In this opinion piece, Ruth De Luchi, founder and managing director of Status Agency, explains why AI can give agencies the space to double down on core human experiences with the faceless tech doing the churning work.
OpenAI’s CEO recently declared that the Age of Giant AI Models is already over. Sam Altman explained that the research strategy behind the bot has already played out and that it’s unclear where future advances will come from. OpenAI has already taken existing machine-learning algorithms and scaled them up, to the point at which GPT-4 is trained using trillions of words of text and thousands of powerful computer chips.
So, as OpenAI starts considering how to drive further progress in better, rather than bigger ways, it’s important for marketers and advertisers to also reflect on how AI tools could be tweaked and utilised to enhance human potential.
Tools have had a transformative impact on humans throughout history. We have used tools since the dawn of our species, and they have changed the form and function of our bodies over time. Our own co-evolution with AI could be a large source of inspiration for future iterations and use cases.
Beyond saving time and reducing costs, AI should help us to create additional business value. Rather than automating the things that humans do best, it should unlock the true potential of our natural strengths.
Empathy can help brands cut through the noise.
The most recognisable brands in the world have a clear purpose. They connect with people at their core, which is why we should tap into what really makes us human in order to create relevant campaigns.
As Neil Patel neatly puts it, Google is really good at drowning out the noise. The term “credit cards” has over two billion results, but usually only ten will make it to the first page of Google which 75 per cent of people will never scroll past. That’s why we should focus on creating higher-quality content, with authority, trustworthiness, expertise, and trust. Rather than using generative AI tools to remix and repeat content that has already been published online, we can use it to cover topics with more creativity, relevance, and depth.
While keyword research seems like an obvious task to automate, staying close to search trends also helps us learn about the language that our target market uses and the questions that they are asking. It helps us create far more targeted paid search strategies with ad copy that drives clicks. When we notice that our customers are searching differently, we can empathise with the change, understand our brand’s role in serving the new need, and imagine the best way to deliver value.
Communication is one of our greatest assets.
Thinking and speaking are two different things and humans have the privilege of being able to do both at the same time. When we use our talent for putting ideas into words to our advantage, we can leverage context and create compelling campaigns that meet our target market exactly where they are. To build memorable brands, we have to strive to create digital experiences and content that have the same impact as an iconic piece of art or an award-winning film. That means articulating people’s thoughts in a way they haven’t been able to yet, or giving them an answer to a burning question that they haven’t been able to find.
Humans have the ability to communicate and express themselves in so many different ways. Language, pointing, nodding, winking, improvised behaviour and dance moves have improved our ability to connect and cooperate. Our natural ability to communicate has driven our evolution and created culture. So, in a dynamic world that’s full of people who are still hungry to connect, embedding a human touch into our brand messaging (no matter how automated it becomes) could help us to excel.
Creativity enables us to solve problems.
Creativity isn’t just the ability to paint a picture or write a novel. It sums up the phenomenon whereby humans can use their imagination to create original ideas. It is inventiveness that helps you see the alternatives and possibilities that can help you to solve problems.
Many of the digital platforms that marketers use to run their performance campaigns have started encouraging the bundling of audiences and creative assets into single ad groups. However, this doesn’t always give us visibility over which demographics are engaging with what ads.
That’s why structured testing and experimentation frameworks are so important. By using AI the right way, we can power up the hypothesise, test and measure scientific framework that has brought some of society’s best innovations so far and continuously take our campaigns to a new level.
AI tools should maximise human potential.
Marketers should use AI tools to enhance their unique human skills. Rather than thinking of AI as a tool to speed up, reduce costs, and produce more, we should think about how we can co-evolve alongside it and create more value than we ever have before.
