當(dāng)我們問(wèn)Ulta Beauty公司的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)米歇爾·克羅桑-馬托斯如何負(fù)責(zé)任地使用生成式人工智能的問(wèn)題時(shí),她想到的是孩子們第一次接觸美容產(chǎn)品的那一刻。她希望讓他們與美容產(chǎn)品培養(yǎng)一種健康的關(guān)系。
“我們專門使用了生成式人工智能技術(shù),幫助我們加快資產(chǎn)創(chuàng)造的速度,但它并不是為了取代人類。”她說(shuō),“我也不希望生成式人工智能可以取代真人的自然美和真實(shí)感?!?/p>
雖然Ulta Beauty公司的營(yíng)銷重點(diǎn)并不在于人工智能生成的美妝臉上,但是他們也想出了很多創(chuàng)造性地使用生成生人工智能技術(shù)的方法。比如它能夠幫助員工解答顧客的問(wèn)題,還可以向該品牌的APP用戶提供個(gè)性化的產(chǎn)品,它甚至還能夠提出廣告創(chuàng)意。例如在近期的一次針對(duì)節(jié)假日的廣告宣傳活動(dòng)中,該公司就利用生成式人工智能技術(shù),為他們拍攝的一組真實(shí)照片提供了一些視效概念。
克羅桑-馬托斯表示:“現(xiàn)在我們公司到處都在使用人工智能?!?/p>
克羅桑-馬托斯介紹道,Ulta Beauty是從2018年開(kāi)始使用人工智能技術(shù)的,為此它收購(gòu)了一家人工智能助手和增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)(AR)技術(shù)公司,這次收購(gòu)促進(jìn)了一些后來(lái)的創(chuàng)新,比如該公司在手機(jī)上推出了一個(gè)名叫GLAMlab的功能,讓顧客可以利用人工智能技術(shù)來(lái)測(cè)試虛擬妝容。此外他們還推出了一個(gè)基于人工智能技術(shù)的護(hù)膚咨詢工具SkinAnalysis。
Ulta Beauty在人工智能營(yíng)銷方面是一家比較領(lǐng)先的公司。據(jù)CMO Survey公司2023年的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),94%的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷人員都是在過(guò)去三年內(nèi)才開(kāi)始使用人工智能技術(shù)的。還有60%的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷人員表示,他們應(yīng)用人工智能技術(shù)還不到一年。
以往,人工智能技術(shù)主要被營(yíng)銷人員用于廣告定位、廣告細(xì)分、電子郵件營(yíng)銷和受眾定位等方面。但隨著人工智能技術(shù)的發(fā)展,現(xiàn)在營(yíng)銷人員對(duì)它在個(gè)性化營(yíng)銷上和內(nèi)容精準(zhǔn)匹配(包括文字、圖片和視頻的精準(zhǔn)推送)上的潛力更感興趣,因?yàn)檫@些更能夠激發(fā)消費(fèi)者的購(gòu)買欲。
克羅桑-馬托斯指出:“我們的客戶忠誠(chéng)度之所以在不斷提高,首先要?dú)w功于我們的營(yíng)銷內(nèi)容。如果沒(méi)有人工智能技術(shù),我們就不可能向4,200萬(wàn)忠實(shí)用戶提供定制的、個(gè)性化的內(nèi)容?!?/p>
eBay的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)艾德里安·方介紹道,在eBay上幾乎每時(shí)每刻都有20億件商品和1.3億以上用戶。所以eBay面臨的最大的挑戰(zhàn)就是如何對(duì)海量?jī)?nèi)容進(jìn)行分類,并且確保將商品在正確的時(shí)間、以正確的頻率、用最佳的方式推送給消費(fèi)者。
艾德里安·方說(shuō):“我覺(jué)得人工智能的厲害之處,就在于它可以為顧客創(chuàng)造更好的體驗(yàn)。我們?cè)谏墒饺斯ぶ悄苌弦呀?jīng)做了很多探索,現(xiàn)在我們也在持續(xù)尋找最佳的使用場(chǎng)景。”
eBay目前正在進(jìn)行一些試驗(yàn)。例如生成式人工智能可以幫助它對(duì)橫幅廣告進(jìn)行更精細(xì)化的調(diào)整,還能夠給廣告郵件創(chuàng)建更加個(gè)性化的標(biāo)題。它還可以幫助用戶優(yōu)化圖片質(zhì)量和產(chǎn)品描述。艾德里安·方表示:”我們認(rèn)為,我們對(duì)人工智能的探索仍然停留在表面的摸索上?!?/p>
