Neil and Eric break down how IKEA turned an AI chatbot's failures into a $1B design consultancy, why creative is now the real ceiling on paid ads, and where API pricing and in-LLM advertising are heading. They unpack agentic commerce, dynamic personalized ads, and who actually wins the LLM race long term — Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, or OpenAI. A sharp episode on reskilling instead of cutting, scaling with AI creative, and betting on the right players in the AI stack.

Growth Newsletter: https://levelingup.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Need marketing help? Visit: https://www.singlegrain.com/ and https://npdigital.com/

Want to recruit great marketers? Find them here: https://marketingschool.io/hire

Key takeaways

◾IKEA's AI chatbot unlocked a $1B new business line

◾Creative and first-party data are the real paid ad levers

◾Google and Microsoft likely win enterprise AI long term

Chapters

00:00 IKEA's $1B AI chatbot story

01:45 Reskill before you cut

02:18 Scaling $1.5M to $20M with 4,500 creatives

03:57 The two real levers in paid ads

06:05 Auction-based API pricing

07:17 Where ads inside LLMs are heading

09:33 Agentic commerce and dynamic ads

11:04 Who wins the LLM race

13:15 Anthropic's momentum vs Microsoft

14:38 OpenAI turbulence and Brett Taylor

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗟

Welcome to Marketing School, one of the top business podcasts with over 61 million downloads. Each episode delivers actionable marketing tips and strategies from two entrepreneurs who truly practice what they preach. The show is hosted by Eric Siu, founder of Leveling Up and Single Grain, and Neil Patel, co-founder of Neil Patel Digital and recognized by Forbes as a Top 10 Marketer.

🎙️ Learn More About the Hosts

Eric Siu – Leveling Up: https://www.youtube.com/@LevelingUpOfficial

Neil Patel: https://www.youtube.com/@neilpatel

📩 Free Resources

Ubersuggest: https://www.ubersuggest.com/

Answer The Public: https://www.answerthepublic.com/

✅ Subscribe for Daily Marketing Insights!