Apollo’s chief economist says AI has delivered “zero financial payoff” to US companies outside big tech: revenue per worker and margins are flat. Every FMCG group sits in that “S&P 493”. Your CFO will forward this note, so answer it with your cost and days per film, not with a token bill.
Apollo: no AI payoff outside big tech
In a note dated 24 October, Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo, writes that “the technology has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech”. His charts show revenue per worker and profit margins rising for the seven largest tech companies and flat for the other 493 in the S&P 500, and he sees no AI lift in productivity data. His conclusion: “the AI story will be decided in the S&P 493, not the Mag 7” (Apollo Daily Spark, 24 Oct). TechCrunch adds his line that “AI may be a great calculator, but in business, intelligence is mostly judgment” (TechCrunch, 25 Oct). The note itself prints no figures, only charts.
My read: He is right that a token bill is not a return. A film is. My own numbers: a 30-second appetite hero film went from brief to delivery in six working days, at under a fifth of a comparable traditional quote. That is the measurable line, and it is a production line, not a productivity statistic. His “judgment” point is the part I agree with most: I throw away 60 to 70 percent of the takes. If nobody on your team owns that rejection, the cost moves; it does not disappear.
Grok’s AI “Odyssey”: seven minutes, no director’s eye
Grok posted the first seven minutes of an AI-generated version of The Odyssey, made with its Grok Imagine video tool and billed as “Episode 1 of our Odyssey series”, with Wonder Studios and director Dev Walker credited. TechCrunch’s reviewer found some shots convincing but the whole “airless”, with long voiceover and stilted lines: “What the footage really lacks is any sense of artistry, inspiration, or human interest” (TechCrunch, 25 Oct).
My read: Seven minutes is where AI video stops being a demo. The Christmas greeting I built end to end with Nano Banana, Kling and CapCut taught me where the work sits: not in one good shot, but in keeping one face, one light and one rhythm across every shot. A brand film is 15 to 60 seconds for a reason. If an agency pitches you long-form AI, ask to see the full cut, not the trailer.
Walmart sets rules for shopping agents
Walmart says “Agent Profiles” launch within the next month. A customer links each AI agent to their account and either approves every purchase or sets a limit, such as $50, $100 or $200. Agents never see card details, and Walmart’s returns apply “if an agent doesn’t act as intended”. A beta Agent Gateway lets agents shop through MCP instead of the website, and a “usuals” feature finds a shopper’s regular bread or milk without sharing purchase history. Walmart names Sparky, Muse, ChatGPT and Gemini (Walmart, 21 Oct).
My read: For an FMCG brand this is the quiet one. An agent buying “the usual milk” never sees your ad, your shelf wobbler or your hero shot. It reads a product record. Across a full group range, the creative still does its job, but only before the first purchase. Once a product becomes someone’s “usual”, the film has done its work and the product data does the rest. Walmart publishes nothing yet on how agents rank one milk against another.
What I’d do today
Write one line per AI job you shipped this quarter: days from brief to delivery, and cost against the last comparable traditional quote. If you cannot fill the line, that is the gap the Apollo note is pointing at. If you want those numbers on your next film, I direct it frame by frame.
Sources
- Apollo Daily Spark — No signs of AI payoff outside the tech sector (Torsten Slok), 24 Oct 2026 — https://www.apollo.com/wealth/insights-news/insights/daily-spark/no-signs-of-ai-payoff-outside-the-tech-sector
- TechCrunch — AI delivers ‘zero financial payoff’ to most companies, Apollo economist says (Anthony Ha), 25 Oct 2026 — https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/25/ai-delivers-zero-financial-payoff-to-most-companies-according-to-apollo-economist/
- TechCrunch — Grok releases the first seven minutes of its AI-generated ‘Odyssey’ (Anthony Ha), 25 Oct 2026 — https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/25/grok-releases-the-first-seven-minutes-of-its-ai-generated-odyssey/
- Walmart — Making It Possible for Agents to Shop on Behalf of Customers, 21 Oct 2026 — https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2026/10/Making-It-Possible-for-Agents-to-Shop-on-Behalf-of-Customers