Scale & Strategy
This is Scale & Strategy, the newsletter that helps you swim against the Business Current, with ease.
Here’s what we got for you today:
- xAI Launches Grok AI Companions
- 5 Holiday Shopping Trends You Should Know (Even in July)
xAI Launches Grok AI Companions
Elon Musk’s xAI just rolled out Grok AI companions—animated 3D avatars that talk in real-time—available exclusively to SuperGrok subscribers.
The details:
Users can now interact with Grok-powered characters like Ani, a flirty anime-style avatar, or Bad Rudi, a red panda with attitude. More avatars are on the way.
Features go beyond basic chat—users can unlock NSFW capabilities and custom interactions by “leveling up” their relationships, adding a gamified twist to the chatbot experience.
The launch comes just days after xAI faced criticism for offensive Grok 3 responses. The company responded with a public apology and a detailed post-mortem on what went wrong.
This move taps into a fast-growing trend: AI avatars and emotional companions. Platforms like Character AI have seen massive adoption, but also raised alarms—especially around children forming attachments to adult-themed bots.
Why it matters:
Grok’s avatars enter the market at a time when emotional AI and relationship-driven agents are under scrutiny. With lawsuits pending against competitors and growing concern around safety and regulation, launching explicit, gamified AI companions might stir up fresh controversy. But it’s also very on-brand for Musk—unfiltered, provocative, and pushing the boundaries of what conversational AI can become.
5 Holiday Shopping Trends You Should Know (Even in July)
We get it — nobody wants to hear about Black Friday while it’s still beach season. But smart marketers? They prep early.
Kelli Kemery and Eugene Goldenshteyn took a deep dive into what this year’s global holiday shopping season might look like. Here’s what stood out:
1. Sales season is starting earlier — and going global.
Big events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday still matter. In fact, 85% of US consumers say they plan to shop during sales. Shoppers in the UK and Australia are right there with them.
What wins? Early, value-driven campaigns with localized creative.
2. Budgets are flat, but confidence is shaky.
66% of US shoppers expect to spend the same as last year, but 72% say they’re worried about the economy.
The move: Emphasize value in your messaging — and adapt regionally.
3. Travel habits aren’t universal.
US travel is down, but UK and Australian shoppers are still on the move.
So? Push location-aware offers: local gifts in one market, travel-friendly picks in another.
4. Search is where the real action is.
Shoppers are more price-sensitive than ever and are using search to hunt for deals.
What works: Lean on Shopping ads and Dynamic Search to intercept early comparisons.
5. Gifting is getting younger and broader.
Gen Z and Millennials are gifting outside the family circle — think friends, coworkers, even themselves. And in the US, it’s all going mobile.
What that means: Expand your target segments and make sure your mobile UX is sharp.
Bottom line:
Start sooner. Segment smarter. And scale creative with AI to stay ahead of shifting intent.
Because the brands that win the holiday season? They don’t wait for the calendar to tell them when to start.
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