📌 Step 2: Placeholders.

No need for finished posts; just outline what’s coming.
Block out space for weekly themes or collabs.
Reserve grid spots for evergreen ideas.
Plan visually before you create.

📂 Step 3: Plug.

Use what you already have.
Drop in photos, videos, or UGC.
Repurpose past top-performers.

🔍 Step 4: Spot gaps.

Review your calendar and assign small next steps.
- “Write hook for carousel”
- “Film product demo”
- “Add caption for Tuesday post”

📅 Step 5: Schedule.

Auto-post what’s ready and set reminders for the rest.

TikTok Stats to Know in 2025

AUGUST 4, 2025

Buffer has compiled key stats and insights on TikTok in 2025. Here’s your cheat sheet!

User Demographics & Growth

1.59 billion monthly active users globally
Expected to reach 1.9 billion by 2029
55.7% male, 44.3% female users
Nearly 70% of users are aged 18–34
Largest user groups: men 25–34 (20.7%) and 18–24 (16.6%), women 25–34 (14.6%) and 18–24 (14.1%)
The U.S. leads with 135.79 million users
High adoption rates in UAE (118.5%) and Malaysia (108.7%)

User Behavior

Average daily usage: 95 minutes
Average monthly usage: 34 hours
45% of Gen Z users shared TikTok videos with friends in the last month
50% of users made purchases after watching TikTok Live
TikTok is 150% more effective at convincing users to try products than other platforms

Content & Engagement

Tutorials are the most-watched content (62% prefer them)
76% of users want a mix of images and video in their feed
16,000 videos uploaded every minute (over 23 million daily)
Posting 1–4 times per week is optimal
Best time to post: Wednesdays between 3 and 6 p.m.
Videos 3–10 minutes long perform best for engagement
Engagement rate averages 4.86%

Influencers & Brands

61% of marketers use TikTok for influencer marketing
Nano-influencers (1K–10K followers) see an 18% engagement rate
Content prices range from $50 (nano) to $10,000+ (mega influencers)
40% of users say brand personality increases relevance

Why Brands Use Reddit

JULY 31, 2025

Thanks to a $60M+ content licensing deal with Google, Reddit now dominates SERPs, particularly for high-intent keywords across nearly every category.

In fact, Reddit is the #2 most visited site via search traffic in the U.S., second only to Wikipedia.

Why Reddit matters in 2025:

🧠 LLM influence: Reddit is training the AI tools your audience uses.
🔍 SERP dominance: Reddit ranks for 5.7M+ commercial keywords.
💬 Real buyer conversations: Threads trigger real purchase intent, even without links.
🔁 Underrated retargeting: Reddit’s ad tools let you follow up with high-intent lurkers.
📈 B2B growth: Subreddits like r/Marketing, r/Sales, and r/SaaS are shaping deal cycles.

Google’s Branded Searches Metric

JULY 30, 2025

Google’s newest conversion metric, Branded Searches, is finally live.

Unveiled at Google Marketing Live 2025, it lets advertisers track how many users searched for their brand on Google or YouTube within 30 days of seeing an ad.

It’s not a direct conversion like a purchase or signup, but it’s still a powerful signal of brand curiosity, especially useful for upper-funnel campaigns.

✅ What counts as a Branded Search:

Users searching your brand on Google Search
Users searching your brand on YouTube Search

📦 Supported campaign types:

YouTube ads
Performance Max (YouTube, Discover, Gmail)
Demand Gen (YouTube, Discover, Gmail)

Branded Searches won’t replace traditional conversions, but they will add some context to the influence your ads are having up the funnel.

What are TikTok Bulletin Boards?

JULY 29, 2025

TikTok is testing a new feature called Bulletin Boards, a one-way feed where creators can post updates, drop links, and share their latest content directly, no algorithm middleman required.

As of yet, TikTok is a discovery machine, but not always the best for deepening relationships. Bulletin Boards has the potential to flip that script.

Even if you don’t have access yet, it’s time to start thinking about how to leverage it:

Hype your drops. Announce product launches, restocks, or flash sales.
Go B-T-S. Share raw, real content that doesn’t make it to your grid.
Make it VIP. Use it like an insider club with sneak peeks and early access.
Boost live attendance. Remind followers before livestreams or IRL events.
Repurpose like a pro. Turn FAQs, blog links, or newsletter shoutouts into posts.

How ChatGPT is Changing Search

JULY 28, 2025

According to Adobe’s July 2025 survey, 77% of ChatGPT users in the U.S. now use the AI platform as a search engine.

Nearly 1 in 4 Americans say it’s their first stop for finding information. Gen Z leads the charge, but even baby boomers are tapping in.

Here’s what you need to know:

🔍 People are turning to ChatGPT for:

Everyday questions (55%)
Creative brainstorming (53%)
Financial advice (21%)
Online shopping (13%)

🚀 Why they prefer it:

It summarizes complex topics quickly (54%)
Fewer clicks than Google (33%)
Better for open-ended questions (81%)
Feels more personalized (77%)

📈 How marketers are adapting:

47% use ChatGPT for promotion and content creation
66% plan to boost AI visibility this year
76% say it’s essential to appear in AI-generated answers
Top content formats: data-driven stories (57%) and how-to guides (51%)

What is The Dark Funnel?

JULY 28, 2025

In B2B marketing, the dark funnel is the part of the buyer’s journey that happens before a prospect ever contacts a vendor, accounting for nearly 73% of the entire process.

During this hidden phase, buying teams research anonymously, form opinions, shortlist vendors, and often decide who they’ll buy from before you even know they exist.

Here’s what happens in the dark funnel:

Independent research on problems and solutions
Vendor shortlisting
Requirements building
Peer and analyst consultation
Preference formation

By the time a buyer reaches out, 82% already have a preferred vendor.

So, how do you intervene?

Track intent signals (via tools like 6sense or Bombora).
De-anonymize traffic with IP lookup and ABM platforms.
Create strategic content (buyer guides, ROI tools, pricing calculators).
Enable self-service research (resource hubs, technical docs, transparent pricing).
Measure dark funnel activity with dashboards tracking pre-contact behaviors.

5 One-Click Google Ads Segments to Save Money

JULY 28, 2025

By leveraging specific one-click segmentation options, you can identify areas of wasted spend and optimize your campaigns.

Try these five essential segmentation methods:

Segment by network: Identify poor-performing search partners driving up costs and pause them if necessary.
Segment conversion actions: Differentiate valuable conversions from less impactful ones to prioritize and optimize bidding.
Segment ad assets: Evaluate individual ad extension performance to pause underperforming assets or promote strong ones.
Segment by keyword: Improve message match by seeing how specific keywords interact with your ad copy, leading to more targeted ad groups.
Segment by device: Audit UX and performance across desktops, mobiles, and tablets to optimize landing pages or exclude inefficient device types.