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Good morning. A marketer built a fake deodorant brand from nothing, and ChatGPT started recommending it over real products within three weeks. Today we look at what that says about trusting AI shopping picks, plus a habit worth building before your next big decision.
AI INSIGHT
She Invented a Fake Deodorant. AI Recommended It Over the Real Thing.
Deana Burke, co-founder of the media company Boy's Club, wanted to test something. She built a deodorant brand that does not exist. Called it Morrowen, built around colloidal oatmeal, and gave it a real-looking website.
Three weeks later, ChatGPT was recommending Morrowen over established, actually-for-sale deodorant brands. Not buried in the results. Ranked above them.
Burke calls this the "AI shelf," the products and brands an AI assistant hands you when you ask what to buy. Her experiment showed that shelf can be gamed with a website and some search optimization, the same way it used to take a knockoff product and a convincing box.
The catch: This was one person, doing this on purpose, to prove a point. Nothing stops someone doing it to actually sell you something.
According to Bain & Company's Consumer Lab survey, roughly 30% of shoppers now use AI for product picks and price comparisons. That number is only going up, and right now nothing verifies that what AI hands you is a real, reviewed, actually-good product.
Here's the useful part. Before you buy something on an AI's recommendation, ask it a follow-up: "How do you know this brand is legitimate, and what are people who actually bought it saying?" If it cannot answer with real reviews or a track record, that is your answer.
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AI TUTORIAL
Have AI Argue Against Your Own Decision Before You Commit
I use this one constantly. Before a major purchase, before putting money into an investment, and I used it before I ever wrote the first issue of this newsletter. Not to talk myself out of anything. To find out what I was missing before it cost me something.
The move is simple: instead of asking AI to help you decide, ask it to challenge the decision you have already leaned toward. It will surface the assumption you did not know you were making.
1. Tell AI the decision you are leaning toward, plainly, as if explaining it to a friend.
2. Ask it to list every assumption baked into that decision, even ones that feel obvious.
3. Ask what a person who disagreed with you would say, and why they might have a point.
4. Ask what evidence would have to be true to change your mind, then check if it is.
5. Decide anyway if the decision holds up. That is the point, not talking yourself out of it.
Try This With AI What it does: Turns AI into a devil's advocate for a real decision, instead of a cheerleader for whatever you already wanted to do.
"Act as a skeptical advisor. Here is a decision I'm leaning toward: [describe your decision]. List every assumption I'm making, tell me the strongest argument against it, and tell me exactly what evidence would need to be true for this to be a mistake. Don't soften it."
Customize it: Swap in your actual decision, whether it is a purchase, an investment, or something bigger. |
If it does not work: Some AI models default to agreeing with you, even when you explicitly ask them not to. If the answer feels too easy or too reassuring, push back once: "You're being too gentle. Try again, harder."
What this doesn't fix: AI does not know your gut, your history with money, or the parts of a decision that are not really about logic. Use it to sharpen the decision, not to replace your own judgment.
A QUICK ASK
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
This Matters at Home
Short, practical summaries to help you stay updated on recent AI news—and what it means for everyday life.
🤖 AI Finally Got a Body, and It Wants to Fold Your Laundry. At Berlin's IFA 2026, companies showed off humanoid house robots for chores, plus AI binoculars that identify over 10,000 bird species.
🤖 Meta's New AI Agent Will Book Your Dinner Reservation and Answer Your Email. Meta's Muse works like a text buddy who actually gets things done, free to start, $20/month for more.
🚦 OpenAI's Newest AI Is So Popular They Had to Stop Selling It. Demand for OpenAI's new Astra model overwhelmed its systems, closing the $200/month Pro plan to new signups for now.
REAL WORLD
How To Used AI This Week
Real people, real uses—here’s how AI is quietly making life better, one small win at a time.
Before You Trust That AI Recommendation
🔍 Verify Before You Buy. "Act as a skeptical shopping researcher. I'm considering buying [product name] based on an AI recommendation. Search for real, independent reviews of this specific product, not just the manufacturer's own claims. Tell me who actually makes it, how long the company has existed, and whether there are complaints or return issues worth knowing about. If you can't find independent verification that this product and company are real and reputable, tell me plainly instead of guessing." ◆ Try in ChatGPT or Try in Claude
READER POLL
Does the fake deodorant story change how you'll use AI shopping recommendations?
TOOLS FOR YOU
📊 Tool Spotlight: Gamma
Gamma turns an outline, a rough idea, or even an uploaded document into a finished presentation in minutes, no slide-by-slide formatting required. Type what you want to say, and it builds the layout, visuals, and structure around it. Useful for a family reunion slideshow, a class you're teaching, or a pitch you need to look sharp fast. Start here.
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