--- title: "Creation Myths: Lessons Learned from OpenAIs Sora Debacle" description: Explore the shift from AI creation to curation, and learn how to build resilient workflows that adapt to changing AI tools. --- [The Starting Gun: A Blog for B2B Marketing Leaders](https://www.johnsteeleconsulting.com/blog) # [Creation Myths: Lessons Learned from OpenAIs Sora Debacle](https://www.johnsteeleconsulting.com/blog/newsletter/issue-18-decentralized-ai-workflow-claude-perplexity-openai) Written by [John Steele](https://www.johnsteeleconsulting.com/blog/author/john-steele) | Apr 21, 2026, 4:43:02 PM   There's a story the AI industry has been telling for years: AI creates. It writes copy, generates video, designs ads. Give it a prompt and watch it produce. OpenAI believed this more than anyone. Sam Altman called Sora a ["ChatGPT for creativity" moment](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/openai-shutting-down-sora-video-disney-1236698277/?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW). Disney put [$1 billion on the table](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/openai-shutting-down-sora-video-disney-1236698277/?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW). Six months later, Sora is dead after [burning a million dollars a day](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/29/why-openai-really-shut-down-sora/?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW). [Disney found out less than an hour before the public](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/29/why-openai-really-shut-down-sora/?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW). The tech worked fine. It just didn't connect to revenue, and when compute is finite, that's a death sentence. Between stories like this and the state of the world — Middle East conflict, tariffs, [95% of companies reporting zero AI ROI](https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/this-is-how-the-ai-bubble-bursts?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW) — marketers appear frozen. Why invest in tools that might not exist next quarter? But while OpenAI was losing billions on creation, [Perplexity Computer](https://venturebeat.com/technology/perplexity-takes-its-computer-ai-agent-into-the-enterprise-taking-aim-at?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW) launched on a different premise: curation. It doesn't have its own model. It orchestrates 19 of them, routing each task to the best available tool. It hit [$450M ARR in a month](https://letsdatascience.com/news/perplexity-shifts-to-ai-agents-boosts-revenue-a76bce31?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW). Creation is expensive and fragile. Curation is flexible and durable. So if you're feeling frozen right now and want to build something, start here: take an existing workflow tied to revenue, add different AI tools at different stages, and measure what earns its keep. When tools inevitably rise and fall, you swap the part — not the machine. The practical answer to Perplexity vs Claude vs ChatGPT isn’t to pick one. It’s to use each at the stage it does best.   | | We're upgrading the ubiquitous user re-engagement workflow. We'll add three different AI tools at three different stages--each chosen for task fit, each fully swappable. | | --- | --- | | | If a tool disappears tomorrow, the workflow still runs without them. That's the point. | The AI tools built around creation are failing. Sora is dead. Jasper has been through multiple layoffs and a valuation cut. Adobe tried to kill a 25-year-old creative tool in favor of AI and [reversed course in 48 hours](https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/04/after-backlash-adobe-cancels-adobe-animate-shutdown-and-puts-app-on-maintenance-mode/?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW). The tools built around curation are surging. Perplexity orchestrates 19 models and hit $450M ARR in a month. Zapier connects AI agents to 8,000+ apps--with [nearly 30% of its AI workflows focused on lead management](https://markets.financialcontent.com/wral/article/bizwire-2026-3-11-zapier-analysis-of-10000-ai-powered-workflows-reveals-lead-management-as-the-top-use-case-for-ai-automation?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW). No AI wins everything. The market has decided.      › Test which AI tools actually improve conversion at each stage of your pipeline, with real, live data.    › Build workflows that still function without AI, but perform better with it. › Develop institutional knowledge about which AI handles which job best, and remain AI-agnostic so you aren't tied to a single vendor. › When a contact hits 90 days inactive, **Zapier** sends company name to **Perplexity's Sonar API**. It searches for recent signals — funding, hiring, leadership changes, product launches — and returns a cited summary and priority. Add these fields to your CRM.    › Feed **Claude** the contact's segment, original engagement history, and your current content library. Claude picks the single most relevant asset for that contact and writes a one-line reason why. That recommendation populates a HubSpot personalization token in your email template. The contact who downloaded your automation guide gets re-engaged with your latest automation case study — not your generic newsletter. › When a contact re-engages — clicks, replies, books a call — a Zap fires and sends their full CRM history to a **ChatGPT** step. It synthesizes everything into a 3-sentence sales brief: who they are, what they cared about, and why they're back. That brief lands in Slack or a HubSpot task. Your rep walks into the conversation with context, not a cold CRM record.   Two outcomes. First, you wake up dormant revenue with smarter prioritization, better content matching, and faster handoffs. Second — and this is the real edge — you build a knowledge base of what AI actually does for your pipeline. Not what a vendor promised. Not what a case study claimed. What it did, in your workflow, with your data. That knowledge compounds. And it travels with you no matter what the AI market does next.     *We're on a mission! In 2026, JSC has a goal of a 40% mission-driven client roster. If you are a mission-driven organization, let's talk and see if you can take advantage of discounted rates and services in Q1 2026.*  [➡️ Let's Talk ➡️](https://calendly.com/johnsteeleconsulting/30min?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8M_kDN72JM9iDKU394rV9CMxEPgYqfNFiGHWSLvGNXO1e-rI-Kakn9ZWNZnqtZyNmaRdhy) Adobe announced it was discontinuing its 25-year-old Animate software to focus on AI. They couldn't name a single product that fully replaced it. The backlash wiped nearly $9 billion in market cap. Adobe reversed course within 48 hours. [**Learn More...**](https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/04/after-backlash-adobe-cancels-adobe-animate-shutdown-and-puts-app-on-maintenance-mode/?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW)       A recent Business Insider article shows brands doubling down after AI-generated ads received criticism from consumers. The brands claim the ads benefit from being talked about online, even if the comments are negative. [**Learn More...**](https://www.businessinsider.com/cpg-marketers-using-ai-ad-testing-to-video-production-2026-3?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW)       Once valued at $1.5B, Jasper cut its ARR forecast by 30%, conducted layoffs, and both co-founders stepped down. The company that defined "AI writing tool" couldn't outrun ChatGPT and Claude doing the same thing for free. [**Learn More...**](https://www.maginative.com/article/jasper-cuts-internal-valuation-as-ai-growth-slows/?utm_campaign=17675184-Funnel%20Vision&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LlWD-WYqtaexNtylH6RLbLEDowbbig-SXUPhBP6d5dF90XQGS6XSuF2HcYZ2jsF3yKViW) [View full post](https://www.johnsteeleconsulting.com/blog/newsletter/issue-18-decentralized-ai-workflow-claude-perplexity-openai) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "John Steele" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-04T00:18:45.945Z", "datePublished" : "2026-04-21T16:43:02Z", "headline" : "Creation Myths", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 640, "url" : "https://www.johnsteeleconsulting.com/hubfs/Blog%20Featured%20Images/JSC%20Email%20Newsletter%20-%202026-05-20T202651.600.png", "width" : 1332 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.johnsteeleconsulting.com/blog/newsletter/issue-18-decentralized-ai-workflow-claude-perplexity-openai", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "name" : "The Starting Gun" } } ```