Intro: Do you feel like you were meant to have a kick-ass career as a hairstylist like you got into this industry to make big things happen? Maybe you’re struggling to build a solid base and want some stability. Maybe you know social media is important, but it feels like a waste of time because you weren’t seeing any results. Maybe you’ve already had some amazing success but are craving more. Maybe you’re ready to truly enjoy the freedom and flexibility this industry has to offer. Cutting and coloring skills will only get you so far, but to build a lifelong career as a wealthy stylist, it takes business skills and a serious marketing strategy.
When you’re ready to quit just working in your business and start working on it, join us here where we share real success stories from real stylists. I’m Britt Seva, social media and marketing strategist just for hairstylists, and this is the Thriving Stylist podcast.
Britt Seva: What is up? And welcome back to the Thriving Stylist podcast. I’m your host, Britt Seva, and today we are going to talk about the new AI search feature that is rocking my world. So, Meta recently released their Meta AI. This is actually something that’s been in the works for them for a decade, but they’re really starting to roll with it, and I’m going to share my story about how I’ve interacted with it, what’s come up for me. But I really, really, really, really strongly believe this is one of the biggest social media breakthroughs that we’ve had as an industry in like seven years. This is a really, really big one.
I did already do a training for Thrivers on this, so if you’re in Thrivers Society several weeks back, I did a training for you on what this means, how it works, that kind of stuff. So go into your community and look for that training. Also, you’re going to get another advanced training on what I would do to have the upper hand advantage on using this feature. So if you’re in Thrivers Society, I’m coming in really hard for you on this one, but to those of you who are not there yet, I wanted to do an overview of what this means, why I think it’s so critical and how it’s going to impact you.
So first of all, let’s talk about AI for a second. So artificial intelligence really started picking up steam end of 2022 into 2023. That doesn’t mean it didn’t exist before. It’s existed for quite some time. I did a podcast episode 275. It was released on March 20th, 2023, and it’s called AI ChatGPT and what it means for the beauty industry. Go back and listen if you haven’t already. It’s definitely worth a listen. And one of the things I pretty openly said is I don’t think we’re seeing AI in a way that it impacts our industry at all right now. When AI first really started buzzing, which was the start of 2023, end of 2022, people were like, ChatGPT, “It’s going to change everything. And I from the jump was like, “No, no, no ChatGPT is the infancy of the AI tools.” And people are like, “This is going to be amazing for caption writing.” And then you’ll notice people aren’t really talking it as much anymore because it wasn’t that great. It’s okay.
It’s okay if you get writer’s block. It can certainly help you push through some of those ideas. But is it revolutionary? Did it change anybody’s life? No, this could. This is huge. And when you go back and listen to that episode, you’ll hear that I talk about, I don’t talk about this, I did not predict this by any capacity, but I talk about how AI is going to formulate for us sooner than later. Those of you who are like advanced formulation specialists, watch the computers get better than you. And I know that as I say that you’re like, well, no, they can’t. Well, the ones that we’re familiar with now can’t, but the ones that we’re going to see developed in the next five years can. Like they’ll be able to do a color correction formulation better than a human does. And I understand that sounds like so far-fetched. And there’s some things that you just can’t have a robot do, and I totally agree. I’m not going to have a robot apply my eyelash extensions. That’s not for me.
But there are some things that can do and things like science, things like math, these AI tools can do, and at the end of the day, formulation is science and math that will come. And this is kind of on that level of forget ChatGPT. This is where AI revolutionizes our industry and this is what I think is really important to talk about. So let me explain my experience because I think it’s going to make you much more interested in this.
I was at home over a weekend on my personal Instagram. So I have a couple of work Instagrams @brittseva and @thrivingstylist on Instagram, but I also have a personal Instagram I use to follow my friends from high school and post pictures of my kids in Halloween costumes like normal mom things, right?
