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The Year of Artificial Intelligence

By: Gabi Sergi    February 26, 2021

Demis Hassabis at Google DeepMind defines artificial intelligence (AI) as the “science of making machines smart.” AI machines can observe, learn and perform cognitive tasks, often more efficiently and accurately than humans. While AI is not a new technology, modern innovative applications can be found in daily life and across every industry. Forbes notes the value of AI amidst the pandemic as it enhanced workforce planning, simulation modeling, demand projection and more.

Within the advertising industry, AI is essential. It is not efficient to advertise in 2021 without the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has expanded opportunities such as better understanding customer experiences and allowing for more relevant, personalized messaging. A few current advertising AI trends include utilizing chatbots for customer interaction, accounting for voice search, and collaborating with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Dr. Rana el Kaliouby, the cofounder and CEO of Affectiva, explains a new aspect of AI: “Emotion AI software that can understand nuanced human emotions and complex cognitive states based on facial and vocal expression will address some of technology’s shortcomings in light of the pandemic, and we’ll see companies using it for new use cases.” For advertisers, one application is the efficient tracking of emotional responses to ads based on facial expression reading technology.

According to AdWeek, AI allows advertisers to use fewer manual queries, find the customer in the right moment, respond with range, and market with empathy. These abilities create better understanding and connection with the consumer while serving as timesavers. The efficiency of AI encourages advertisers to invest their time in tasks humans excel at performing. While AI is essential to advertising in 2021, it cannot fully replace human intelligence. AI strengths include speed, less bias and accuracy, while humans excel at conversational skills, drawing conclusions on small amounts of data, creativity, and general world knowledge. Each has its strengths, and only when working together is advertising most successful.