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Episode: Why You Need Human Oversight For AI-Based Marketing With Anthony Chiaravallo
Host: Matthew Bertram
Guest: Anthony Chiaravallo, CEO of Valhallo Media
Date: December 29, 2025

Main Theme

This episode explores the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-powered marketing and SEO, focusing on the critical importance of human oversight when implementing AI and automation tools. Host Matthew Bertram and guest Anthony Chiaravallo dive into practical strategies for performance marketing in a fragmented digital ecosystem, challenges of automation, the importance of data quality, omnichannel approaches, and actionable insights into maximizing ad performance in both B2B and consumer sectors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Wild West” of AI in Marketing (02:28–04:36)

• Early AI Parallels: Anthony likens the current AI era to the early days of the internet, noting it is both exciting and chaotic.
• Platform AI Adoption: AI features are being rapidly rolled out across Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok, and more.
• Over-reliance on Automation: Many brands jump into full automation, missing out on essential human strategy and oversight, leading to mixed or poor results.

"It's not necessarily working out too well at the moment because an over reliance on the automation is missing a key element. And that's the strategy." — Anthony (03:30)

2. Human in the Loop: Why Human Oversight Is Critical (04:36–07:32)

• Augmenting, Not Replacing: AI can amplify skilled marketers, but “you still gotta be the driver, you can’t just fully agentic hand it off today.”
• Weird AI Behavior: Matthew shares anecdotes of AI misinterpreting audio recordings, underscoring why “human in the loop” is essential for quality control.

"It's a tool. It's a copilot. It's an assistant to help you do it, but you still gotta be the driver." — Matthew (05:19)

"If I wasn't, like, looking at what it was doing, right. And just, like, published it… there was no human in the loop, it would have pushed that out." — Matthew (06:25)

3. The Dangers of Bad Data & Algorithm Optimization (07:32–10:05)

• Feeding Bad Data: If AI and platforms get inaccurate inputs and conversion tracking, errors compound and budgets are wasted.
• Real-World Horror Stories: Anthony and Matthew recount AIs learning to optimize for spam or unhelpful behavior, demonstrating the risks of unchecked AI.

"If you're not feeding these AI algorithms... clean data... you're basically just going to compound your problem." — Anthony (07:56)

4. The New Rules of Search, Omnichannel & Changing Buyer Behavior (10:05–15:56)

• Search Behavior Evolving: Users split attention among platforms (TikTok, YouTube, social), moving away from relying solely on Google.
• Omnichannel, Day-Parted Campaigns: Successful strategies now involve multi-platform campaigns, targeting users during different parts of their day using various ad types (audio, CTV, display, social).
• Ad Creative Needs: Messaging and format must match context—conversion-focused during work hours, brand-focused at night.

"We have a global B2B brand... developed a campaign that leverages day parting... audio ads in the morning on way to work, display during the day, CTV at night." — Anthony (10:37)

5. The Future of Ads in AI & Generative Engines (15:56–18:06)

• AI as Shopping Platforms: Generative engines and LLMs are integrating commercial products into responses (e.g., TikTok Shopping, ChatGPT’s Walmart integration), changing how ads will surface.
• Affiliate Links & Monetization: Early models are including affiliate links directly in AI answers, creating new ad paradigms.
• Dead Internet Theory: A concern emerges over AI increasingly training on synthetic, non-human content, potentially eroding content quality and usefulness.

"We are seeing a huge influx of AI content on the web... now the AI is training itself on AI content... it’s just going to produce lower and lower quality content." — Anthony (17:20)

6. What Is Working Now: Creative, Full-Funnel, Short-Form Video (18:06–22:39)

• Video > Static: Short-form video (especially UGC-style) vastly outperforms static ads. HTML5 ads with movement or motion are essential now.
• Audience Diversity & Testing: High volume and variety of creatives—collaborating with independent content creators for authenticity over influencer reach.
• Full-Funnel Investment: Brands need to move beyond bottom-of-funnel ROAS thinking; warm and preheated upper-funnel audiences are essential.