艾德里安·方指出,生成式人工智能工具能夠極大地提高工作效率,但是在藝術(shù)取向和創(chuàng)意方面,還是應(yīng)該由人來(lái)主導(dǎo)。
“我認(rèn)為,在eBay,我們和許多營(yíng)銷人員都在努力解決的就是藝術(shù)與科學(xué)的關(guān)系問(wèn)題——當(dāng)科學(xué)已經(jīng)可以自行創(chuàng)造藝術(shù)了,我們又該如何更好地將它們?nèi)诤显谝黄鹉???/p>
有營(yíng)銷人員稱,人工智能技術(shù)還將幫助整個(gè)營(yíng)銷行業(yè)變得更有創(chuàng)造性。萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡公司(Mastercard)的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)拉賈·拉賈曼納表示,從20世紀(jì)90年代中期開(kāi)始,隨著營(yíng)銷學(xué)的重點(diǎn)從心理學(xué)、設(shè)計(jì)學(xué)和美學(xué)轉(zhuǎn)向了技術(shù)和數(shù)據(jù)分析,營(yíng)銷人員就開(kāi)始逐漸失去了創(chuàng)造力。
“但是隨著生成式人工智能技術(shù)的到來(lái),我認(rèn)為現(xiàn)在又到了營(yíng)銷人員唱主角的時(shí)候,因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在所有人都能夠使用同樣的技術(shù),競(jìng)爭(zhēng)又變得非常公平了。”他說(shuō)。
在這樣一個(gè)更加公平的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)環(huán)境中,創(chuàng)造力必將成為決定成敗的勝負(fù)手。拉賈曼納表示:“所以我們將進(jìn)入一個(gè)營(yíng)銷行業(yè)的黃金時(shí)代,只要用好這些工具,發(fā)揮好創(chuàng)造力,營(yíng)銷人將能創(chuàng)造出不可思議的業(yè)績(jī)?!?/p>
萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡公司使用人工智能技術(shù)輔助營(yíng)銷已經(jīng)有六年多了。比如在社交媒體營(yíng)銷上,人工智能可以發(fā)現(xiàn)甚至預(yù)測(cè)僅有短短幾天的某些微小趨勢(shì)。公司就能夠迅速使用人工智能技術(shù)生成具有針對(duì)性的廣告,包括選用最佳的顏色、圖像等,隨即進(jìn)行測(cè)試,最終呈現(xiàn)在產(chǎn)品上,進(jìn)行廣告投放。整個(gè)端到端的流程實(shí)現(xiàn)了人工智能與自動(dòng)化的充分結(jié)合,并且極大地提升了萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡廣告的有效性。
HubSpot公司的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)基普·博德納也表示:“我認(rèn)為營(yíng)銷行業(yè)在很多方面已經(jīng)失去了創(chuàng)造性。如果你也持這種看法,那么你可能就會(huì)問(wèn):‘人工智能會(huì)讓這種情況變得更糟,還是會(huì)讓情況變好呢?’我本人是一個(gè)樂(lè)觀主義者,我認(rèn)為情況會(huì)變好?!?/p>
HubSpot是一家研發(fā)營(yíng)銷和銷售軟件的公司,一年前,該公司組建了一支小規(guī)模的人工智能工程師團(tuán)隊(duì),并且讓他們與營(yíng)銷團(tuán)隊(duì)一起,思考生成式人工智能的最佳使用場(chǎng)景。他們已經(jīng)想出了120種可能性。
在此基礎(chǔ)上,HubSpot將范圍縮小到大約20個(gè)場(chǎng)景,并且評(píng)估了每個(gè)使用場(chǎng)景的價(jià)值,以及人工智能技術(shù)對(duì)這些可能的應(yīng)用場(chǎng)景的成熟度。博德納稱:“在任何時(shí)候,我們都有3個(gè)到6個(gè)人工智能實(shí)驗(yàn)在跑?!倍@一切都是為了提升營(yíng)銷效果。
博德納還指出,營(yíng)銷人員經(jīng)常要做大量重復(fù)性的工作,還有很多內(nèi)容要通過(guò)各種不同渠道來(lái)創(chuàng)建。而人工智能技術(shù)可以解決這些資產(chǎn)需求的密度問(wèn)題?!拔艺J(rèn)為只要給營(yíng)銷人員更多的時(shí)間,他們的創(chuàng)造力就會(huì)回來(lái)?!?/p>
