Mumbai: As we all know, being right-brained is about creativity, and being left-brained is about logic. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is about processes made easier, which means it lacks spontaneity and creativity. So would Sam Altman’s theory of ChatGPT killing jobs turn out to be true? Or does his statement of AI allowing better job opportunities to come up, prove to be a relief? AI in advertising is a subject which has been discussed far and wide, and considering it is about technology which would need to be embraced sooner or later, one wonders how long it would take for it to garner enough takers.
Indiantelevision.com spoke to advertising industry experts to discuss the evolution of AI in advertising, whether it serves as a threat or an aid to brand messaging and more.
Talking about the use of AI in advertising, Wunderman Thompson South Asia chief digital officer Harsh Shah mentions that AI as a concept has been around. “We have seen much practical applications based on AI in ad tech and martech. However, the fact that access is now democratised through a language model helps with broader adoption and application.”
“AI’s application in daily tasks will continue to evolve for the next 15 months or so for a widely acceptable sop (statement of purpose) to shape up,” he adds.
Publicis Media senior vice-president - head of programmatic Anil Pandit is of the view that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionised the advertising industry, and its evolution has been remarkable in recent years. AI has helped marketers to optimize ad campaigns and reach the right target audience effectively.
Debating further about how AI has evolved and what newer developments are taking place in the field of AI, Pandit firstly talks about personalization. “AI has allowed for the creation of highly personalised ad campaigns, which are tailored to the specific interests and behaviors of individual consumers. With AI-powered tools, marketers can analyse consumer data and generate insights that enable them to create personalized content that resonates with their target audience.”
Secondly he points out about programmatic advertising. “Programmatic advertising is another area where AI has made a significant impact. With programmatic advertising, AI can automate the ad buying process, making it more efficient and cost-effective. AI algorithms can analyze user data and identify the best ad placements, optimise ad performance, and adjust bids in real-time to maximize ROI.”
Thirdly, Pandit states that chatbots are another area where AI has been used in advertising. “Chatbots are virtual assistants that can interact with consumers and provide them with personalized recommendations and support. Chatbots use natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to understand user queries and provide relevant responses.”
Fourthly he explains about voice search being another area where AI is making significant strides. “With the increasing popularity of smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, voice search is becoming an increasingly important channel for advertising. AI algorithms can analyze voice queries and provide relevant responses, enabling marketers to target users with personalised content.”
Kreativ Street executive creative director Sujit Das, too, gives a thumbs up to AI. “Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving every day, the advertising industry is also evolving along with it. It is basically computer science programmed to simulate human intelligence.
Advertising folks have already plunged in to generate content, such as images, videos, articles, blog posts, or social media posts. This can be a valuable time-saving tool for businesses and professionals who create content on serious deadlines. Consumer insight-driven content or a source for effective marketing solutions will be far more richer as unlike humans AI has access to loads of data. AI comes up with interesting ideas which humans generally won’t be able to.”
AI – a threat or aid to brand messaging?
With the fruition of AI being used across industries, the advertising industry couldn’t possibly have been left behind. But the question tickles many even now – is AI a threat or does it add value to brand messaging?
Shah feels it’s actually neither. “The use of AI is just a prequel to what comes next. It, at max, is just a research tool. Something that can help with some groundwork for you to develop a strategy.”
Zenith national head – integrated media buying Ramsai Panchapakesan while deliberating on the advantages of AI, says that human abilities, however, are more expensive. “AI is largely effective in the area of implementations - that too, AI is perfectly suited to put at work in lower-level routine tasks that are repetitive and take place within a closed management system. Contrary to AI abilities that are only responsive to the data available, humans have the ability to imagine, anticipate, feel, and judge changing situations, which allows them to shift from short-term to long-term concerns. These abilities are unique to humans and do not require a steady flow of externally provided data to work as is the case with artificial intelligence. Not only creativity, in few other professions where AI will never be able to take over include engineering, law, counselling.”
Das of Kreativ Street expresses, “AI is a boon to us. Since it has a wide range of info data, we can use it to our advantage. I see AI as a powerful tool to create anything. When computers were first introduced in advertising, many people thought it would take away jobs. It did so but only a small percentage. The typesetters lost their business for example. But on the other hand, it revolutionised the output. Same is happening with the advent of AI. AI won’t replace humans. Humans who use AI will take the place of non-users. AI is the new-age tool. And the results have already mesmerized all.”
