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AI on board – fewer employees, profitability growing rapidly
Analyzing and processing data. Positioning of products and services. Generating posts, images and photos. Acting as an assistant, monitoring the competition. And recently even shooting music videos and commercials. The number of applications of artificial intelligence is growing rapidly. Some people can no longer imagine their daily work without ChataGPT or other AI tools. Over a year and a half since the launch of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence has been a technological obsession for marketers. Many have speculated that the current hype around AI will inevitably fizzle out, comparing it to the burst of the Internet bubble in the early 20th century and the short-lived metaverse craze we saw just a dozen or so months ago. But so far, enterprise interest and investment in generative AI only seems to be growing.
– There is also no doubt that digital advertising will be driven by AI even faster than before. Also traditional media such as billboards, which are increasingly available in the form of LED screens, are already able to adapt the advertising content to the prevailing conditions. This happens in real time, almost without human intervention, and meets the basic need of consumers today, i.e. personalization – emphasizes Grzegorz Liputa, COO and co-founder of FindReklamę.pl, a company offering comprehensive services for advertising campaigns online and on external media.
The quality and speed at which GenAI tools can reproduce realistic images, including people, is astounding. However, the pace of AI improvement is so impressive that it raises ethical questions about how these tools are used and designed.
– The heart of the problem lies in artificial intelligence and its inherent biases. Regardless of whether it is the data set used to train artificial intelligence models or the language we use for description, there is always some scope of error affecting the result of GenAI's creation – comments Grzegorz Liputa.
AI – use and control
That's part of why we're seeing some early signs that perceptions about generative AI among some marketing teams are starting to change. No one has announced that they will put AI in the closet, but slowly, some brands are starting to focus more on the threats associated with this technology (for example, its tendency to stereotype and prejudice) than on its advantages (such as the ability to create any image on dream background).
It decided to break away from the trend of overactive use of AI, among others. Dove cosmetics brand, owned by Unilever. In its latest campaign, it announced that it would not use artificial intelligence. Both in advertisements and promotional materials. Although it should be noted that this is about one specific element. Creating images of people. In the latest campaign "The Code", Dove shows that when asked to generate images of a "great woman" or "perfect skin", artificial intelligence responded by presenting overly idealized and unrealistic images. The women have impeccably smooth skin, no wrinkles and body proportions that are characteristic only of the catwalks of the most famous fashion houses. There is no room for any imperfections, and the definition of beauty is flattened to a minimum. AI also made the racial aspect very shallow. Among the "most beautiful" she saw mainly blondes, with European features and skin color, and their eyes were almost always blue.
– We will not use artificial intelligence to represent women. Thanks to our content, beauty will be real and free from any digital distortions. We will continue to stay away from any unrealistic appearance templates because we know the impact it has on women, says Firdaous El Honsali, vice president of Dove, in The Drum magazine.
As part of the campaign, the brand also conducted a survey which showed that every third participant felt pressure to change their appearance under the influence of the content they encountered on the Internet – regardless of whether they knew that the content was authentic or generated by artificial intelligence. intelligence. The problem had been noticed before. Last year, Dove launched a similar campaign against the use of the Bold Glamor filter on TikTok, which some say promotes unrealistic beauty standards, especially among women and girls.
However, Honsali emphasizes that Dove is by no means against the use of artificial intelligence per se: "Today we have an incredible opportunity to use artificial intelligence as a tool for positivity and creativity. Rather, her team is focused on using technology in a way that will directly and positively impact on the audience. What is the condition? Beforehand, create guidelines that instruct marketers using artificial intelligence on how to generate more diverse and inclusive images.
– We treat AI as a tool to help us, not replace it. Man's role will change, but our creativity will not be defeated. At most, AI will make the creative process even easier, speeding up our activities. Let's remember that AI knows as much as we teach it. Today, the slogan "use and check" should be the motto of every organization that wants to use the benefits of AI, notes Grzegorz Liputa.
How else can existing or potential risks of using artificial intelligence be minimized? Or increase the benefits associated with its use?
– When creating content, these are still activities that we control very closely. The "machine" does a little more for us when creating online advertisements, e.g. when targeting appropriate groups of recipients – says an expert from SzukajReklamę.pl, a company creating a tool that will be a virtual assistant in creating advertising campaigns.
The goal is to teach AI comprehensive knowledge of the steps taken in the campaign planning process. Both what the strategies implemented by advisors look like and how specific locations and formats affect the effectiveness of campaigns and reach different target groups.
Don't kill a person's emotions
However, Dove is not the only company that wants to automate repetitive processes without getting rid of the "human factor". According to Daryl Lee, global CEO of L'Oréal, the company prohibits the use of artificial intelligence to represent human hair and skin tones. However, the brand does not refrain from using AI and thanks to it it creates tools that facilitate the selection of cosmetics by, among others, personalization of shopping. The technology can also be used by employees to seek inspiration or generate ideas, but presenting generated human faces for commercial or sales support purposes is prohibited.
LEGO's approach is yet different. This company took creativity as its banner and believes that the "artistic soul" is unique to humans. The brand is experimenting with AI and using it, among others. in supporting internal processes, including product design and facilitating the sales process. But when it comes to creating content around a brand, it is the work of “purely human artists.”
However, according to an H&M spokesman, his company does not use generative artificial intelligence to create advertising content or for any marketing purposes. However, it has created a tool that allows customers to generate "works of art" via artificial intelligence on clothes, which they can then buy. The brand also emphasized that AI will play an important role in achieving sustainability goals by 2040.
Artificial intelligence is an excellent assistant
It should also be noted that AI algorithms are not yet fully capable of understanding the subtle nuances of human emotions or appropriately interpreting the cultural context. This is crucial in marketing and advertising, and failure to understand the circumstances may lead to various mishaps or errors in advertising campaigns. There are also legal issues, because faces and silhouettes generated by AI are created by combining existing images.
However, there are definitely places where AI will be used by marketers and salespeople on a large scale, and we can be almost certain that it will fill employment gaps. Especially in tedious work that requires repetition of activities or tedious data analysis.
– Artificial intelligence has been with us for some time and we cannot escape from it. Besides, I don't see any reason why we should do it, since in many aspects AI definitely makes the work of advertisers and marketing specialists easier – says Bartosz Ferenc, president of Sembot.com, a company dealing with the automation and optimization of advertising campaigns on the Internet using artificial intelligence. , which has created a tool that is unique in the world and holistically supports the work of advertisers and marketing teams.
Ferenc describes how AI already supports companies: "It can act as an assistant that answers questions related to online sales. It knows best practices, collects a lot of data about your company. Every day it checks what is happening on advertising accounts, suggests corrections, analyzes competition. It performs hundreds of small activities that have always been in the back of your mind, but there was no one to delegate them to. In this way, it relieves advertisers and marketers of many tasks and leaves more room for what they do best, i.e. searching for relationships by creating emotions. ".
Why is it so important? A study conducted by the American branch of Ipsos showed that 72% of consumers feel an emotional bond with the brand or company they have had contact with. A Deloitte report shows that 60% of customers are more likely to buy from a company they perceive as authentic. According to a study by Accenture, 83% of consumers prefer human contact over digital customer service channels. A study by PwC found that 64% of consumers say shared values are the main reason they connect with a brand.
– Every brand, company, online store will use artificial intelligence. However, these tools will be so widely available and so cheap that competition will increase even more. This race will be won by the one who makes his clients believe that he is creating artificial intelligence with a human face. People will get used to artificial intelligence, it will always be available, reliable and trustworthy. It just takes some time – emphasizes Bartosz Ferenc.
