This unique bond sets the stage for the launch of their brand-new, multi-part series: The Collision, exploring the turbulent intersection where technology meets humanity. David and Sara tackle the real-world impacts of modern tech, from how a statewide school cell phone ban in Texas successfully brought face-to-face friendships back to the lunchroom, to the way dating apps are rewiring modern romance by replacing deep, meaningful connections with shallow, rapid-fire dopamine hits

Then, the conversation shifts to a very real business phenomenon: the AI Trust Gap. The hosts break down two recent reports revealing that 78% of small business owners still don't trust AI to handle low-level tasks without oversight, and only 22% of B2B tech buyers trust AI recommendations over their own lived experiences. Tune in to find out why humans are still hesitant to hand over the reins to artificial intelligence, and how it perfectly parallels our trust issues with janky DIY repairs

Then, they break down a recent Invoka report on the messy realities of AI in customer experience. You'll learn why 50% of consumers say AI improves their experience for quick tasks, but why all generations still overwhelmingly prefer a traditional phone call when they actually need help. Discover why AI transparency is a must for consumers, and why the most "human" brands will ultimately win the AI race

Then, the hosts dive into a surprising new study on workplace efficiency that reveals AI adoption has reached 80%, but only a tiny 3% of users are seeing massive productivity gains. You'll learn why the most productive employees only use AI for 7-10% of their workday, why pushing beyond that actually decreases your efficiency, and why shrinking the "surface area" of AI in your business processes is the true sweet spot for success

Then, they shift gears to the massive go-to-market mechanics behind the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Americas. Tune in to hear how the non-profit FIFA expects to generate a staggering $13 billion in revenue, the strict rules requiring host stadiums to cover up their non-sponsor logos, and the viral joy of global fans experiencing American fast food like Raising Cane's for the first time.

Then, the conversation shifts to go-to-market AI and what David is calling "the summer of MCP". Discover what a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server is and why it is the ultimate game-changer for AI adoption. David explains how MCP servers act like a universal "USB port," connecting LLMs like Claude or ChatGPT directly to your everyday business tools—such as Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, and Marketo. Learn how this crucial connective tissue finally transforms AI from a basic conversational chatbot into an autonomous agent capable of executing complex marketing workflows.

Then, they break down a recent Harvard Business Review study on "AI Brain Fry". You'll learn why marketers are the most vulnerable to this new type of burnout, how using more than three AI tools simultaneously destroys productivity, and why companies that are slightly slower to adopt AI might actually have a long-term competitive advantage.

In the second half, the hosts celebrate a massive milestone: the release of David's new book, AI-Powered Growth: The 7-Step AI Adoption System for GTM Transformation. David pulls back the curtain on his motivation for writing the book, explaining how it was born out of countless conversations with marketing leaders who were all paralyzed by the exact same question: "Where do we start?". Tune in to hear why AI adoption is a three-legged stool of people, process, and technology, why humanity must remain the central character in the AI plot, and how to choose opportunity over mere efficiency.

Order AI-Powered Growth on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H2QCZG5M

In the second half, the conversation shifts to a critical discussion about AI in the workplace. Sparked by a quote from Nvidia's CEO about how using AI to justify layoffs shows a "lack of imagination," David shares the incredible success story of IKEA. When IKEA's AI chatbot "Billy" took over 47% of customer service interactions, the company chose to upskill their 8,500 customer service employees into design consultants rather than lay them off. This move resulted in $1.4 billion in new revenue. Tune in to hear why taking the imaginative route pays off and why the "most human company wins" in the age of artificial intelligence.

In the second half, the conversation shifts to a massive go-to-market experiment. David details his recent experience spending 72 hours working intimately with four AI agents to automate the updating of 1,400 pieces of enterprise marketing content for a corporate rebrand. While the agents successfully processed the massive volume of work in just six days, David shares the cracks he saw when operating AI at scale. Tune in to find out what he learned.

In Episode 7 of Chicken Fried Growth, hosts David York and Sara Moseley take a virtual road trip to the "greatest gas station ever"—the Southern cultural institution known as Buc-ee's. After marveling at the pristine, floor-to-ceiling bathroom doors, the fresh brisket, and the undeniable cult following of Buc-ee the Beaver, the hosts pivot to the powerful marketing lesson hidden behind this massive brand affinity.

In the second half, the conversation shifts to why branding is officially making a huge comeback in the era of Artificial Intelligence. As generative AI commoditizes content creation and makes baseline communication incredibly easy to produce at mass scale, average marketing no longer stands out.

David and Sara explore how a strong brand acts as the ultimate business "moat"—serving as the crucial conduit for the trust, authenticity, and human connection that buyers are craving. Tune in to hear why taking a genuine brand stand (like Costco's famous $1.50 hot dog) is more valuable than ever, and why heavily relying on AI without proper guardrails can permanently damage your brand equity.

The episode kicks off with a deep dive into how sweet tea varies across the South. David, representing the milder "Texas" palate, prefers a half-sweet, half-unsweet blend, while Sara reveals the heavy-hitting Alabama recipes of her youth—including her dad's recipe calling for a staggering two-and-a-half cups of sugar per gallon. After a hilarious confession from David about accidentally eating an entire bag of dog treats as a kid, the conversation pivots to go-to-market strategy.

David breaks down recent findings from the 6Sense buying report, revealing that while traditional B2B buyers complete 70% of their research in a "black box" before contacting a vendor, AI is changing the timeline. Surprisingly, using AI for research isn't shortening the overall buying cycle or reducing vendor touchpoints. Instead, buyers are reaching out to vendors earlier than before—at the 60% mark—specifically to cut through marketing hype and interrogate what a company's AI features actually do.

