Hey Reader -

Most people think AI ads equal slop(and think it results in terrible performance).

Weird hands. Dead eyes. Robotic voice. That uncanny valley feeling.

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And honestly?

They’re not wrong. Most AI ads are garbage.

…and perform terribly.

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But we just scaled one to $10k/day profitably.

Not the first time we’ve done this.

No UGC shoot. No creator fees. AI-generated creative.

And it’s printing.

So what gives?

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Here’s where I’m going to get a little philosophical on you. Bear with me.

The question isn’t “was this made by a human?”

The question is “was this made by someone who understands humans?”

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Big difference.

Because here’s the thing.

A human can make something that feels completely inhuman.

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You’ve seen these ads.

Stock footage. Generic smiling people. Corporate voiceover.

Made by a team of humans in a conference room somewhere.

Feels like it was made by a committee that’s never actually met a real person.

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Meanwhile, AI can make something that feels deeply human.

If: and this is a big if - the person directing it knows what “human” actually means.

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This is what the LinkedIn bros miss.

They post “100% AI, no humans needed” like it’s a flex.

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It’s not.

That AI ad that’s scaling?

A human strategist figured out why the winning concept was winning.

A human designer directed the AI with intention.

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The AI was the tool. The humans were the brains.

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“100% AI” is how you get slop.

“AI directed by humans who get it” is how you get $10k/day.

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So what does “human” actually mean in an ad?

1. Specificity.
   • Real humans exist in specific places. Specific lighting. Specific moments.
   • Generic is the opposite of human. Generic is what AI defaults to when you don’t know what to ask for.
2. Imperfection.
   • Real skin has texture. Real movement has hesitation. Real voices have breath.
   • Perfection is the uncanny valley. Perfection is what makes people scroll past.
3. Emotional truth.
   • The kind of phrasing and verbiage you can’t fake because you’d have to understand them first.
   • Not performed emotion. Not stock-photo smiles.
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AI slop isn’t slop because AI made it.

It’s slop because the person prompting it had no idea what “real” looks like.

Garbage in, garbage out. Tale as old as time.

When we build AI creative, we’re not asking “how do we make this look less AI?”

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We’re asking “what makes a human feel like a human?”

That’s the difference between slop and $10k/day.

Anyway.

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We’re doing this for a handful of products right now - where we run weekly creative sprints to unlock creative winners with human-and-AI-powered ads.

If you’re spending $50k+/month and want us to put together a tailored game plan for what this could look like for you, hit reply and say “AI.”

Or don’t. I’m not your mom.

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Later -

Shamanth

PS: Some links from our socials:

​New Year ads are still crushing​

​Jacob Rushfinn interviewed me on the Botsi podcast on what it takes to unlock subscription app growth in 2026.​

​What gets you to $100k/day in ad spend - and what keeps you there​

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