Turn the TVs in Your Shop Into a Marketing Channel by Describing It to an AI Agent

What the video showed

Roberto Nickson posted a TikTok on October 21, 2026. In it, he types a request into an AI assistant: turn on all the TVs, put a documentary on Netflix upstairs, put a YouTube video on the gym TV, and load "the dashboard we designed" on the desk TV. The screens in his studio respond. He says it took "like 45 minutes to build." He happened to use Claude.

He then holds up what he calls an ESP32 gadget and says he turned it into a voice remote for every TV in the studio. In his caption he adds that the TVs are three Sony Bravia sets, that the program runs on his Mac and talks to the TVs over Wi-Fi "using controls Sony already builds in," and that the gadget is from M5Stack. I'm only describing what the video and caption show, not how he built it.

The idea is already getting attention. DHH, the creator of Ruby on Rails and Omarchy, reacted to it on X:

The part that matters for you isn't the studio. It's the method: he described the result in everyday language, and the assistant wrote the code.

Why this is possible: the controls are already in the TV

Sony publishes developer documentation for its BRAVIA Professional Displays describing several ways to control them over a local network, including a REST API.

It has to be switched on. Sony's REST API setup guide walks through it: find the display's IP address, turn on IP control authentication with a pre-shared key (a secret code you choose), enable "Control remotely," and make sure the controlling computer is on the same network as the display. To power a sleeping screen back on over the network, Sony describes enabling Wake-on-LAN. Menu names vary by model and region.

Two honest caveats. Sony's documentation is written for its professional displays, and some features are limited to certain models or firmware. If you have a consumer TV, check your model's settings and Sony's support pages before you assume it works the same way. Other brands have their own controls, so start with the manufacturer's documentation.

What a local business could do with it

In-store screens. A restaurant could show the lunch menu until 3:00 and switch to happy hour specials automatically. A gym could rotate class schedules and promos. A salon could feature new services and a few of your best review highlights (with only the reviewer's first name or none at all). A clinic waiting room could show check-in tips.

One message on every screen at once. "Kitchen closes at 9 tonight." "We're closing early for the storm." One request, every screen.

A live dashboard behind the counter or in the office. This is the part I'd build first. Google's help page on Business Profile performance lists the numbers available to you, including views, searches, direction requests, calls (clicks on the call button, not completed calls), website clicks and bookings. Bookings only show up when they're managed through a supported booking provider, and Google says search data updates monthly. Google also offers a Business Profile Performance API that returns daily metrics such as call clicks and direction requests, which is what a dashboard would read from. Add new reviews and your own booking numbers, and your team sees the week at a glance.

Which AI agent to use

What you need is an AI agent that can write code, run it on a computer, and connect to your accounts. Several platforms do. Grok Bot is one example, per its official documentation: its bots work on a persistent cloud computer with a browser, files and a terminal, can connect to supported apps and run commands on your own computer when you enable that and approve it, and can run routines on a schedule, like "every weekday at 11:00, switch the screens to the lunch menu."

That last detail matters. Your TVs live on your shop's network, so the program that talks to them needs to run on a computer in the shop. A cloud tool can write the code and build the dashboard, but something on site has to send the commands.

The right fit is the agent you'll actually use, that works with your existing accounts, and that asks before doing anything unexpected. If you're still deciding, I wrote about slowing down before making AI decisions.

How to describe what you want

You don't need technical words. Say what the screens should do, when, and what they should never do. For example:

I have three Sony TVs on my shop's network: front counter, waiting area and back office. Using only Sony's documented network controls, write a small program on this computer that turns them on at 8:00 AM and off at 7:00 PM, shows our menu slides on the front TV, rotates our latest five-star review highlights in the waiting area, and shows a dashboard of this week's Google Business Profile calls, direction requests and new reviews in the office. Add a way for me to push one short message to all three screens. Don't change any other TV settings, and walk me through anything I need to enable on the TVs first.

Then test it on one screen before you roll it out to all of them.

Do it safely

Use built-in, documented controls only. Sony's own docs cover the setup above. Skip jailbreaking, rooting or unofficial firmware.

Protect your warranty. Staying with documented features avoids warranty questions.

Put the screens on their own network. The FTC's guide to securing your Wi-Fi network recommends a separate guest network, and the FBI's IC3 advises isolating connected devices on their own network. The computer running the program needs to be on that same network, so keep your checkout and office machines off it.

Change default PINs and codes. The FTC's advice on securing internet-connected devices is to change default logins, keep firmware updated and turn off unused remote features. On a Sony display, that means choosing your own pre-shared key, not a sample one from the docs.

Keep customer details off the screens. Show review highlights, not full names or private messages.

If you'd like the reviews side handled properly first, here's how I approach a Google review reply system. And if calls are the bottleneck, see my post on an AI receptionist for small businesses.

Want help setting it up?

It helps to have someone check the network setup and the dashboard numbers. If you'd like a hand, get in touch and I'll help you work out what's worth building.