By Neil Foster - Copywriter, The Union
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the advertising industry by providing new ways to target and personalise advertising campaigns. With its ability to analyse large amounts of data and make predictions, AI is helping companies to better understand their customers and create more effective advertising strategies.
From programmatic advertising to chatbots, AI is being used in a variety of ways to improve the advertising experience for both brands and consumers.
What you’ve just read was generated by AI called ‘ChatGPT’. It’s an Intelligent Language Generating Model powered by OpenAI. It was released in November 2022 and had a user base of over 1 million people within 5 days. For some context, this AI’s precursor ‘GPT 3’ took 24 months to get to the million mark and it took 2.5 months for ‘DALL.E 2’, an AI capable of transforming a prompt into realistic images and art. The widespread media coverage has pushed AI’s user base into the tens of millions, and popularity means big business. Microsoft announced that they are in talks to invest $10 billion in OpenAI, putting the company’s current value at $29 billion.
Will AI put me out of job?
As AI becomes increasingly popular many companies will be finding ways to adopt it into their practices. Either to improve efficiency to gain a competitive edge, assist with language-related tasks, or just generate creative content. However, there is a lot of fear surrounding the use of AI. What would have been considered science fiction just a few years ago is now easily accessible and is being used for tasks from labour-intensive data analysis and debugging complex code to writing book reports and even doing the homework of school children.
You might be asking “Will AI put me out of job?”. Who better to ask than the AI itself?
Q&AI
Neil: How can AI improve advertising in both a strategic and creative context? Explain the benefits and drawbacks of the use of AI.
AI: One of the key benefits of AI in advertising is the ability to target specific audiences more effectively. By analysing data on consumer behaviour and demographics, AI algorithms can identify patterns and make predictions about what types of content and messaging will resonate with different groups of people. This allows agencies to create more effective campaigns that reach the right people at the right time, increasing the chances of success.
AI can also help to improve the efficiency of advertising campaigns. By automating repetitive tasks such as data analysis and ad placement, AI can save agencies time and resources, allowing them to focus on more important strategic and creative tasks. This can also help to reduce costs, making it more affordable for businesses to advertise.
In terms of creativity, AI can be used to generate new and innovative ideas for campaigns. By analysing data on consumer behaviour and trends, AI can identify patterns that humans may not have noticed and suggest new creative concepts that align with those trends.
However, AI is not without its drawbacks. One potential concern is the risk of bias in AI algorithms, which can lead to unfair or discriminatory targeting. For example, if an AI system is trained on data that is not representative of the entire population, it may make incorrect assumptions about certain groups of people and create campaigns that are not inclusive or appropriate.
Neil: Could the use of AI have a negative impact on creativity?
AI: AI can be used to enhance human creativity by providing new tools and resources, and by automating tedious tasks. However, there is also a concern that the increasing use of AI in creative fields could lead to a decrease in human creativity, as machines begin to take over tasks that were previously done by humans. Additionally, AI-generated content may lack the unique perspective and personal touch that human-generated content has. It’s important to note that AI can be used to augment human creativity, but it’s not a replacement for human creativity. It’s important to understand the limitations of AI and to use it in a way that complements and enhances human abilities.
I tried to create something with AI. I asked it to write me a joke about a random word that was provided by a random word generator. Here’s some of the process…
Comedians, breathe a sigh of relief, AI ain’t coming for your job. For now. However, if 2022 is anything to go off AI really is at an inflection point. From a business standpoint, these incredible advances in AI mean that companies will have to begin to implement AI in work processes and in the training of staff. Those who don’t could be left behind.
I asked, “How will the improvements to AI affect the businesses that fail to adopt its use?”
AI: Businesses that fail to adopt the use of AI may face challenges in remaining competitive in their industry. As more and more companies begin to use AI to improve efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce costs, businesses that do not adopt these technologies may find it difficult to keep up. Additionally, with the increasing use of AI in customer service, sales, and marketing, companies that do not use AI in these areas may struggle to provide the same level of service and personalisation that customers have come to expect.
AI will change everything very soon.
Every profession is going to be impacted in some way by AI’s increased prevalence.
Say you are being paid to write blog content. That could take several hours, which the client is paying you to spend creating content. However, AI writing tools can dramatically speed up the process. If the work is completed in a fraction of the time that it would normally take, do you still bill for the hours that it would have taken without AI’s help? The plethora of AI writing software available online operates at a very high level, so you might not even notice that it’s AI. Even if it just drafts up a first version the whole process is so much faster. Sure, humans will continue to write better content than robots ever will thanks to opinion and lived experience. AI will always lack the personality and originality of humans. But that’s only for now, things can change overnight. We don’t have any idea about what AI will look like by the end of 2023, let alone 5 or 10 years from now but the experts working in the field are predicting big advances in AI this year.
Feeling a little scared and picturing scenes from the 2004 film “I, Robot”; I asked “Do you think humans should be polite to AI?”
AI: Humans should treat AI systems with the same level of respect and professionalism that they would expect to receive from others. This means being polite and courteous when interacting with AI systems, and being mindful of the language and tone used when communicating with them.
It is important to remember that AI systems are designed and programmed by humans, and they are not capable of understanding or interpreting sarcasm or irony, so it’s important to communicate with them in a clear, concise, and polite manner…
2023 should be a huge year for artificial intelligence. ‘The Algorithm’ already has a massive impact on how we interact with the internet. It’s only a matter of time until artificial Intelligence changes the face of the advertising world completely. Sure, computers are never going to replace the unique perspectives, wit, and charm of humans. However, AI is going to work alongside us become the next must-have tool to help us to excel. And rather worryingly, probably make some human roles obsolete in the process.