April 2026
Every quarter, our Mad Fish Digital and Grady Britton team shares the articles, reports, and conversations that had us chatting. Not because they’re trending but because they’re worth your attention. This month, a clear thread runs through everything we’re reading: the case for humanity in marketing is getting stronger, not weaker. Here’s what that looks like across content, design, search, and PR.
This quarter
- Content & Creativity
- Gen Z & Authenticity
- SEO & Yahoo Scout
- Design & AI Labeling Laws
- PR & Earned Media
Content: The hottest job in tech? Writing words.
“If everyone’s a writer, then nobody’s a writer — and I think it’s very evident right now.”
Andy Askren, Grady Britton Creative Director, shared this counterintuitive story from the age of AI. While software engineering job postings dropped by over 60,000 between 2023 and late 2025, demand for skilled communicators and storytellers is surging. According to data compiled by Business Insider, LinkedIn job postings mentioning “storyteller” doubled between 2024 and 2025. Tech companies are paying between $200,000 and $775,000 annually for roles that don’t require a line of code. They just want talent able to cut through an increasingly AI-cluttered world.
The reason is structural: AI generates content effortlessly, but it doesn’t think. A 2025 Columbia Business School study found that large language models default to “Option A” when given a list. They lack the cultural awareness, strategic instinct, and genuine voice that make communication land. The flood of AI-generated content has made authentic, human-crafted writing scarcer and therefore more valuable.
What this means for your brand: If your content strategy leans heavily on volume and automation, now is the time to reassess. Audiences are getting better at detecting AI-generated noise. The brands that stand out will be the ones investing in point-of-view, voice, and real creative thinking. We are here to help brands develop content programs built on both strategic efficiency and genuine human storytelling. Learn more.
SEO: Yahoo Scout, the fragmentation of search and what it means for your visibility.
Search is no longer one place. Understanding where your audience is looking matters more than ever.
Yahoo has re-entered the search conversation in a meaningful way with Yahoo Scout, its new AI-powered discovery experience. What makes Scout worth watching (and why our Associate Director of SEO, Jess Martinez highlighted the news) is it’s data. Yahoo sits on over 500 million user profiles and tracks an enormous volume of consumer signals across Mail, News, Finance, and Search. That behavioral depth gives Yahoo the infrastructure to deliver genuinely personalized AI-driven answers, which is a meaningful differentiator from competitors building search from scratch.
The broader story here is search fragmentation. Your potential customers are increasingly finding information through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google’s AI Overviews, and now Yahoo Scout. Each platform weights signals differently. Ranking well in one no longer guarantees visibility in another.
608%
ChatGPT traffic growth, first half 2025 to first half 2025
262%
Perplexity traffic growth over the same period
-1%
Google & Bing combined change during the same period
What our clients are asking our SEO team: Is our strategy accounting for AI answer engines, not just traditional search? Are we visible in the places our audience is actually searching? How can we get our brand in the mix on these search channels? Have questions? Reach out to our SEO team.
Design: AI labeling laws in New York and California
If your ads include AI-generated people and you sell to consumers in these states, compliance deadlines are coming faster than you think.
Two significant pieces of legislation are headed toward enforcement this summer, and they directly affect any brand using AI-generated imagery in paid advertising.
New York SB8420A — Effective June 8, 2026. Requires disclosure labeling on any marketing or advertising image that includes an AI-generated human. Fines start at $1,000 for a first offense and $5,000 per subsequent image.
California AI Transparency Act (SB 942) — Takes effect August 2, 2026. Requires an AI watermark on AI-generated content. The same $5,000 per-offense fine structure applies.
It’s worth understanding what is and isn’t covered. These laws focus specifically on AI-generated humans used in advertising contexts. They are not focused on AI-assisted product photography, synthetic environments without people, or AI used in your creative development process. But if an AI-generated person appears in your ad creative and you’re selling to consumers in New York or California, the label requirement applies.
Gartner data shows that half of consumers say they prefer brands that do not use AI in their interactions with them. Mandatory labels that reveal AI-generated people in your ads could affect both conversion and brand trust even if you’re compliant.
Practical steps to take now: Sr. Designer, Suu Ng brought this legislation to the team and offers these recommendation: Audit your current ad creative for AI-generated humans. Consider investing in photography with real models or UGC creators as a longer-term approach that sidesteps these requirements entirely. Suu and the team can help you think through your creative strategy with both compliance and audience trust in mind.
PR: Gartner says PR budgets will double by 2027. Here’s why AI is driving it.
The channel people use to find information is shifting and the playbook for getting found looks very different from what worked five years ago.
Gartner’s 2026 communications predictions caught the attention of our Grady Britton PR Account Director, Laura Luthi. By 2027, the widespread adoption of AI-powered search will drive a doubling of PR and earned media budgets. The logic is grounded in how AI answer engines actually work and what they cite.
94%
of AI citations come from non-paid sources (Muck Rack analysis of 1M+ AI citations)
82%
of AI citations come from earned media specifically
>50%
of AI Citations come from content published in the last 12 months
What this means in plain language: when someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or another AI search tool about a topic in your industry, the answer is being assembled almost entirely from earned media, credible third-party coverage, and recent owned content. Brands with an active editorial presence and strong media relationships are the ones showing up. Brands without them are invisible in these answers.
Fresh content also matters significantly. Muck Rack found that the highest AI citation rates occur within the first week of publication. An ongoing PR and content program — not a campaign-by-campaign approach — is increasingly the infrastructure that drives discoverability.
What to ask yourself: If a prospective customer asked an AI search tool a question about your category, would your brand appear in the answer? If you’re not sure, it’s worth finding out. Our press relations strategies can help you build the earned media presence that feeds both AI visibility and traditional credibility.
Brand Strategy: Gen Z is drawing a line on AI
The generation that grew up online is also the one most attuned to when something feels fake.
A recent piece by Greyson Ostrander on LinkedIn explores a growing phenomenon: Gen Z’s deliberate embrace of the analog and the “anti-AI.” From handwritten notes and film photography to a preference for UGC over polished brand content, younger consumers are actively resisting what they call “AI slop” – the generic, frictionless content that fills their feeds. They can feel it. And they’re opting out.
For brands, this isn’t a generational quirk to wait out. It’s an early signal about how all audiences are beginning to feel. According to Gartner, half of consumers already say they prefer when brands do not use AI in their interactions with them. However, the brands winning with Gen Z are not abandoning digital. They’re making authenticity and craft the differentiator.
Ask us: Is your brand’s creative strategy building genuine connection, or optimizing for volume? We can help you audit your content mix and find the balance that works for your audience.
Digital Marketing That Moves With the Times
Marketing is always evolving. Mad Fish Digital helps brands adapt to the latest trends while keeping content, campaigns, and storytelling effective and engaging.
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About Mad Fish Digital + Grady Britton
Mad Fish Digital and Grady Britton have joined forces to create a unified brand and demand agency built for ambitious brands ready to move. Together, we bring the precision of performance marketing and the power of bold, strategic creativity to unlock strategic challenges and deliver momentum. Our combined agency is a certified B Corporation committed to transforming brands that boldly shape a better world.
