Bad AI: Your CV Sucks

😱 Bad AI: Your CV Sucks🧠

We're hiring, and to avoid people answering questions using AI we asked the candidates 'What's one thing AI couldn't know about you?'

Excellent idea, and everyone followed the rules and no AI was used, right? What do you think?

Reality Check: Some candidates went all in using AI to explain why they're not a robot - and in one memorable instance, answered as an AI - on the specific questions we asked them not to.

Were the Silicon-flavoured answers any good? If you like your answers soulless, tepid and lacking any form of humanity - a bit like if a blank-eyed death eater swallowed a dictionary and began spouting random therapy-lite platitudes from the abyss - you're golden.

Key Takeaway

Use your brain, it's actually quite good. AI-generated responses lack the authentic human touch that employers are looking for. Genuine personal insights and experiences cannot be replicated by AI.

💭 Web Scraping: New Blocker To Help

Cloudflare, which handles traffic for a claimed 20% of the internet, just gave millions of websites the power to block AI bots from scraping their content - and introduced a system to make AI companies pay for access.

Key Points:

New default protections: AI crawlers (like those used to train LLMs) are now blocked by default on many Cloudflare-hosted sites. That includes major publishers like Sky News, GQ, Buzzfeed and The New Yorker.
Pay-per-crawl model: They're building infrastructure so publishers can charge AI firms to access their content - a challenge to the scrape-now-pay-never era.
Systemic no-pay: They report AI bots now generate over 50 billion requests per day. With many ignoring protocols designed to stop them.
Legal gaps remain: While this could be a useful tool it's not really enough. Wider protection (especially for individual creators) will require stronger regulation and more legal clarity.

What it means for businesses:

AI models are devouring the open web - and the backlash has begun. For media, content-rich brands, or rights holders, this shift from passive scraping to paid access is the beginning of a new economic layer.

If you're publishing content, it's being scraped, that's the reality.

🔥 AI Roundtables: For Senior Marketers

Following the success of our recent Senior Marketers Roundtables, we're now opening up interest for upcoming sessions.

These are closed-room conversations with top CMOs and Heads of Marketing across sectors including finance, ecommerce, research, technology and more - focused on how AI is reshaping marketing strategy, operations, and capability building.

What we'll be discussing:

✅ The top AI challenges marketers are facing right now
✅ Areas of productivity and efficiency
✅ Research, lead generation, content and data
✅ Fear, loathing and excitement (who knew AI could be so interesting)

If you're leading transformation and want to connect with peers solving the same challenges - register your interest now to join an upcoming session.

✨ AI Tools: Cursor Updates To Web And Mobile

Popular coding assistant Cursor has expanded beyond its IDE (Integrated Development Environment) - teams can now code and use agents via browser and mobile.

Key Points:

Available anywhere: Use Cursor Agents across desktop, tablet, or mobile. Supports installation as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for iOS and Android.
Runs tasks in the background: Launch bug fixes, build features, and get codebase answers without staying online.
Team collaboration built-in: Trigger pull requests, and manage code directly from the web interface.
Multi-agent workflows: Run several agents in parallel, compare outcomes, and refine results.

What it means for dev teams:

AI agents are moving beyond the IDE - unlocking real flexibility in how and where developers work. The shift is a step toward distributed development powered by autonomous systems.

Wider Context:

Agent-based coding is maturing fast. Tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Vercel and Replit are paving the way for persistent, context-rich assistants that operate across environments - not just within local dev tools.

💡 Trends & Insights

What's New:

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main problem with AI-generated CVs?

AI-generated CVs lack authenticity, humanity, and personal insight. They often produce soulless, tepid answers that fail to showcase genuine human qualities and experiences that employers are looking for. As we discovered in our hiring process, candidates who relied on AI created responses that were generic and lacked the personal touch that makes applicants stand out.

How is Cloudflare blocking AI web scraping?

Cloudflare now blocks AI crawlers by default on many hosted sites and is building infrastructure for publishers to charge AI firms for content access. This affects major publishers like Sky News, GQ, Buzzfeed and The New Yorker. They're creating a pay-per-crawl model to challenge the current "scrape-now-pay-never" approach that many AI companies have been using.

What new features does Cursor offer for developers?

Cursor has expanded beyond IDE to offer web and mobile access, background task execution, team collaboration features, and multi-agent workflows. It's available as a Progressive Web App for iOS and Android, allowing developers to code from anywhere and run multiple AI agents in parallel to compare outcomes and refine results.

What topics are covered in AI marketing roundtables?

The roundtables cover top AI challenges for marketers, productivity and efficiency areas, research and lead generation, content and data strategies, plus emotional aspects like fear, excitement, and adaptation to AI technologies. These closed-room conversations include CMOs and Heads of Marketing from finance, ecommerce, research, and technology sectors.

Why should businesses care about AI web scraping blockers?

AI models are consuming web content at massive scale (over 50 billion requests daily). The shift from free scraping to paid access represents a new economic layer that will affect how content creators and publishers monetize their work. If you're publishing content, it's being scraped - this is the new reality businesses need to prepare for.

What makes Cursor different from other coding tools?

Cursor now offers cross-platform access (web, mobile, desktop), background task execution, built-in team collaboration, and multi-agent workflows that can run in parallel - moving beyond traditional IDE limitations. This represents a shift toward distributed development powered by autonomous AI systems.