Happy Friday.

We’re live on X and YouTube — let’s ride!

Shopify: Build with AI - The era of stitching together templates, plugins, and payment gateways to launch a store is fading fast — now you describe what you want in plain language and get a production-ready storefront in minutes with Shopify. The technical setup that used to gatekeep ecommerce is becoming the machine's job, which means the real differentiator is no longer your stack but your product and your vision.

IM8 Appoints Comfrt Founder Hudson Leogrande to Board - IM8 just added Hudson Leogrande — founder and CEO of DTC apparel brand Comfrt — to its board as an independent director, betting on one of the fastest risers in the space. Comfrt has gone from a 2022 launch to the top lifestyle and apparel brand on TikTok Shop, with revenue tracking toward $1B+ in under four years.

Netflix and FIFA Partner for New Game Ahead of 2026 World Cup - Netflix is muscling into the 2026 World Cup with its own game, FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, dropping June 11 — letting players take on any of the 48 teams across 16 virtual stadiums with all 1,248 real-life players. The pitch is frictionless play: scan a QR code and your phone becomes the controller, a clear bet on ease-of-use to capture the tournament crowd.

New York Is the First State to Require Disclosing AI-Generated Characters

New York just became the first state to require disclosure of AI-generated humans in ads. It takes effect June 9. It's channel-agnostic: Meta, Google, TikTok, CTV, programmatic. If a synthetic person is selling your product to anyone in New York, you label it. Doesn't matter if your brand sits in Austin or London.

The disclosure itself may be a nothing burger. Do consumers rage-quit ads because they say "AI-generated?" I've seen CTV spots disclose that they were mostly synthetic and still land because the creative was good.

The penalty is the landmine.

$1,000 for the first violation. $5,000 every time after.

Sounds like rounding error. It isn't. Stack that across every live asset hitting New Yorkers and a cash-strapped, profit-first brand can catch a bill big enough to close the business.

The liability doesn't stop at the brand. The law lets liability pass down — to your agency, to your creators, to your affiliates. A creator slips an Eleven Labs voiceover into a spot and tells nobody? That's a fine waiting for an owner. And right now, the state of New York ultimately decides who.

The label won't kill you. The bill will. Audit everything this week.

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See you live,
Ecomm Cowboy Team