Scaling a Two-Person Agency to 200 Million Views Using AI with Ethan Hochberg

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Aug 12, 2025

Ethan Hochberg, partner at a creative agency specializing in AI and tech brands, shares insights on scaling AI-powered X personas that garner 200 million views annually. He discusses the blend of AI and human touch to keep content engaging, as well as a rapid influencer discovery tool called Grok Deep Search that cuts research time drastically. Ethan also reveals strategies for personalized outreach that boost response rates, and how to effortlessly create short-form videos for social media using AI, making marketing both efficient and impactful.

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ANECDOTE

Fake AI Personas Drive Massive Distribution

Ethan Hochberg's three AI personas reach ~200 million views yearly and act as distribution engines.
He runs them with a comedic voice and authentic human replies to scale reach.

ADVICE

Combine AI Drafts With Human Edits

Use AI to write posts but always have a human review and craft the tone.
Ethan Hochberg says humans comb AI drafts to keep content informative and relatable.

INSIGHT

Tiny Teams Achieve Big Results With AI

Ethan scaled an agency with two founders and one employee while servicing 50–100 companies.
They rely on contractors and AI workflows to keep the team tiny and productive.

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Ethan Hochberg and his partner have built three AI-powered X personas that rack up 200 million views annually—all while running a lean creative agency for AI and tech brands. These aren’t just vanity accounts; they’re distribution engines that feed into their core business.

In this episode, Ethan walks us through:

- How they blend AI content generation with a human touch to keep posts authentic and engaging.

- The Grok Deep Search workflow they use to find and validate influencers in minutes (a task that used to take days).

- A multi-step outreach strategy that personalizes every message for higher response rates.

- How to brainstorm and produce short-form video content with V GPT for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts—without a production studio.

- This is a masterclass in using AI tools not just to save time, but to elevate the quality of your marketing while running a “tiny team.”

Timestamps

02:45 – From AI Marketing Directory to running a creative agency

04:48 – Tiny teams, big results with AI workflows

06:25 – Demo 1: Grok Deep Search for influencer discovery

08:15 – Why influencer marketing is more relevant than ever

12:29 – Grok’s validation process: avoiding fake engagement

15:25 – Applying the workflow beyond influencers (newsletters, blogs, PR)

17:51 – Using AI to think strategically, not just automate

22:09 – The output: influencer tables in minutes

24:01 – Demo 2: Personalized outreach angle generator

28:01 – Applying this to PR and content partnerships

32:00 – Demo 3: V GPT for short-form AI video creation

37:40 – How much of your feed is already AI-generated?

40:00 – Matching viral templates to your niche for higher watch time

41:50 – Using AI video tools mainly for brainstorming content ideas

42:56 – How to connect with Ethan

Tools & Technologies Mentioned

Grok – AI chatbot from X with live access to the Twitter feed; ideal for influencer discovery and current-event research.

Grok Deep Search – Paid Grok feature ($8/mo with X Premium) that crawls hundreds of live sources for validated results.

ChatGPT + GPT Store – OpenAI’s platform for custom GPTs, used here to integrate with video creation tools.

V GPT – AI video generator with realistic avatars, captions, and voiceover.

CapCut (mentioned) – Popular editing tool; V GPT is positioned as a more advanced alternative for avatar-driven content.

Subscribe at⁠ thisnewway.com⁠ to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.

Ethan's website: https://marketingguys.co/