Duolingo公司的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)瑪努·奧薩德表示,人工智能已經(jīng)成了提高生產(chǎn)力首要也是最重要的工具?,F(xiàn)在很多企業(yè)把50%以上的營(yíng)銷支出花在了績(jī)效營(yíng)銷上,因此如何花更多時(shí)間提高創(chuàng)造力成了擺在營(yíng)銷人員面前的一個(gè)重要問(wèn)題,而這才是一個(gè)營(yíng)銷人員更可控的地方。
“我們對(duì)人工智能最感興趣的一點(diǎn),是它具有幫助我們持續(xù)自我優(yōu)化的能力?!彼f(shuō)。
Duolingo是一個(gè)語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)類APP,人工智能技術(shù)可以幫助它發(fā)現(xiàn)社交媒體上的一些容易引起語(yǔ)音愛(ài)好者共鳴的趨勢(shì)。例如當(dāng)Netflix的新劇《艾米麗在巴黎》(Emily in Paris)的新一季播出時(shí),該公司的營(yíng)銷團(tuán)隊(duì)利用人工智能技術(shù)抓住了人們對(duì)法語(yǔ)興趣激增的趨勢(shì)。另外,韓流粉絲與Duolingo的用戶也有很好的交集,因此該公司也專門創(chuàng)造了一些營(yíng)銷內(nèi)容來(lái)接近與他們的關(guān)系。
奧薩德表示:“社交媒體擁有豐富的內(nèi)容和數(shù)據(jù),我認(rèn)為人工智能技術(shù)在對(duì)這些內(nèi)容進(jìn)行分類和優(yōu)化利用上能夠發(fā)揮重要的作用。”
也就是說(shuō),他認(rèn)為人工智能依然是營(yíng)銷人員手中的一個(gè)工具,而解決不了創(chuàng)造力的問(wèn)題。
“我更希望設(shè)計(jì)師把時(shí)間集中在思考概念上,集中在提出創(chuàng)意上,多思考如何最好地進(jìn)行信息傳遞,然后利用人工智能來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)規(guī)?;投鄻踊?。”奧薩德說(shuō),“但人工智能不會(huì)取代創(chuàng)意誕生的過(guò)程?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:樸成奎
當(dāng)我們問(wèn)Ulta Beauty公司的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)米歇爾·克羅桑-馬托斯如何負(fù)責(zé)任地使用生成式人工智能的問(wèn)題時(shí),她想到的是孩子們第一次接觸美容產(chǎn)品的那一刻。她希望讓他們與美容產(chǎn)品培養(yǎng)一種健康的關(guān)系。
“我們專門使用了生成式人工智能技術(shù),幫助我們加快資產(chǎn)創(chuàng)造的速度,但它并不是為了取代人類。”她說(shuō),“我也不希望生成式人工智能可以取代真人的自然美和真實(shí)感?!?/p>
雖然Ulta Beauty公司的營(yíng)銷重點(diǎn)并不在于人工智能生成的美妝臉上,但是他們也想出了很多創(chuàng)造性地使用生成生人工智能技術(shù)的方法。比如它能夠幫助員工解答顧客的問(wèn)題,還可以向該品牌的APP用戶提供個(gè)性化的產(chǎn)品,它甚至還能夠提出廣告創(chuàng)意。例如在近期的一次針對(duì)節(jié)假日的廣告宣傳活動(dòng)中,該公司就利用生成式人工智能技術(shù),為他們拍攝的一組真實(shí)照片提供了一些視效概念。
克羅桑-馬托斯表示:“現(xiàn)在我們公司到處都在使用人工智能?!?/p>
克羅桑-馬托斯介紹道,Ulta Beauty是從2018年開(kāi)始使用人工智能技術(shù)的,為此它收購(gòu)了一家人工智能助手和增強(qiáng)現(xiàn)實(shí)(AR)技術(shù)公司,這次收購(gòu)促進(jìn)了一些后來(lái)的創(chuàng)新,比如該公司在手機(jī)上推出了一個(gè)名叫GLAMlab的功能,讓顧客可以利用人工智能技術(shù)來(lái)測(cè)試虛擬妝容。此外他們還推出了一個(gè)基于人工智能技術(shù)的護(hù)膚咨詢工具SkinAnalysis。
Ulta Beauty在人工智能營(yíng)銷方面是一家比較領(lǐng)先的公司。據(jù)CMO Survey公司2023年的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),94%的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷人員都是在過(guò)去三年內(nèi)才開(kāi)始使用人工智能技術(shù)的。還有60%的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷人員表示,他們應(yīng)用人工智能技術(shù)還不到一年。
