Artificial Intelligence: It Means Different Things to Different People, but How Can It Help?
It is important to note that I am far from an AI expert, if anything, up to a couple of years ago I was a sceptic. Terminator was a big film in my teens (I know that ages me…) and all we saw was AI taking over the world and becoming the villain in the film.
But, AI is fundamentally a piece of software that has been written to collate and assess a huge amount of information on a certain topic and create an output based on the requirements of the user. For example, if I want to write an article about the key aspects of “Branding” in the automotive industry, I can simply go to one of a number of AI platforms, ChatGPT is probably one of the most well-known, give it the criteria for what I want and it will generate an article within seconds. For anyone who is involved in content creation, they will know that the hardest part is coming up with the initial idea, editing and amending is then relatively straightforward.
Over the past few years, AI has evolved and there are now platforms that can help with a wide range of functions for both business and personal activities.
However, where many people fall down, especially when it comes to using AI for marketing, is they take the information generated by AI as it comes and don’t take the time to personalise the content to reflect the values and personality of the business. What these businesses end up with, is content that is the same as many other competitors. Care needs to be taken and time spent by people to tailor content to suit your business. This approach will save you time, help generate an endless stream of content and ensure your business works as efficiently as possible.
AI is going to play an ever growing part in our lives, when used well, it will help solve problems and minimise costs and time. However, always remember that it needs someone to initiate and will always need someone to have an input once the original content has been produced.
Going back to The Terminator, there is no doubt in my mind that AI can be used for negative reasons and there is growing pressure on governments to legislate against abuse of the systems. I also believe that there will be many legal cases over the coming years caused by AI taking information from a source that is copyright protected and using it without permission, but that is one for the lawyers to tackle.
From my early days as an AI sceptic, I am now a firm believer that it can do a lot of good when used well and that it will create a whole new industry.
Visit our LinkedIn page for our next Fireside Chat with AI specialist Katrien Cruz Grobler from AI Kat who will explain more about the role of AI in marketing.