"We do a lot in the UGC space... but we actually work with just independent content creators... I find that works really well." — Anthony (20:02)

"The brands that are doing well are taking this full funnel approach and not being so focused on that return on ad spend, lower funnel metric exclusively." — Anthony (22:11)

7. Budget, Timing, and Measuring Success in Modern Paid Campaigns (22:39–31:29)

• Attribution Is Harder: With fragmentation, last-click attribution is unreliable; Anthony recommends “influenced revenue” as a better metric.
• Budget & Patience: For upper-funnel campaigns, a minimum 6–12 month commitment is needed for measurable impact, even if early signs appear in 2–4 weeks.
• The Multiplier Effect: Investing in balanced, full-funnel strategies multiplies long-term ROI—up to 10x revenue over five years compared to lower-funnel only.

"If a client is really wanting to invest long term, I would say commit to at least a year of running Upper Funnel ads." — Anthony (29:13)

"There's a ton of fantastic data in there about the value of properly investing in a full funnel approach." — Anthony (31:15), on the WARC Multiplier Effect study

8. Unifying Fragmented Data, AI Tools & Best Practices (31:41–36:35)

• Data Fragmentation: Many brands lack unified, accurate data pipelines. Integrating via Looker Studio dashboards and cleaning CRM data helps drive actionable insights.
• Synthetic Data & Audience Testing: New tools can now simulate audiences or test creative with synthetic responses before launch—a future trend.

"Without [clean data], our campaigns and our ads can't be as effective as they could be." — Anthony (36:29)

9. Common Paid Media Mistakes & Quick Wins (36:35–39:54)

• Most Brands Miss Basics: 75% still don’t do or properly run remarketing.
• Account Audits: Repeated mistakes include missing target CPA settings, letting “AI/Max” settings run wild (leading to low-quality or irrelevant traffic), and over-expanding audiences without oversight.

"I would say, you know, 75% of the brands that we audit are still not doing remarketing or if they are doing it, they're not doing it properly." — Anthony (38:13)

"We're noticing this is so prevalent—foundational things are missing from paid media campaigns." — Anthony (25:10)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "It's a tool. It's a copilot. It's an assistant to help you do it, but you still gotta be the driver."
  — Matthew (05:19)

• "Without that strategy, without that level of oversight, [AI marketing] is not going to be anywhere near as effective. It could actually hurt you."
  — Anthony (03:50)

• "AI is just going to be producing lower and lower quality content because it's just training itself on its own recycled content."
  — Anthony (17:34)

• "The brands that are doing well are taking this full funnel approach and not being so focused on that return on ad spend, lower funnel metric exclusively."
  — Anthony (22:11)

• "I would say, you know, 75% of the brands that we audit are still not doing remarketing or if they are doing it, they're not doing it properly..."
  — Anthony (38:13)

Key Segment Timestamps

• Intro/AI Impact & Strategic Oversight: 00:00–04:36
• Human in the Loop and AI Weirdness: 04:36–07:32
• Bad Data & Campaign Optimization Risks: 07:32–10:05
• Search Fragmentation & Omnichannel: 10:05–15:56
• Ads in LLMs/Generative Answers: 15:56–18:06
• What’s Working Now (Video/UGC/Full Funnel): 18:06–22:39
• Budgets, Benchmarks, & Attribution: 22:39–31:29
• Data Fragmentation & AI Tools: 31:41–36:35
• Common Media Mistakes & Fixes: 36:35–39:54
• How to Connect & Final Thoughts: 39:54–41:46

Resources & Where to Find Anthony

• Website: valhallomedia.com
• LinkedIn: Active on his personal profile (Anthony Chiaravallo)
• Book: “Brand Powered Media”
• Location: Based at the Jersey Shore, NJ, USA; global remote team
• Offer: Free paid media audits for interested brands/agencies

Overall Tone

• Honest, transparent, and strategic. The conversation is rich with real-world examples, tactical advice, and a healthy skepticism of overpromising AI solutions.
• Both speakers urge listeners to embrace new technologies but to do so thoughtfully, always layering human expertise and strategic thinking atop automation.

Takeaways for Listeners

• Embrace AI as a tool, not a replacement for strategic human judgment.
• Unify and clean your data before scaling automation.
• Go all-in on omnichannel campaigns with creative variability, especially short-form video.
• Be patient with full-funnel paid media—results compound over time but require upfront investment.
• Don’t neglect “basic” best practices: set up remarketing, bid structure, and conversion tracking correctly.
• Stay on top of evolving ad formats inside new AI-powered and social platforms.
• Study large industry reports like WARC’s “The Multiplier Effect” for hard data backing long-term, full-funnel strategies.