以往,人工智能技術(shù)主要被營(yíng)銷人員用于廣告定位、廣告細(xì)分、電子郵件營(yíng)銷和受眾定位等方面。但隨著人工智能技術(shù)的發(fā)展,現(xiàn)在營(yíng)銷人員對(duì)它在個(gè)性化營(yíng)銷上和內(nèi)容精準(zhǔn)匹配(包括文字、圖片和視頻的精準(zhǔn)推送)上的潛力更感興趣,因?yàn)檫@些更能夠激發(fā)消費(fèi)者的購(gòu)買欲。
克羅桑-馬托斯指出:“我們的客戶忠誠(chéng)度之所以在不斷提高,首先要?dú)w功于我們的營(yíng)銷內(nèi)容。如果沒(méi)有人工智能技術(shù),我們就不可能向4,200萬(wàn)忠實(shí)用戶提供定制的、個(gè)性化的內(nèi)容?!?/p>
eBay的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)艾德里安·方介紹道,在eBay上幾乎每時(shí)每刻都有20億件商品和1.3億以上用戶。所以eBay面臨的最大的挑戰(zhàn)就是如何對(duì)海量?jī)?nèi)容進(jìn)行分類,并且確保將商品在正確的時(shí)間、以正確的頻率、用最佳的方式推送給消費(fèi)者。
艾德里安·方說(shuō):“我覺(jué)得人工智能的厲害之處,就在于它可以為顧客創(chuàng)造更好的體驗(yàn)。我們?cè)谏墒饺斯ぶ悄苌弦呀?jīng)做了很多探索,現(xiàn)在我們也在持續(xù)尋找最佳的使用場(chǎng)景?!?/p>
eBay目前正在進(jìn)行一些試驗(yàn)。例如生成式人工智能可以幫助它對(duì)橫幅廣告進(jìn)行更精細(xì)化的調(diào)整,還能夠給廣告郵件創(chuàng)建更加個(gè)性化的標(biāo)題。它還可以幫助用戶優(yōu)化圖片質(zhì)量和產(chǎn)品描述。艾德里安·方表示:”我們認(rèn)為,我們對(duì)人工智能的探索仍然停留在表面的摸索上。”
艾德里安·方指出,生成式人工智能工具能夠極大地提高工作效率,但是在藝術(shù)取向和創(chuàng)意方面,還是應(yīng)該由人來(lái)主導(dǎo)。
“我認(rèn)為,在eBay,我們和許多營(yíng)銷人員都在努力解決的就是藝術(shù)與科學(xué)的關(guān)系問(wèn)題——當(dāng)科學(xué)已經(jīng)可以自行創(chuàng)造藝術(shù)了,我們又該如何更好地將它們?nèi)诤显谝黄鹉???/p>
有營(yíng)銷人員稱,人工智能技術(shù)還將幫助整個(gè)營(yíng)銷行業(yè)變得更有創(chuàng)造性。萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡公司(Mastercard)的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)拉賈·拉賈曼納表示,從20世紀(jì)90年代中期開(kāi)始,隨著營(yíng)銷學(xué)的重點(diǎn)從心理學(xué)、設(shè)計(jì)學(xué)和美學(xué)轉(zhuǎn)向了技術(shù)和數(shù)據(jù)分析,營(yíng)銷人員就開(kāi)始逐漸失去了創(chuàng)造力。
“但是隨著生成式人工智能技術(shù)的到來(lái),我認(rèn)為現(xiàn)在又到了營(yíng)銷人員唱主角的時(shí)候,因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)在所有人都能夠使用同樣的技術(shù),競(jìng)爭(zhēng)又變得非常公平了?!彼f(shuō)。
在這樣一個(gè)更加公平的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)環(huán)境中,創(chuàng)造力必將成為決定成敗的勝負(fù)手。拉賈曼納表示:“所以我們將進(jìn)入一個(gè)營(yíng)銷行業(yè)的黃金時(shí)代,只要用好這些工具,發(fā)揮好創(chuàng)造力,營(yíng)銷人將能創(chuàng)造出不可思議的業(yè)績(jī)。”
萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡公司使用人工智能技術(shù)輔助營(yíng)銷已經(jīng)有六年多了。比如在社交媒體營(yíng)銷上,人工智能可以發(fā)現(xiàn)甚至預(yù)測(cè)僅有短短幾天的某些微小趨勢(shì)。公司就能夠迅速使用人工智能技術(shù)生成具有針對(duì)性的廣告,包括選用最佳的顏色、圖像等,隨即進(jìn)行測(cè)試,最終呈現(xiàn)在產(chǎn)品上,進(jìn)行廣告投放。整個(gè)端到端的流程實(shí)現(xiàn)了人工智能與自動(dòng)化的充分結(jié)合,并且極大地提升了萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡廣告的有效性。
HubSpot公司的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)基普·博德納也表示:“我認(rèn)為營(yíng)銷行業(yè)在很多方面已經(jīng)失去了創(chuàng)造性。如果你也持這種看法,那么你可能就會(huì)問(wèn):‘人工智能會(huì)讓這種情況變得更糟,還是會(huì)讓情況變好呢?’我本人是一個(gè)樂(lè)觀主義者,我認(rèn)為情況會(huì)變好?!?/p>
HubSpot是一家研發(fā)營(yíng)銷和銷售軟件的公司,一年前,該公司組建了一支小規(guī)模的人工智能工程師團(tuán)隊(duì),并且讓他們與營(yíng)銷團(tuán)隊(duì)一起,思考生成式人工智能的最佳使用場(chǎng)景。他們已經(jīng)想出了120種可能性。
在此基礎(chǔ)上,HubSpot將范圍縮小到大約20個(gè)場(chǎng)景,并且評(píng)估了每個(gè)使用場(chǎng)景的價(jià)值,以及人工智能技術(shù)對(duì)這些可能的應(yīng)用場(chǎng)景的成熟度。博德納稱:“在任何時(shí)候,我們都有3個(gè)到6個(gè)人工智能實(shí)驗(yàn)在跑?!倍@一切都是為了提升營(yíng)銷效果。
博德納還指出,營(yíng)銷人員經(jīng)常要做大量重復(fù)性的工作,還有很多內(nèi)容要通過(guò)各種不同渠道來(lái)創(chuàng)建。而人工智能技術(shù)可以解決這些資產(chǎn)需求的密度問(wèn)題。“我認(rèn)為只要給營(yíng)銷人員更多的時(shí)間,他們的創(chuàng)造力就會(huì)回來(lái)?!?/p>
Duolingo公司的營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)瑪努·奧薩德表示,人工智能已經(jīng)成了提高生產(chǎn)力首要也是最重要的工具?,F(xiàn)在很多企業(yè)把50%以上的營(yíng)銷支出花在了績(jī)效營(yíng)銷上,因此如何花更多時(shí)間提高創(chuàng)造力成了擺在營(yíng)銷人員面前的一個(gè)重要問(wèn)題,而這才是一個(gè)營(yíng)銷人員更可控的地方。
“我們對(duì)人工智能最感興趣的一點(diǎn),是它具有幫助我們持續(xù)自我優(yōu)化的能力。”他說(shuō)。
Duolingo是一個(gè)語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)類APP,人工智能技術(shù)可以幫助它發(fā)現(xiàn)社交媒體上的一些容易引起語(yǔ)音愛(ài)好者共鳴的趨勢(shì)。例如當(dāng)Netflix的新劇《艾米麗在巴黎》(Emily in Paris)的新一季播出時(shí),該公司的營(yíng)銷團(tuán)隊(duì)利用人工智能技術(shù)抓住了人們對(duì)法語(yǔ)興趣激增的趨勢(shì)。另外,韓流粉絲與Duolingo的用戶也有很好的交集,因此該公司也專門創(chuàng)造了一些營(yíng)銷內(nèi)容來(lái)接近與他們的關(guān)系。
奧薩德表示:“社交媒體擁有豐富的內(nèi)容和數(shù)據(jù),我認(rèn)為人工智能技術(shù)在對(duì)這些內(nèi)容進(jìn)行分類和優(yōu)化利用上能夠發(fā)揮重要的作用?!?/p>
也就是說(shuō),他認(rèn)為人工智能依然是營(yíng)銷人員手中的一個(gè)工具,而解決不了創(chuàng)造力的問(wèn)題。
“我更希望設(shè)計(jì)師把時(shí)間集中在思考概念上,集中在提出創(chuàng)意上,多思考如何最好地進(jìn)行信息傳遞,然后利用人工智能來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)規(guī)?;投鄻踊!眾W薩德說(shuō),“但人工智能不會(huì)取代創(chuàng)意誕生的過(guò)程。”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:樸成奎
