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What AI Can’t Do

Like you, I’m building a AI systems that helping me run my Amazon business. They pull inventory data, adjust PPC bids, generate listing content, track listing changes, etc. It can tell me what's working, what's not, and why.

It cannot tell me when something feels wrong.

There's a category of work where AI is untouchable. Anything with a feedback loop. Code compiles or it doesn't. A PPC campaign has an ACOS number. Inventory is either in stock or out of stock. The system tells the machine it's wrong, the machine adjusts, and it gets better. AI inside that loop will outwork you, outpace you, and never sleep.

Then there's the other category. The one with no loop.

Your competitor drops their price 30%. Every dashboard screams "match it." But you've been through price wars before and you know the other guy is bluffing. He's thin on margin and can't sustain it. So you hold for four weeks while your sales dip, because you've seen how this ends. No tool makes that call for you.

Your dog accessories brand could launch a $5 poop bag holder. The search volume is there. The unit economics work. But it cheapens everything you built. Knowing what your brand would and wouldn't do is a filter that lives entirely in taste.

You scroll through your competitor's storefront and feel nothing. Then you scroll through another one and think "these people actually give a shit." Same product category. Same price point. The difference isn't something you could put in a spreadsheet. But you'd bet money on which one is still here in two years.

AI will write you ten options and present every one with confidence. It has no internal signal for "this is right." You do. You built that signal through every product you killed, every supplier you walked away from, every gut call that looked irrational until the data caught up.

That instinct used to be a small part of running a business. Now it's the entire edge. When every seller has access to the same AI tools, the building gets commoditized overnight. The only thing left is knowing which thing to build.

The IVS

Big thanks to Jay Margaliot! Jay runs a free Whatsapp group for people interested in learning more about AI. When he’s not high-fiving Opus 4.6, Jay is playing chess, swimming, or spending time with his family. Jay is currently running a Claude Code challenge. Learn more here.

Need an Amazon Landing Page?

I built a Skill that creates Amazon landing pages. And it's yours. If you drive external traffic to Amazon and need a landing page, this is for you.

One command. One Amazon URL. Claude pulls the real product data, images, reviews, and builds a complete premium landing page. Styled to match the brand. Ready to publish.

Here's one I made: https://jaygptpro.com/lego-bunny-landing-page

My input: 10 seconds. Claude did everything else.

Images, reviews, features, email capture, FAQ, mobile-optimized. All real data from the Amazon page.

Download the skill + setup guide: https://jaygptpro.com/claude/amazon-landing-page-skill.html

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Easter Break and a Birthday Deal

Semana Santa is in full swing here in Costa Rica and the kids are off school for 2 weeks. The highways from San Jose are packed, every beach town is full, and its when we don’t leave our hood and fight the crowds.

It was also Jackson's 14th birthday this week. Jackson doesn't ask for much. He's a gamer, so the easy move would have been another cash or a gift card. But I wanted to do something different this year.

He loves Deal or No Deal. We played it together in an arcade on a cruise ship a while back and he was hooked. So I figured, why not just... make it?

I set up cases with different amounts, we eliminated them one by one, and I played the banker. Called him on the phone and everything. I even found a soundboard online with all the sound effects, the dramatic phone ring, the tension music.

He loved it. We all did. It cost basically nothing (other than prizes which he would get anyhow) and it was the highlight of his birthday.

Sometimes the best stuff doesn't come in a box. A little creativity and 20 minutes of setup gave us something a store-bought gift never could have (yes I had Claude code help me build it). Go build something fun with your people this week.

This Is The Big One

Amazon Just Killed Credit Card Payments for Ads

Google did this in June 2024. Meta did it on April 1st. Amazon was the last one standing, and they just folded too.

Starting April 15, your ad spend gets auto-deducted from your seller balance. No more putting $30K/month in PPC on your Amex and racking up flights. It's over.

Every major ad platform has now made the same move, and the reason is simple: interchange fees. Every time you swipe a credit card, the platform eats 1.5% to 3.5% in processing costs. On billions in ad revenue, that's an absurd amount of money they'd rather keep.

If you were running $25K/month on a 2% rewards card, you just lost $6,000/year in points. At $50K/month, that's $12,000 to $18,000. For me, this was an meaningful perk. I honestly feel depressed writing this. I sent my Mom on a bucket list trip to France. I went to Costa Rica. I bought a BBQ. All with points. Now it’s gone 😢 

We now have two options:

Auto-deduct from seller balance. This is the new default. Your ad costs come straight out of your disbursements in real time. Zero float. Your cash is gone the moment it's spent.

Pay by Invoice. This is the move. Net-30 terms, payable by wire or ACH. You get 30 days of cash flow on your ad spend. If you're not on this yet, go to Ads Console > Billing > Payment Settings and switch before April 15.

Now here's where it gets interesting. Services like Melio and Plastiq let you pay invoices with a credit card. They send the ACH to Amazon on your behalf. Plastiq even has a dedicated Amazon Ads payment page. 

Here’s the gotcha: The fee is 2.9% to 3%, so unless your card earns north of 3% back, you're actually losing money on the spread. But the real play is cash flow: your credit card billing cycle plus Net-30 terms can stretch your float to 45-60 days. If you're scaling hard on tight margins, that might be worth the fee. Do the math for your own situation.

A couple gotchas: Both Melio & Plastic do not accept AMEX for paying Amazon Ads. And for the Canadians, Melio requires a business address and bank account.

What I’m going to try (unconfirmed):

• Choose Amazon Invoicing (not account balance)

• Chase Business Sapphire Reserve (VISA) - 3%

• Pay with Melio/Plastiq (they charge 3% fee so its a wash)

• I get 30 days of free cashflow + time to pay back credit card.

The Four Dirtiest Surfaces in Every Hotel Room (And It's Not the Toilet)

A University of Houston study found the TV remote is the dirtiest object in a hotel room. Dirtier than the toilet seat. Light switches, the phone, and door handles round out the top four. Housekeeping skips all of them because they're focused on the stuff you can see: counters, mirrors, toilets. The stuff you actually touch every five minutes? Nobody's wiping that down.

Throw a small pack of disinfectant wipes in your bag. When you check in, wipe the remote, light switches, phone, and door handles. Then pull off the bedspread. Most hotels wash sheets between guests but only dry-clean comforters a few times per year (some budget chains go months). Use the blanket underneath. Whole thing takes 60 seconds.

To your success,

Rob & Max