So I’m on that Instagram and I’m searching for home furnishing decor pieces of our home, and I go to search for a business name in the Instagram search bar. It’s a business I don’t normally follow, and I go to do a search because I want to see what’s going on on their Instagram. And what pops up for me is a search bar that says, “Want to try Meta AI?” And my initial reaction was, no, I want to pull up the inquiry I had in my brain, but the smarter business coach version of me was like, fine, I’ll take the bait. And instead of searching for this home decor business I had intended to search for, I decided to type in best hair salon in San Francisco. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I was like, Meta AI, what are you going to do for me when I type this in? And what it did for me literally blew my mind.
This is the first thing that’s come out of AI for me where I was like, “Hot damn. This is really something that could impact our industry.” So I’m actually going to pull up my phone and tell you exactly what came up. So as soon as I typed in that search, best salon in San Francisco, another little bubble popped up and it said, “Hi Britt, my name is Meta AI. Think of me like an assistant who’s here to help you learn, plan, and connect. What can I help you with today?” And then the search term I had already put in, which was Best Hair Salon in San Francisco, repopulates. And then my DM opens up and I was like, “What is happening?” Instantly, I’m in my own DMs and Meta AI has now created a DM chat for me of all of their search history of what they believe the best hair salon in San Francisco is. This was wild.
So do you remember how we used to use the Instagram search bar? A lot of us were trained by other coaches or whomever that if you want to be found on Instagram, a really great way to hack the search is to have your Instagram handle be something like San Francisco [inaudible 00:06:46] master. So that when a client goes to search on Instagram and they type in San Francisco Balayage, you show up because that’s how Instagram search used to work.
It was by keyword like that, kind of like how old-timey SEO work. Does everybody understand that that website SEO no longer relies on keywords at all? It’s been like a decade since that was the way it worked. So, Instagram is shifting this direction too. It’s no longer based on keyword. So what a lot of people have done is they’ve changed their Instagram handles to be like Dallas extensions or something, and that’s their Instagram handle. That’s not going to be as searchable as it once was because of this new shift in change. And that was really interesting to me. So instead of pulling up handles of people who might have been listed as best salon in San Francisco or salons that maybe had in their Instagram bio best salon in San Francisco, what did Meta AI pull up for me instead? A listing of 10 salons, this list of 10 salons was DM to me.
And these are big salons. I’m looking at them. I don’t think there’s any individual beauty professionals. No, uh-uh. But to be fair, the search I did was Best salon in San Francisco. I didn’t look for best stylists, so maybe that would’ve changed my search. But I got this DM and it’s a listing of 10 bulleted salon names. Most of these I’m pretty familiar with, some of them I’ve never heard of. So it’s a mix of big and small salons. And then at the very bottom, so there’s this one kind of message to me with this listing of salons, 10 of them total, and then another bubble pops up and it says, “This was sourced by Bing.com.” Instantly your girl goes and starts doing research. And I was like, “Why was this powered by Bing?” Because Meta has partnered with Bing in making this AI pop off.
Now I’m going to take another step back further. Now I start connecting the dots. I was like, “Wait just a freaking minute here.” Bing is also the search engine that ChatGPT said it was tapping into. And when the Forbes list of billionaires came out, the 2023 report just came out in early 2024, like a week or so ago, at the time of this recording, there was Microsoft Peeps on there and I was like, “What is Microsoft even up to that’s keeping them billionaires?” When we think about billionaires in tech, we think Elon Musk and Tesla, we think Apple, we think Google, we think of these very mainstream things. I’m like Microsoft … Microsoft reminds me of 1998 or something like that. It just feels very old-timey. Microsoft owns Bing and I think it’s very interesting that Microsoft is staying on top and that all of these AI tools are leaning in there.
Why are they leaning in there and not Google as much? I don’t know. That’s something I can’t tell you, but it’s something I’m extremely curious about and I’m going to keep digging into and diving into. Now, there may be a published reason why that’s happening. When I say I don’t know, it’s because I just haven’t found it yet, and full disclosure, I haven’t looked in depth. All I know is it seems like a lot of these AI tools are leaning into Bing. Bing is a Microsoft-based program. Something is happening there. Okay. So powered by Bing.
