In two years, ChatGPT has catapulted AI from a novelty into a critical component of digital advertising areas. Not that it wasn’t already.
Programmatic had already transformed ad buying from a manual approach to an AI-driven automated one embracing real-time bidding. And marketers have been beneficiaries of this for some time.
AI’s Marketing Impact is Not New
From defining audiences, creating target segments, reaching people in their environments, and predicting outcomes, data-heavy tasks are already handled by Machine Learning and AI. Their ability to crunch data and spot patterns allows marketers to find emerging audiences and adapt quickly to take advantage of opportunities to drive growth.
As AI becomes faster and more advanced, marketers can run queries and develop campaigns much easier on user interfaces using natural language, simplifying activities and removing their reliance on platform experts to do this.
And it’s not just speed and simplicity they’re benefiting from. As these tools are integrated across more platforms, they become more attuned to interpreting what marketers are asking and will get better at delivering what they need. Some prompt guidance is necessary, but even this will eventually reduce.
Asset Creation is Speeding Up Campaign Activation
When building campaigns, developing the ideas and producing the assets to support them is a notoriously time-consuming process that requires a heavy manual lift. This is an area where generative AI is helping shrink timelines and make human involvement a much lighter touch.
The ability to craft text, call-to-actions, video, and audio assets rapidly increases productivity and offers a competitive advantage. Suddenly, advertisers can react to time-critical opportunities they previously couldn’t have, helping boost profitability. They can have the assets ready, develop the necessary versions for different audiences or formats, and tailor experiences across channels to ensure a true omnichannel approach.
The ability for AI to drive the process from start to finish isn’t there yet, but it’s getting close. Yes, a human eye is always needed to sense-check assets before activation, but any changes will be easily made via AI, using prompts to deliver immediate asset updates.
Asset creation also has the potential to level the playing field for brands and agencies, especially in TV and CTV. Traditionally, big agencies with the resources and large teams have dominated this space. Now, smaller players will be able to take advantage of these channels by using AI to quickly surface ideas and transform them into complete, ready-to-go campaigns.
While there’s a reluctance amongst some marketers to embrace these AI opportunities, it will never supplant human creativity. Ideas will always play a primary role. What AI will do is enhance it by helping marketers evaluate ideas. It can act as a sounding board, offering new approaches that bring together diverse associations, or reimagine current creatives by infusing them with fresh perspectives. Not only will this support creatives, but it will push them to think beyond traditional approaches.
From Good to Better
AI has long been a staple provider of this when it comes to adjusting targeting and bidding to maximize performance through real-time campaign optimization. However, this can be further improved by developing post-campaign learnings to inform future activities.
Using AI tools to interrogate large campaign performance data sets allows for areas of improvement to be recognized and implemented. This then feeds into more effective campaigns going forward.
AI’s Marketing Impact is Not Always Positive
However, AI’s ability to speed up processes and asset creation is both a blessing and a curse. Its downside is that it can undermine campaign performance and negatively affect marketing spending.
This is shown in made-for-advertising (MFA) sites, which are shifting budgets away from quality publishers and ‘investing’ them in low-quality, questionable and unsafe environments. The ease and speed with which AI can develop such sites is accelerating the proliferation of MFAs, which are already responsible for siphoning off $13 billion of ad spend annually. Driving unnecessary spending also pushes up the industry’s carbon footprint at a time when businesses are looking to reduce it dramatically. Ironically, the solution to this issue may rest with AI and removing these sites from the digital advertising supply chain.
So, as a company offering AI tools, what are our client’s experiences? Well, the results are promising. Not surprisingly, however, they are taking a (rightly) cautious approach, especially around its use in creativity. While recognizing AI in marketing is here to stay, they’re taking the time to understand where it benefits their business, particularly around data and automation, to deliver efficiency, scalability, and precision. Then, they can free up their marketing teams to concentrate on where they add value–strategic thinking, generating bold ideas through creativity, and bringing humanity to advertising.
What’s crucial is to realize that it’s not a question of traditional marketing vs. AI marketing. We’ve gone beyond that. Since 2024, AI adoption in marketing and sales has tripled to 62%. Today, AI is complementing how campaigns are delivered, and these tools are becoming part of mainstream marketing.
