Rocket Fuel has expanded its partnership with IBM by integrating Watson Discovery into its predictive marketing platform.

The new capability, called Brand Moments, enables Rocket Fuel’s AI technology to be responsive to real-time sentiment in news stories.

Rocket Fuel is currently testing the new AI-to-AI capability with select customers. Once this initial stage is complete, Brand Moments will be made more widely available later in 2017.

David Gosen, general manager of platform solutions and international senior vice president at Rocket Fuel, said: “By incorporating IBM Watson Discovery into our predictive marketing platform, we take our ability to reach consumers at the perfect moment to another level.

“This integration means our clients can now have better control over their association with particular keywords and breaking news, and it gives them a more informed view of when and where their brand will appear.

“Imagine you were selling holidays to a particular destination. Our platform technology combined with IBM Watson Discovery could examine the sentiment in countless stories online – both good and bad – about a particular region. Then it can accept or reject, bid high, bid low or not at all on an advertising opportunity based on the impact this will have on a brand’s success. A great combination of brand safety and performance.”

Beth Smith, general manager at IBM Watson, added: “We’re excited about the opportunity that Rocket Fuel’s implementation of Watson Discovery opens up for marketing and advertising programs.