When Ulta Beauty chief marketing officer Michelle Crossan-Matos discusses the importance of responsible use of generative artificial intelligence, she thinks of the moment children experiment with beauty care for the first time. And she wants to ensure the relationship they develop with beauty products is healthy.
“We’re specifically using gen AI to help speed up asset creation, but it is not to replace people,” says Crossan-Matos. “I don’t want [generative] AI to replace the authentic and natural look that comes from the real individual.”
While Ulta Beauty won’t base marketing on an AI-created face, there are plenty of creative ways the beauty retailer is using AI today. It is a tool that helps associates answer questions from customers, offers personalized products to users of the Ulta Beauty mobile app, and even for campaign ideation. Generative AI developed some visual concepts for a real-life photo shoot that Ulta Beauty conducted for a recent holiday campaign.
“AI has made its way across the company,” says Crossan-Matos.
She says the AI journey began in 2018, when Ulta Beauty acquired an AI-powered shopping assistant and an augmented-reality tech provider. That spurred future innovations like GLAMlab, which allows guests to virtually test makeup with their phone, and an AI-powered skin consultation tool called SkinAnalysis.
Ulta Beauty is ahead of the pack for the use of AI in marketing. A CMO survey conducted last year found that 94% of marketers only began to leverage the tech in the past three years. And 60% report beginning their AI journey less than one year ago.
Historically, AI was used by marketers for advertising targeting, segmentation for ads, email marketing, and audience targeting. But marketers are especially excited about the potential of more personalizing marketing, matching the exact content—text, images, and video—that will compel a customer to buy.
“For us, the reason why we keep growing our loyalty base is because of the content we serve,” says Crossan-Matos. “And you cannot serve content to 42 million loyalty members if you don’t have AI enabling you to tailor and personalize.”
