Expert speak: How AI in advertising is an enabler rather than a threat

AI is clearly here to stay, but with it comes the need to create regulations. Social Samosa decodes the most efficient use of AI tools in the advertising industry as experts elaborate on the supposed threat.

The accelerated rise in the developments of AI-generated models has left the world alarmed yet fascinated for more. AI tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E, Midjourney and more have an uncanny capability of generating realistic-looking images of prominent personalities. With constant developments, the advertising industry has already imbibed these tools into its marketing initiatives. 

Amid this, leaders in the tech industry have signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on all AI experiments, warning of the risks these advanced systems pose to the world. 

The letter by the Future of Life Institute asked the questions, “Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us?” 

The answer to this might be up for debate. Despite the supposed threat AI poses to the future of humanity, developments are still ongoing. Elon Musk, one of the numerous tech leaders that signed the open letter and one of the co-founders of OpenAI, has been secretly working on AI developments for Twitter.

Closer home, India ranks fifth in terms of investments received by startups offering artificial intelligence (AI)-based products and services last year, according to Stanford University’s annual AI Index report. 

AI is clearly here to stay, but with it comes the need to create regulations. Social Samosa decodes the most efficient use of AI tools in the advertising industry as experts elaborate on the supposed threat. 

AI - the enabler of creativity, not a threat 

AI tools can automate tasks, be trained to optimize digital ads targeting and can even help get over writer’s block. It’s a beneficial tool for entrepreneurs, small businesses and specific teams to save cost and enable faster ad creation. 

Lavinn Rajpal, MD & Co-founder, Chimp&z Inc. believes that positioning AI as a threat will only stun the growth of the advertising industry and individual agencies. The ‘state-of-art’ AI only enables a user to extract additional inputs for a particular step of the procedure. 

He said, “An AI-driven copywriting tool will deliver text options but not an apt visual. You still require a human counterpart to assemble each element to complete the process. AI can be understood as a new-age search engine that delivers refined outputs based on prompts. This only means that professionals have a new skill to learn and add to their portfolio- that of an adept prompter.”

“The day we perceive AI as a threat, you will no longer be a partner to the modern world.”

- Lavinn Rajpal, MD & Co-founder, Chimp&z Inc.

Harsh S Kedia, CEO, Auburn Digital Solutions said that every marketing plan or campaign includes an empathic response. While AI will be able to create a basic version of what advertisers want, more planning is required. 

“Every marketing plan or campaign is intended to strike a chord with the target audience. For it, in-depth audience research is required. You won’t be able to know what to convey to your audience until that point. And after AI generates generic material, it has to be refined by us to make it relevant to the audience. Although agencies can employ AI to assist them, they will ultimately be responsible for completing the task.”

Devesh Gangal, Country Marketing Manager, Borzo India added to this and said that the best way forward is to steer into the drift and acknowledge the change and restrategize the approach taking into account the change.

Borzo (previously WeFast) recently released a marketing case study exploring the effectiveness of human vs AI advertising to compare the advertisements created by both. The courier service created ads using ChatGPT, DALL-E and MidJourney and observed that AI-generated ads are more effective in getting attention but fall short of generating clients despite high cash burn. In comparison to this, human-designed ads draw less attention but are more effective in generating leads whilst burning less. 

Also Read: Advertising team Vs AI: Borzo shows who makes better ads

Since many brands have already begun plugging AI in various campaigns, Gangal mentioned, “It’s important for each brand to understand how they can leverage AI in their particular domain. It is not a one size fits all approach. Each organization has to understand what areas can benefit from AI and then create a proper framework and roadmap for the execution.”

Talking about how brands can refine their approach to it, he said that each brand will have to define accepted norms of AI-generated ads and it will also be the brand’s responsibility to educate its target audience that the ad has AI components and the data can be used for further exploration.

Challenges to make note of 

With the benefits AI brings to the table, comes the responsibility to not misuse it. Saurabh Aggarwal, Sr. Vice President, Digitas India talks about the daunting challenges that lie ahead. He mentioned that although there are many AI marketing tools that are easy to use, there is still a skill gap when it comes to implementing and using more complex AI solutions. 

“It is crucial for businesses to invest in staff training. This short-term expense will ultimately pay off as AI-assisted marketing campaigns produce better results.”

He also talked about the lack of privacy and user control over the recommendations they receive. “While recommendations can enhance experiences when they are effective, they can also be frustrating when they are not. You have probably experienced this yourself when you have briefly shown interest in a product or service, subscribed to a newsletter, or downloaded an app before realizing it is not relevant to you.” 

Recently, AI tools have been used to create images of what people from various communities look like and have generated flak online. AI can be biased, displaying stereotypes and discrimination if not programmed correctly. 

Sujai Chandran, Creative Director - Art (South India), at FoxyMoron (Zoo Media) said that agencies and brands that use AI models like DALL-E in their marketing efforts should be required to disclose the use of such technology and obtain consent from individuals whose images are being used.

He continued, “Moreover, powerful AI models like DALL-E must be developed in a way that promotes ethical decision-making, such as by incorporating ethical principles, rules, and regulations into the algorithms used to generate results. This may involve designing AI models that prioritise respect for human dignity, privacy, and autonomy, as well as minimising the risk of harm based on specific constructs in the industry.” 

Midjourney has stopped free trials for users following the hyper-realistic images of Donald Trump generated via the tool went viral on Twitter, as users mistook them for photos of true media events. However, Midjourney CEO David Holz cited the reason for the change in the tool to the rising number of people creating disposable accounts in order to generate images without paying for them.

While these tools are attempting to regulate themselves, Bang In The Middle’s Co-founder & CSO, Naresh Gupta said that advertising cannot be self-regulated. “The new tools will add many more layers of possibility and the creators will do many more things with AI. What I see as possible is that the social media handles where these creations would be housed do mark the content as 'produced by AI' and allow the users to make sense of what they see. The other thing will be strong punitive laws that do not let consumers be taken for a ride.”

Aggarwal also agrees that AI companies need to have independent review boards or committees composed of experts in AI, ethics, law, and business, that provide oversight and ensure that ethical principles are being followed. 

As of now, there aren’t any laws created to regulate the usage of these tools. However, at self-regulating organisations like Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI), the team uses the tools to largely monitor the revolving landscape in advertising as per CEO and Secretary General, Manisha Kapoor. 

Sharing her observation, she said, “AI can mainly discover gross violations but in the case of advertisements that have a more nuanced violation, human scrutiny has not yet found a substitute. So, while AI helps us monitor ads and handle the sheer volumes, there is no replacement for careful examination by humans when it comes to noticing the subtle yet distinct cues and zeroing down on ads that flout the ASCI code.”

The Future of AI 

With proper planning and thoughtful execution, AI can become an integral part of the advertising and marketing industry. Auburn’s Harsh Kedia said that in the future, AI creation and generation of audio and visual material is likely to increase for the fraternity. 

The focus will also be on improved learning and use of chatbots and virtual assistants, with brands tailoring their data strategy using AI's valuable insights to drive customer engagement as per Borzo's Devesh Gangal. 

He also mentioned that we can look forward to immersive and visual experiences in terms of animated ads, AR and VR product experience, and change in gaming trends.                                           

FoxyMoron's Sujai Chandran added that as more consumers use voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, AI is expected to play a more significant role in optimising and personalising voice-based advertising experiences. 

He also said that AI can help brands to create more relevant and personalised voice-based ads based on user preferences and behaviour.

Overall, AI has the potential to change the advertising industry in more ways than one, but this will happen only when we start understanding and defining the way we use these tools and not let them define the way we work instead.