WSJ Tech News Briefing

Episode: Don’t Want to Use AI? You’re Fired
Date: November 18, 2025
Host: Katie Dayton (The Wall Street Journal)

Episode Overview

This episode examines two major shifts in the tech landscape:

• WhatsApp’s growing traction in the United States and its competition with iMessage on Apple devices.
• The evolving workplace reality where employees are now being let go not just for being replaced by AI, but for failing to use AI tools themselves.

The discussion features industry insights, corporate strategy, employee experiences, and the cultural impact of these changes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. WhatsApp’s Surge in US Popularity

Guest: Nicole Nguyen, WSJ Personal Technology Columnist
(Timestamps: 02:02 – 06:08)

• WhatsApp’s Historical Struggle:

  • Despite global dominance, WhatsApp lagged in the US due to iMessage’s popularity.
  • “If you travel pretty much anywhere internationally...a tour guide or your Airbnb host will try to get a hold of you on WhatsApp. But back in the US...the Meta-owned messaging app has struggled to gain traction as the iPhone's dominance keeps iMessage in prime position.” – Katie Dayton [00:34]

• Growth Strategies & Platform Expansion:

  • Investments in platform compatibility: now available on iPad, Apple Watch, and improved Mac/Windows apps.
  • Breaking into Apple’s “walled garden” so users aren’t confined to iMessage.
  • Nicole Nguyen: “Most recently this year, WhatsApp has been really investing on making sure it's close to parity with iMessage...now you can use WhatsApp on an iPad...a companion app for Apple Watch...and Meta is trying to break through Apple’s walled garden.” [02:02]

• Group Chat Advantage:

  • WhatsApp supports much larger groups (over 1,000), while iMessage caps at 32.
  • “Historically for Americans, that probably was a forum or email, and now it's WhatsApp because the app has video calling, audio calling, you can create polls. There are also a ton of tools for admins.” – Nicole Nguyen [04:01]

• Addressing “Green Bubble” Stigma:

  • Apple’s adoption of RCS (Rich Communication Services) aimed to improve Android-iPhone messaging, but wasn’t a “WhatsApp killer.”
  • RCS lacks end-to-end encryption and large group chat capacity like WhatsApp.
  • “RCS is still not end to end encrypted like WhatsApp. Also, you can't support the gigantic thousand person group chats like you can on WhatsApp.” – Nicole Nguyen [03:19]

• Monetization Moves:

  • Meta is “very delicately” introducing ads in the “Status” tab and increasing visibility for Meta AI chatbot.
  • These business priorities are “creeping into this distinct culture” that WhatsApp holds within Meta.
  • “Meta is approaching ads in WhatsApp very slowly because it knows it has to...balance this humongous precious social network...its long standing commitment to privacy, and also its desire to monetize.” – Nicole Nguyen [04:54]

2. Workplace Revolution: Use AI or Lose Your Job

Guests: Peter Ciampelli (WSJ), Lindsay Ellis (WSJ Workplace Reporter)
(Timestamps: 07:14 – 12:01)

• New Employment Risk:

  • The threat is shifting from being replaced by AI to being replaced by colleagues who adopt AI.
  • “Companies are starting to cut workers who aren't embracing the technology and replacing them with those who are.” – Katie Dayton [07:14]

• Employee Training and Incentives:

  • Companies implement required AI training, practical skill-sharing sessions, and brainstorming meetings.
  • Incentives: cash prizes, desirable assignments for top AI users; in other cases, AI usage is tied to performance reviews.
  • Lindsay Ellis: “You have some companies that are incentivizing early adopters with cash prizes or with plum assignments. Other companies are saying this is going to be part of your performance evaluation.” [07:54]

• Case Study: Ignite Tech’s ‘AI-First’ Strategy:

  • Moved from encouragement to requirement:
    • “At one point last year, every Monday was dubbed an AI Monday...people had to spend their whole Monday experimenting with AI.” – Lindsay Ellis [09:09]
    • Employees self-assessed their AI use, which was run through ChatGPT to rank everyone; layoffs targeted lowest scorers.
  • Layoffs also affected even dissenting executives, including a Chief Product Officer who questioned the approach’s risks:
    • “He said...‘this technology is so early stage, if you do these widespread cuts and your AI plan doesn’t work...that is a huge business risk.’...He brought that up in a meeting and then a few months later he was among those who was pushed out.” – Lindsay Ellis [10:42]

• Why Some Employees Resist AI:

  • 40% of non-AI users don't believe it helps their work; 11% don’t want to change their workflow.
  • “You have both the technical limitations and also just the challenges of...encouraging broad adoption and making sure that your workforce is adapting to the change.” – Lindsay Ellis [11:32]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• WhatsApp Platform Expansion:
  “You can use WhatsApp on an iPad, which you couldn't for the first decade and a half that WhatsApp was around.” – Nicole Nguyen [02:20]
• iMessage Group Chat Limitation:
  “Imessage caps group chats at 32 people. And so as soon as a group chat gets over a certain size, it has to transition to another platform...now it's WhatsApp.” – Nicole Nguyen [04:01]
• AI Adoption as Job Requirement:
  “Ignite Tech...put all of those self assessments into ChatGPT and had ChatGPT rank all of the assessments...and then the company laid off the lowest scoring performers.” – Lindsay Ellis [09:09]
• Corporate Pushback on AI Hype:
  “He was advocating, he said, for a more nuanced talent strategy.” – Lindsay Ellis speaking on Greg Coyle, former Chief Product Officer at Ignite Tech [10:42]
• Employee Skepticism:
  “Upwards of 40% said that the main reason why they didn’t was because they didn’t believe it could help their work.” – Lindsay Ellis [11:32]

Important Segment Timestamps

• WhatsApp’s US growth strategies: 02:02 – 06:08
• AI adoption and workplace consequences: 07:14 – 12:01
• Ignite Tech’s AI-first layoff policy: 09:09 – 10:42

Episode Tone

• Journalistic and analytic, balancing tech optimism with realistic assessments of challenges and cultural shifts.
• Clear, concise, and relatable, drawing on real-world user and employee experiences.

Summary Takeaway

This episode explores:

• How WhatsApp is exploiting technical upgrades, group chat features, and careful monetization to grow where it was once lagging.
• The new reality for workers: not adopting AI tools is becoming as career-limiting as lacking other basic technical skills, with real implications for job security and workplace structure.
• The tension between rapid innovation and workforce adaptation, highlighting both enthusiasm and skepticism toward AI's promised productivity boost.