Like most people, I check my phone when I get up. In the early morning while getting ready, my phone continuously updates me with travel times so that I can leave at the optimal time. Besides being a blend of helpful and convenient (or perhaps invasive), this is one example of artificial intelligence (AI) that I encounter in my daily routine.

This term has become a buzzword of late, but the field has existed since 1956. To give a short explanation, AI uses algorithms to make computers process like how humans think—see Merriam Webster definition here. It is often thought of in the way of sentient robots, like the movie “A.I.” However, the everyday usage is much more common and attainable.

To further demonstrate this example, consider the traffic notifications I mentioned above. Google Maps “understands” that I go to a particular address Monday-Friday during a certain timeframe. It also knows that I’m interested in the traffic patterns based on previous app-use. Inversely, if it’s a time that is not rush hour or the weekend, it does not push notifications to me. When I’m out of town, it does not continue to tell me the estimated travel times back home. While it didn’t have these customized notifications when first downloaded, Google Maps “learned” what information I found valuable through my phone interactions. Their capture of what I’m interested in has kept me an avid user of their app.

As this technology progresses, it’s possible that this could start making digital advertising campaigns more efficient. Campaigns could be able to completely optimize themselves without someone sitting behind the screen. With all the data captured from finely-optimized campaigns, this has the potential to unlock in-depth consumer behavior insights. With that, AI can provide a quantifiable direction when it comes to creative choices.

While having been around over 60 years, companies are slow to adopt. How exactly it will change the advertising industry is yet to be seen. However, its early effects can already be seen.