In this episode of Chicken Fried Growth, hosts David York and Sara Moseley dive deep into the time-honored Southern institution of the multi-generational family reunion. From playing dominoes on folding tables and devouring closely guarded apple cake recipes to the uniquely Southern practice of taking family photos at gravesites, the hosts unpack the deep nostalgia and human connection that make these gatherings so special.

Then, the conversation shifts to a surprising new trend in the Go-To-Market world: storytelling is officially one of the hottest jobs in business right now. As generative AI floods the internet with predictive, "perfectly average" content, consumers are experiencing an "AI reckoning". With surveys showing that over 50% of people will stop reading the moment they realize a piece was written by AI, David and Sara discuss why AI will never be able to replicate genuine emotional resonance.

Tune in to discover why when average content becomes a cheap commodity, exceptional, authentic human storytelling skyrockets in value—and why the ultimate antidote to robotic marketing might just be found in the stories we share around the casserole table.

Drawing on recent insights from the Harvard Business Review, David explains why simply tracking how many employees log into an AI tool tells you nothing about actual business transformation. The hosts unpack a counterintuitive finding: the employees who use AI the most often also harbor the highest levels of anxiety and resistance to it. Tune in to learn why creating psychological safety and transparent expectations is vastly more effective than policing AI usage.

Diving into the Martech for 2026 report, David breaks down the number one challenge facing marketers today: AI integration friction. The hosts explore why SMBs are successfully navigating this hurdle, while large enterprises are getting bogged down by bureaucracy and rigid platform solutions. Tune in to learn why your marketing tech stack might be missing a crucial tool, and how to borrow the nimble strategies of SMBs to power your own agentic AI adoption.

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Show Notes

[00:00] Intro & The Southern Love for Hand-Me-Down Recipes

• David and Sara discuss the Southern tradition of passing down multi-generational family and church recipes.

[02:00] Aunt Ruby’s Legendary Mac & Cheese

• David reveals the five main ingredients of his Aunt Ruby's famous recipe.

[08:00] The Friendsgiving Mishap

[17:00] The Importance of the Right Tools

• Sara notes that just like baking requires the right attachments to get a fluffy cake, marketing requires the right tech stack.

[19:45] The Big AI Challenge: Integration Friction

• The report reveals a massive 27% gap between enterprises and SMBs when it comes to AI integration friction.

• 68% of enterprise marketers report struggling with integration, compared to only 41% of SMBs.

[21:30] SMB vs. Enterprise: Why the Gap Exists

• Location of Agents: Enterprises rely heavily on platform-embedded or commercial solutions (like Microsoft Copilot), while SMBs successfully utilize low-code/no-code workflow automation platforms.

• Use Cases: Enterprises use AI to optimize existing use cases, whereas SMBs are experimenting with entirely new, innovative use cases to do more with less.

• Red Tape: Enterprises face more bureaucracy and IT friction when trying to adopt new, agile technologies.

[29:00] Key Takeaways & Actionable Advice

• To overcome integration friction, organizations need to incorporate integration and workflow automation tools (like Zapier, Make, n8n for SMBs, or Workato for Enterprises) into their tech stacks.

In this episode, David and Sara dive into the fanatical world of SEC football to uncover why it’s the ultimate masterclass in community marketing.

From "house divided" license plates to the high-stakes pageantry of Southern tailgating, we explore how sports identity in the Deep South creates an instant, unbreakable human connection. As the world over-indexes on "artificial" AI-generated content, David and Sara discuss why authenticity is the new premium and how brands can build loyalty.

In this episode, we tackle:

• Why college loyalty runs deeper than the pros in the South.

• The psychology behind why the human brain disconnects from AI-generated content in a heartbeat.

• Why investing in uniquely human experiences—like small, intimate events—is the winning strategy for 2026.

• How a simple "Roll Tide" or "Boomer Sooner" shouted across a theme park creates a 30-minute conversation between total strangers.

Get to know the "Art and Science" duo behind the drawl. In this special introductory episode, David and Sara pull back the curtain on their Southern roots and decades of industry experience.

Sara Moseley shares her journey from the "hub of civilization" in Florence, Alabama, to becoming a veteran creative director and screenwriter. Meanwhile, David York recounts 30 years in the marketing trenches, moving from the early days of web design to running an AI adoption consultancy.

Topics covered:

• Southern Bona Fides: From picking pecans in Waco to being 90 minutes from Elvis's birthplace.

• Creative Atrophy: Why Sara worries that "phoning it in" with AI is weakening the industry’s creative muscles.

• The Art & Science of GTM: How David’s technical, data-driven background meshes with Sara’s "left-brain" creative perspective to offer a holistic view of modern marketing.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. In this inaugural episode, David York and Sara Moseley explore the high-stakes collision of Go-To-Market strategy, AI, and the Deep South.

From the "six pages of fried foods" at the Texas State Fair, David and Sara use the South’s obsession with the deep fryer as a metaphor for modern business. Is AI the "fry daddy" of marketing? We discuss why applying AI to every single business process is a recipe for disaster and how to distinguish between deterministic workflows (reliable, repeatable outcomes) and probabilistic ones (creative, predictive possibilities).

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The "Piggly Wiggly" Metric: Why our episodes are timed for a quick grocery run.

• The Limits of the Deep Fryer: Why AI isn't a "fix-all" and when good old-fashioned automation or better creative strategy is the real answer.

• Probabilistic vs. Deterministic: A copywriter’s guide to understanding how LLMs actually "think" and where they fit in your lead routing and sales workflows.