Then below that listing, there’s additional questions that this AI support tool is suggesting. I ask for example, what is the price range at Barrow Salon? Can I book an online appointment at Spoken Wheel? Like there’s these suggested questions. This is a game-changer. When Instagram becomes a powerful search engine like this, it changes everything and for a lot of you for the better and for some of you for the worse. And I think we just need to understand the software and technology and how it works in the impacts so we can plan forward. Okay, so let me take another step back and talk about what Facebook has had to say about all of this. There was an article that came out on April 18th, 2024, and I’m going to read you a direct quote. It says, “Built on Meta Llama 3.” So Llama 3 is the variation of their Meta software.
So they’ve had three variations. This new AI assistant is part of what they’re calling Llama three. It says, “This is our most advanced model to date. Meta AI is an intelligent assistant that’s capable of complex reasoning.” Yes, it is. “Following instructions, visualizing ideas and solving nuanced problems. Now available within our family of apps and at MetaAI.com, you can learn more, imagine anything and get more things done.”
Then there’s a byline that says, “Currently, Meta AI is available in English only and only in select countries with more to come soon.” Now that being said, I’ve noticed that this is very much in beta. So like I said the beginning, this feature is currently available on my personal Instagram. I do not have it activated on both of my work Instagrams. I think that will change and I think it will change quickly, but it looks like this is being rolled out. Hopefully by the time this podcast released, everybody will have it and we’ll be able to play with it. Some of you may see it dripped out over time. I don’t know how they’re picking and choosing if it’s by market or by account type, but it does seem to be rolling out.
So, there was another announcement made September 27th, 2023, and I want to go through that as well because I think that announcement kind of went under the radar because we didn’t understand. So catch me in this. Did anybody notice? I think it was at the Super Bowl. I don’t watch a whole lot of TV, but we’re a big football family. We definitely watch the Super Bowl, and there was this commercial that ran and it was like celebrities talking to virtual reality versions of themselves or something in a living room. And then people were wearing the Oculus goggles, I think. And it seemed like Meadow was trying to sell us on this idea of just never leave your apartment and talk to celebrities fake style in your home. It was weird.
Now I look back and I was like, “Oh, wait a minute. You were trying to tease this.” The problem was the execution of that commercial was absolutely tragic because none of us knew what was happening. But now that I read this article and now I see it, I’m like, “Oh, you all assumed that we all read that article and knew what was coming, and we have no idea what’s coming.” So the commercial just seems strange. Now I get it because listen to this. We’re starting to roll out AI stickers across our apps as soon as you’ll be able to edit your images or even co-create them with friends on Instagram using our new AI tools and backdrops. So this was interesting to me and I was like, “I don’t really care. Why would I ever use that?” What was interesting is they were talking about the ability to make badges.
So imagine if like … And I’m throwing this out there, I’m not saying start this today because this is not a well-baked idea. This just came to my mind. Imagine if a client comes in to see you and you create an AI badge for them in Meta AI, and it’s like a little sticker that they put on the story they share on Instagram that says, “Just completed my first haircut at Seva Salon.”
So before, if you wanted to have custom stickers on Instagram, you had to go through a gift-making process and have them go through approval. Now you can just make AI stickers on the fly. Right now it’s a little clunky. It’s still trying to be worked out. I don’t think I would introduce badges into your business right this second. I don’t even know if badges are a good idea, but I just wanted to explain how the technology could maybe work for you or maybe you do it for your team, right?
Sally was promoted to full-time badge, AI badge, something like that. Okay. Then they had another announcement. This was also September of 2023 that kind of went under the radar. It says, “We’re introducing Meta AI in beta, an advanced conversational assistant that’s available on WhatsApp Messenger and Instagram and is coming to the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and Quest 3. Meta AI can give you real-time information and genetic photorealistic images from your text prompts in seconds to share with friends.”
