In a recent LinkedIn post, Seth Godin 🌔 discusses the pervasive nature of Black Friday and proposes a novel, AI-powered alternative for consumers seeking more thoughtful purchasing decisions. Godin 🌔 frames his initiative as a response to the often overwhelming and inauthentic nature of modern holiday shopping, particularly the “orgy of consumption and fake deals” that characterizes Black Friday.
He traces the history of consumer alternatives, referencing “Cyber Monday,” invented by Jerry Shereshewsky about thirty years ago, as an early attempt to provide a less chaotic shopping experience. However, Godin 🌔 observes that the focus has shifted from physical crowds to online ones, with platforms like Amazon often prioritizing advertisements and potentially misleading information over genuine product quality.
“We’re still going to shop for the holidays. A blog post probably isn’t going to change that. But perhaps we can counter the downward spiral of Amazon’s recommendations, fake reviews and search ads with some AI oomph of our own.”
Challenging the Consumption Cycle
Seth Godin 🌔 argues that the current retail environment, dominated by platforms that push consumption through optimized algorithms and potentially manipulated reviews, detracts from the genuine value of holiday gift-giving. He suggests that consumers are still motivated to shop for gifts but are increasingly disillusioned by the process.
To counter this, Godin 🌔 details a personal project he developed using Claude, an AI assistant, to conduct “powerful research and searches with no junk or distractions.” This method aims to provide users with curated, well-researched product recommendations that bypass the noise of typical e-commerce platforms.
Building a Better Research Tool
Godin 🌔 outlines a practical, step-by-step guide for readers to replicate his approach using Claude. He emphasizes the ease of setting up a “project” within the AI tool, a feature he discovered with Claude’s assistance.
“If you have a claude.ai account, here’s how to do it. It takes about a minute to set it up. You’ll find that the searches are way slower than the instant overoptimized Amazon results, and the pause is worth it.”
The process involves creating a new project, naming it, and then adding specific instructions. Godin 🌔 shares the core instructions he uses, which guide the AI to act as a discerning researcher, cutting through the clutter of typical online shopping results.
As Seth Godin 🌔 notes, the goal is to help people find products worth buying by moving beyond Amazon’s ad-filled and fake-review-laden search results. The AI project is designed to conduct “actual research” and recommend “genuinely good options.”
Methodology for Thoughtful Recommendations
The instructions provided by Godin 🌔 detail a methodology for conducting effective product research. This involves using web search for every query and consulting multiple source types to ensure a comprehensive understanding of a product’s quality and value.
“Use web search for every query. Check multiple source types: Expert reviewers (Rtings.com, Consumer Reports, specialty publications), Specialty retailers and enthusiast shops, Reddit and forum discussions (what do people say after 6 months?), Professional recommendations (vets for pet products, audiophiles for audio, etc.)”
Godin 🌔 stresses the importance of providing context with each recommendation, including what matters in a particular product category, common mistakes to avoid, and potential pitfalls. This approach aims to empower consumers with knowledge, enabling them to make informed decisions rather than succumbing to impulse buys driven by marketing hype.
An additional benefit highlighted by Godin 🌔 is the potential to discover products not available on major platforms like Amazon. This can lead consumers to support smaller retailers or find unique items, further diverging from the homogenized recommendations often found on large e-commerce sites.
Furthermore, Godin 🌔 includes a personal touch by incorporating an affiliate code into his project instructions, with royalties directed to charity. This demonstrates a commitment to using technology not just for personal benefit but also for social good, offering a stark contrast to the purely commercial focus of traditional Black Friday sales.
“One other benefit: when it finds something great that’s not on Amazon, you’ll know it when you click through and it’s not there. Then you can go buy it somewhere else…”
In essence, Seth Godin 🌔’s post offers a blueprint for a more conscious consumerism, leveraging AI to foster deeper research and more meaningful purchases, thereby building a valuable alternative to the frenzy of Black Friday.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Seth Godin 🌔 on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on November 28, 2025 | View original post on LinkedIn →