As an art person, he further elucidates his experience with AI, “I and AI. We are friends for a while now. When the search for a certain kind of stock image failed, I got in touch with Dall-e and in minutes I got what was needed; a heart shaped dhokla for our Philips Valentine's Day campaign. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did the image have the texture of the dhokla, it also had the correct garnishing on top. I understand the world is going through bouts of insecurity or an unsettling future caused by the advent of artificial intelligence, but I can say those who are or will use AI as a tool, there's nothing to worry about.”
AI cannot replace creativity – significance of the human touch
As we all know, AI is machine-programmed to receive and respond to a certain set of instructions and is set to deliver a certain output. It doesn’t have the ability to feel or even think out of the box if ever required, that’s where human creativity comes in – giving meaning, heart and soul to an otherwise non-living thing.
Shah agrees. “Creativity is the moat that comes with an understanding of human behaviour. I want to quote a friend, ‘AI Internet ghuma hai, sadke toh hum ghume hai’. It only makes creativity a lot more critical now that the language of communication is standardised.”
Panchapakesan of Zenith brings forth that last year there was a report estimating that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in labour division between humans and machines. “End of the day it is humans who are creating these AI and programming their algorithms and hence it is not a perfect replacement to humans, hence the human thinking ability is immeasurable and is future ready. Humans can feel emotions for each other which influences our decisions and actions and take instant decisions.
Emotional intelligence is one distinguishing factor that makes humans forever relevant in the world of creativity. It’s a two-way exchange of communication and not pre-programmed like AI. Moreover, machines don’t have the thinking ability to generate new ideas as per situations. AI imitates how humans act, feel, speak, and decide.”
“When brainstorming creative concepts and ways of doing work, AI lacks this human ability because, as already established, AI can only work with the data it receives. Hence, it cannot think up new ways, styles, or patterns of doing work and is restricted to the given templates. Related to creative thinking is the ability to think outside the box. Machines are designed to ‘think within the box’. That means AI tools can only function within the dictates of their given data. On the other hand, humans can think outside the box, sourcing information from various means and generating solutions to complex problems with little or no available data. Since AI does not possess the ability to think out of the box and generate creative ideas for innovation, AI cannot take over humans in creativity. Importantly soft skills are alien to machines with artificial intelligence,” he goes on.
Trends and innovations in AI which are going to disrupt the market
Shah says, “Content creation will not be the same anymore. The pure operational part of it just became a lot more efficient. This will give every brand a level playing field. You can be a boutique shop based in Jaipur and yet get world-class content produced if you have a great idea.”
Das believes that we humans use only a small percentage of our brains. We are programmed that way. “So, AI with its super wide data gives us a wider perspective in every line of thought process. Also, it helps us filter out mediocrity. And opens our minds to ideas which are disruptive as well.
However, as AI continues to evolve, certain concerns might come to my mind. Like, will AI create an information overload for consumers? Will it be used to manipulate their opinions and beliefs? Will AI make us dumb as we won’t be using our brains anymore? Will the education system get paralyzed as students will use AI for solutions? As these questions need to be pondered upon, it is quite evident that the future of the role of artificial intelligence in advertising is both exciting and blurry.”
Pandit highlights a few trends and innovations in the AI space. Firstly, AI-powered personalisation. “With the increasing amount of data being generated, AI can help companies to personalise their offerings for individual customers, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
Secondly, he speaks about natural language processing (NLP). “NLP is becoming more sophisticated, allowing for more natural and intuitive interactions between humans and machines. This is likely to lead to the development of new applications and services.”
He also draws attention to autonomous systems. “AI is increasingly being used to develop autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars and drones, which have the potential to transform industries such as transportation and logistics.”
Pandit further emphasises on AI-powered healthcare. “AI is being used to develop new treatments and therapies, as well as to improve patient outcomes by providing personalised care.”
He deliberates on explainable AI. “There is growing interest in developing AI systems that can explain their decision-making processes, making them more transparent and trustworthy.”
Pandit wraps up by talking about AI-powered cybersecurity. “With the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, AI is being used to develop more effective cybersecurity systems that can detect and respond to threats in real-time.”