So when that first came out, I don’t think any of us got it. I certainly didn’t. Now I get it because now I’ve seen what it looks like. That is what is happening to me in my Instagram DMs now. It also says we’re launching 28 more AIs in beta. Listen to this part. Listen up. “With unique interests and personalities, some are played by cultural icons and influencers including Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, and Naomi Osaka. Over time, we’re making AIs for businesses and creators available and releasing our AI studio for people and developers to build their own AIs.”
So imagine if I create a Thrivers assistant in AI through Instagram DMs. That is the technology that’s becoming possible. Has anybody on this podcast dabbled in ManyChat? So essentially this would likely replace ManyChat. So instead you’d get an integrated, they’re calling an AI assistant, which is kind of what ManyChat interacts like.
And if you don’t know what ManyChat is, don’t worry. Don’t bother learning it because this is going to overcome that at some point here, but it basically can take over your DMs and give somebody an experience. Here’s my issue with that, and I love this. By the way, I’m excited for this new technology, but I think everything’s a double-edged sword. Some people are going to swing the pendulum way too far and they’re going to over-automate their business. I don’t know about you. The idea that robots are taking over the world makes me a little uncomfortable. I still like being a human and I still like interacting with humans, and I do firmly believe some people will use this technology very responsibly and still be creating very human connections with their clients. Some people will be like, “Great, I’m putting my business on autopilot and I’m letting the AI assistant do everything for me.”
That will be a part of this great divide I’ve been talking about. And those who over-automate and let the AI assistant do everything will likely lose trust in their market. And here’s what’s wild. So again, I really like this technology, this stylist and salons who end up sticking with old-school communication I think are going to become extremely desirable because I think a lot of people are going to flock to this tech, and we are in the service-based human connection industry. Be very careful with this. This is exciting. It’s wonderful. I’m very excited about it. If you sway the pendulum too far and do not use this responsibly, you can lose your way and lose your business in it. So just be very, very careful. I know this is exciting. Please use it responsibly.
So when we saw that commercial that played, I’m pretty sure it was at the Superbowl where I think it might’ve been Kylie Jenner or Kendall Jenner was like in the living room talking to the person wearing the Meta goggles. And I was like, “What is happening?” I don’t want to pretend I’m hanging out with a celebrity in my living room. That’s weird. That’s not what they were trying to insinuate. What they were saying is Kendall Jenner is going to be in your inbox responding to questions in her voice and in the way that she notes things using her own isms. What it’s saying is right now, the AI bot or assistant, they’re calling it a virtual assistant, is generic. We’re all using the same one. Down the line, they have 28 personalities we can pick from, and then I believe they said it’s early 2025, the personalized AI assistant is going to come out, and that is something that we could be customizing as well. And I’ll keep talking more about this, a deep dive training’s coming to Thrivers, and I’ll certainly bring this back to the podcast in the future as well.
Okay. So I want to go back to the DM I got and why this excited me so much. So definitely play with this yourself. If you have the feature because I think it’s really cool to see an action. So when it gave me the listing of all of the hair salons, so now my wheels turning, I’m like, “Why did it choose these 10?” So when you look at San Francisco Bay Area, the city itself is six square miles. There are thousands of businesses there. It’s an extremely dense city. So to choose 10 salons for me, out of the hundreds of salons and stylists who are there, why were these chosen? It told me that it used Bing as the primary source, but there were secondary sources as well. And the additional sources listed were byrdie.com, B-Y-R-D-I-E, which is like a blogging website essentially like it does media-based news articles and research pieces on businesses.
Then Timeout.com, which did an article called 10 Best Hair Salons in San Francisco. Then it gets interesting. Patrickevansalon.com. And that name jumped out to me massively because a very common … If you’re in Thrivers, you’ve seen me do this a hundred times, a really common exercise I do when I’m explaining how SEO works today, when I’m explaining how website optimization works is I do a generic Google search and often I search for best salon in San Francisco, best stylist in San Francisco because I’m in the Bay Area. And that would be something I would do as a client potentially.
