Your ATTN Please | Wednesday, 27 August

August 27, 2025

Together with

Do you say “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT? What about Siri? Or Alexa?

You might not think it matters, but how you speak to the bots says more about you than you might imagine. Using your nice words with AI isn’t just important in case they take over the world one day (although, imo it’s not a bad idea). It matters because we become what we practice. And getting too comfortable ordering chatbots around could eventually spill into how we treat people IRL.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

Andrew Tate sues Meta, The White House joins TikTok & Pinterest opens online thrift store

Andrew Tate sues Meta and TikTok for "deplatforming" him in 2022.

So has his brother, Tristan Tate. Both have been charged by Roman authorities with human trafficking. Andrew Tate is also charged with r*pe. In Britain, both have been charged with r*pe, among other crimes. So yeah, maybe not having a huge platform to spew bs on is actually for the greater good? Idk just a thought.

Anyway, obviously the controversial pair think differently, filing not one but two lawsuits last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. They've accused TikTok and Meta of defaming and unlawfully “deplatforming” them by removing their social media accounts.

The brothers allege that the deplatforming violated contractual agreements and stripped them of their main sources of revenue, since their brand and business models relied heavily on social media engagement. Womp womp my dudes. Maybe try a rhetoric that’s not obnoxiously misogynistic next time 😊

The White House launches official TikTok account.

What da. So are they banning it or? We’re good with it now? "America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?" read a caption on the account's first post on the popular video sharing app, a 27-second clip. And it’s some like aspirational, manosphere montage of Donald Trump saying: I am your voice. Pls.

Trump has continued to allow the platform to operate in the US while extending the deadline (again) for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer. The current extension is due to expire in mid-September.

Pinterest opens up a Thrift Shop for Gen Z.

A pinboard X virtual thrift shop? Are you fkn KIDDING ME. I’m not even Gen Z and I’m excited. It’s not really a thrift store per se, since it doesn’t include a centralised point of sale. It's more an aggregation of the “top vintage and thrift retailers around the globe,” as per an introductory post on the hub.

Apparently, the launch underscores a demographic shift: Gen Z replacing Millennials as Pinterest’s primary audience. But nonetheless, I’m sure late Millennials like myself will make good use of the feature. RIP to my bank account x 

DEEP DIVE

"Thank you, Chat": Is AI-friendly etiquette really worth it?

We used to worry about table manners - now, we worry about prompt manners.

Do you say “please” to Siri? Do you thank ChatGPT when it gets your spreadsheet formula right? Do you apologise to Alexa when after hurling insults at her for mishearing you 5,000 times? If you don’t, will you be spared when these tools become sentient and attempt to wipe out humanity? Probably not.

Is that why I bring it up? Not quite. It sounds ridiculous, but the way we talk to AI assistants is becoming one of those small cultural signals: a new kind of etiquette that says a lot about how we see ourselves, each other, and technology.

Politeness as performance

On one hand, saying “please” to a bot doesn’t matter. It doesn’t care. There’s no human on the other side rolling their eyes and thinking you’re a b*tch when you skip the niceties. But manners have never really been about the fork or the napkin. They’ve always been about performance; about the kind of person you are signalling yourself to be.

When you’re polite to a bot, you’re not teaching the machine anything. You’re teaching yourself. You’re signalling values. And if you’re a brand? You’re signalling values to your audience, too.

The corporate prompt voice

Think about the difference between:

  • “Generate a campaign brief for Q3.”

  • “Hey, could you put together a campaign brief for Q3? Thanks!”

Same outcome, but completely different vibe. The first is command-and-control. The second is collaborative, even warm. And if your company’s brand values revolve around being approachable, respectful, or human-first, that tone matters. The way your employees talk to machines can subtly reinforce… or undermine your culture.

Please, thank you, and brand values

There are, of course, extremes. Nobody wants to read a 400-word “dearest AI, most humbly, I beseech thee” preamble – be so for real. But some degree of civility is increasingly becoming a soft skill. Politeness also shapes expectations: if you only ever bark orders at bots, what does that say about how you see junior staff, clients, or your audience? The slippage is real.

Maybe “please” isn’t about the AI at all. Maybe it’s about remembering you’re practicing habits of respect, even in digital spaces where it feels optional.

So what’s the rulebook?

Here’s a working draft of the AI etiquette starter pack:

  1. Mirror your brand voice. If your brand is cheeky, be cheeky. If your brand is empathetic, use empathetic phrasing.

  2. Use enough politeness to practice the habit. Not Victorian letter-writing, just the basics.

  3. Remember the humans watching. Colleagues, clients, or even kids notice how you talk to tech. That reflection matters more than the AI itself.

  4. Don’t overthink it. At the end of the day, it’s a bot. Keep your energy for the real people.

AI etiquette is more than a quirky debate for dinner parties.

It’s becoming another layer of cultural literacy. Saying “please” might not change the algorithm, or the outcome. But it changes the vibe, and vibes are currency.

After all, every “thank you” to Alexa isn’t for Alexa. It’s for the humans who see you do it, and the brand you’re quietly building in the process.

TREND PLUG

You can't keep a gangster down

This one's for the gangsters who move in silence, like G's in silence (or whatever Lil Wayne said that one time).

TikTokers have taken the sound and used it for instances that initially stung but then they flipped them into a confident comeback. Like when mom says no to going out but you got everything you need at home, or when that breakup happens and life finally gets better in every single way.

How you can jump on this trend:

To the sound, lipsync the line "You can't keep a gangsta down b*tch" to scenarios where something went left, but you still managed to get a win.

A few ideas to get you started:

  • Client ghosted me for 3 weeks… then came back asking for a rush job (double rate)

  • My boss cut my budget in half… but I still made the campaign go viral

  • Lost my wallet… but found $20 in my other jeans

- abdel khalil, brand & marketing executive

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: no no, he’s got a point
❤How wholesome: emotional reunions
😊Soooo satisfying: balloon slicing
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Cheesy beef taco rice

ASK THE EDITOR

What’s the best way to handle picky clients as their social media manager? -Ciarra

Hey Ciarra,

It's tough working with clients that have a hard time letting go and trusting you to do your thing! Honestly, this is one of those tensions that will never truly go away. But my advice is to focus on building a relationship first. Entrusting their brand to a SMM is obviously scary for them. And before they are willing to trust you as the expert that you are, they need to feel they can trust you.

So really listen to what's important to them and show that you “get” them. As you build that trust, begin to make more suggestions about how you can bring your expertise to their project. If they truly feel you care about their success, they will (hopefully) be more willing to accept that you know what you're doing!

Some clients will never get there. Unfortunately, they usually don't get the results they're looking for because they aren't willing to let the experts work their magic. But do everything in your power to win them over by listening, understanding them, and showing that you care.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

PSST…PASS IT ON

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