The technology is already being used for many functions, such as data analysis, chat bots and buying advertisements. However, some observers maintain that it is on the cusp of much wider adoption.
AI ended 2018 on a high note, with IBM’s Watson technology gaining favorable publicity for having written the original draft of a script for a new Lexus commercial, reports the HuffPost.
In creating the script, Watson analyzed award winning commercials from the past 15 years to determine which characteristics resonate with viewers. After completing the script, Lexus tapped Oscar-winning director Kevin MacDonald as the commercial’s director.
AI, furthermore, has been moving beyond being embraced by tech enthusiasts and is now becoming a popular mainstream tool, reports Semiconductor Engineering.
In a similar manner, marketers used to ask if they should use AI, but they are now asking how soon they can start using the technology, reports Entrepreneur India.
The technology is already being used to sift through large amounts of data in order to deliver highly customized content. More recently, it has been used to spot ad waste, which has lowered lead generation costs by 50% in some instances.
A variety of new applications will result in the increased use of AI and help the technology to live up to its hype, reports IT Proportal.
In one example, shoppers will conduct image searches. As the term implies, shoppers will use pictures of items that they want to purchase to conduct searches for products online. AI will also increasingly be used to power voice search technology and to create customized content that reflects shoppers’ interests or style preferences, reports Exchange 4 Media. The goal will be to have webpages customized prior to customers landing on the pages.
AI is also being developed to make potentially hundreds of different versions of a video and then target specific versions of the content to targeted viewers, reports Entrepreneur.
In the article, Matt Cimaglia, who is CEO and Founder of Cimaglia, writes that video producers traditionally sift through hundreds of hours of images and then slice together a final product. But his firm is using AI to develop videos that are highly customized for specific audiences.
As part of the process, actors may be filmed repeatedly, but for each scene they may wear different clothing or jewelry. Different actors, perhaps selected by gender or ethnicity, may also be filmed for the same roles. An algorithm is then used to produce the video and its numerous iterations.
Once the video and its different versions are published, AI technology can monitor engagement and make edits in real time to improve the success of the content.
Semiconductor Engineering, however, maintains that AI is still overhyped, despite being increasingly adopted for functions such as smart unlock features on smartphones, predictive text in emails and instant messages, and efficient energy-management monitoring. That’s especially true for applications such as self-driving cars or companion robots being designed to replace human interaction, says Steve Roddy, vice president of special projects in the Machine Learning Group at Arm.
Regardless of the pace of adoption, challenges associated with AI go beyond limits to the technology’s capabilities. Firms, for example, need to assess how AI will fit into their marketing strategy in order to make successful use of the technology, reports MarTech Advisor.
In a similar manner, if a firms’ overall market strategy is inadequate, even the most powerful AI technology is likely to fail to generate meaningful results.