Patrick Evan Salon has always showed up very, very high for years when I do a search like that. Do you know why? They have an exorbitant amount of online reviews. There is no other reason why they dominate in online reviews. It’s not because they’re paying for placement, it’s not because of anything else. They literally dominate in online reviews, and I’m talking Yelp and Google, and I’m not talking reviews on their online booking platform site because those don’t count. Those do not count, especially in technology like this. If those reviews are not going on mainstream platforms like a Yelp, like a Google, they do not count when it comes to indexing an AI like this, it’s just not scannable or seeable by this level of technology. Maybe in 10 years it will be, it’s not today.
So a lot of things came up for me in this. One, users cannot opt out of using the search feature. So if you have optimized your Instagram account … These are my go-to steps for you. Next, number one, reconsidering the way you’re positioned on Instagram because if this is the new way people search on Instagram, they’re no longer using the old search tools, which it looks like what’s happening. I can’t go backwards. If I wanted to use that search bar on Instagram, I could not have chosen skip the AI, use the old stuff. That was not an option for me. So when you search an Instagram, it’s now using this AI technology, it’s going to pull from Bing search results, it’s going to pull from online news articles, it’s going to pull from websites. You cannot fight that. So before Instagram search was internal and it was just searching its own app and that’s why you could optimize your bio or optimize your username, that’s shifting away. And now it’s how do you look on mainstream internet?
So if you are in Thrivers Society, pop a bottle, my friend, because you’ve spent years preparing for this moment and we did not know what it looks like. But now you have a massive upper hand because if you have built the marketing funnel the way I coached you, you have built such a dynamic online profile, you’re going to be hard to beat in this technology setup. So reconsider the way you’re positioned on Instagram.
Number two, really focus on Google and Yelp reviews. I understand for a lot of us, Yelp is a four-letter word. I also understand for a lot of us, trying to get our clients to leave reviews can feel like a pain point. Get over it because if this is the way that technology is shifting, we really need to have a strong presence there.
And number three, make sure you have a stellar website. So like I said, I always give Thrivers trainings first, and I dropped a video in for them about a week ago about this and what I think about it and what I think they should do and all the stuff. And they’re starting to share feedback because they’ve been playing in it for a little bit now. And some of the feedback we’re seeing is that it feels like the technology is yes, definitely pulling from online reviews. All of them are seeing that across the country. That looks like a huge pull. The other thing is their websites. They’re like, “This is so fascinating. It’s not pulling any data from our social media anywhere. It’s pulling everything from our website.” And it’s pulling specific pieces of their websites. The way their bio is written is affecting whether they show up or not. And by the way, the story style bio we coached to in Thrivers is hitting.
So really focus on your Google and your Yelp reviews. Make sure you have a stellar website and really reconsider the way you’re positioned on Instagram. Are you set up for the success in this new technology? Now, I have said this may make me eat my words in the best possible way. So I started predicting, I think it was 2022. I was like, “Instagram will be gone by 2025.” And I have been adamant about that for a few years now because the platform has been on such a swift decline, right? This may save it. Maybe. The thing that worries me a little bit is it may have hit just a tiny touch too late because usership is already down and I, at the time of this recording …
The technology has been up for a little bit here and I’m not seeing a lot of buzz about it, which does make me a little bit nervous like, have they already lost their consumer base? We’re going to be excited about this as small business owners, but if the customers, our clients don’t love the platform more because of it, it could end up still dead in the water.
But this revives my hope in Instagram as a platform. Now, this technology does exist on Facebook as well. I don’t have access to it, but some of my students do. So this may breathe some life into Meta and Instagram. If it’s becoming just kind of a more overall powerful search tool, which to be fair is the direction they said they were going, they’re not focused on social media as we know it today, they’re focused on creating an AI virtual reality, and now we’re in it.
If you continue to use Instagram and Facebook, you’re in it. So it’ll be interesting to see where this goes. As always, I will keep you updated on what I see, what I hear, what I find, what I discover, what I’m feeling is coming, just so you can stay curious and as I always like to say, so much love, happy business building, and I’ll see you on the next one.