Adrian Fung, CMO of eBay, says the e-commerce giant has over 130 million buyers and nearly 2 billion listings at any given time. The big challenge it faces: That’s a lot of content for eBay to sort through and ensure is shared with shoppers in a manner that’s compelling, delivered at the right time and the right frequency, and with the most optimal messaging possible.
“What I find exciting about AI is the ability to create that better customer experience,” says Fung. “There’s still a lot of exploration with generative AI and trying to figure out the best use cases.”
And eBay is experimenting in a few ways. Generative AI is helping it more finely tune banner ads and creating more personalized subject lines for email blasts. It is also helping users improve the image quality and descriptions of their listings on the eBay site. “We feel like we are still just scratching the surface,” says Fung.
Fung sees great efficiency gains with generative AI tools, but says art direction and creative ideas will remain driven by people.
“I think we at eBay, and a lot of marketers, are grappling with, what’s the interaction between those two?” asks Fung. “How do we blend that art and that science together, particularly as the science starts actually creating some of the art on its own?”
Marketers say AI will also help the industry become even more creative. Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar says marketers lost a lot of their creativity beginning in the mid-1990s, when marketing pivoted from being a creative function that was centered on psychology, design, and aesthetics, and instead became very driven on technology and data analytics.
“This is the opportunity I see with the advent of [generative] AI, in particular, that marketers have a fantastic opportunity to reclaim their time, because everyone else has access to the same set of technologies, the competing field becomes very level,” says Rajamannar.
With a more level playing field, creativity will become the ultimate differentiator. “This is the golden era we are about to enter for marketing,” says Rajamannar. “And if they leverage these tools appropriately, to bring the creativity forward, it’s going to be magical.”
The credit card company has used AI within the marketing function for more than six years. For Mastercard’s social media marketing, AI helps discover and even predict microtrends that can last for just a few days. AI is then quickly deployed to propel the communication messaging for those ads, the templates created for the optimal banner ad color and graphics, conducts testing to land on the final product, and makes the ad purchase. This entire end-to-end process is a combination of AI and automation and has helped greatly boost the effectiveness of Mastercard’s ads.
“I think marketing has kind of already lost creative creativity, sadly, in a lot of ways,” says Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot. “And if you believe that’s the case like I do, then you might say, ‘All right, is AI going to make that worse or is it going to make that better?’ I’m an optimist. I think it’s gonna make it better for a few reasons.”
HubSpot, which makes software for sales and marketing, a year ago assembled a small team of AI engineers and connected them with the marketing team to think of the best use cases possible in the wake of the generative AI breakthrough. They came up with 120 possibilities.
From there, HubSpot narrowed it down to roughly 20 and considered how valuable each use case would be, as well as how ready the AI tech was for those possible applications. “At any one time, we have three to six AI experiments rolling,” says Bodnar. And that’s just for marketing.
Marketers, he adds, do a lot of repetitive work. There’s a lot of content that must be created for a variety of channels. AI can help address the density of those asset needs. “I think that creativity is going to come back by giving marketers more time,” says Bodnar.
Duolingo CMO Manu Orssaud says AI is first and foremost a tool that helps increase productivity. With more than 50% of spending on performance marketing, getting more time to be creative is critical, because that’s where a marketer has more control.
“What we are really interested in around AI is the ability to help us optimize ourselves,” says Orssaud.
AI helps Duolingo discover social media trends that would resonate with the language app’s fans. When Netflix airs new seasons of the comedy series Emily in Paris, Duolingo’s marketing team works to capitalize on the spike in interest in French. K-pop fans tend to intersect nicely with Duolingo’s users, and the company has created content to build affinity with that audience as well.
“Because social [media] is so rich in terms of content and data, and sorting that data and making sense of it, I think this is where AI can play a massive role for marketing,” says Orssaud.
That said, AI should firmly remain a tool for marketers, not a solution for creativity.
“I’d rather have the designer focusing their time on thinking about concepts, thinking about ideas, thinking about how best to message something, and then AI can be the thing that helps us to scale and create variations,” says Orssaud. “AI doesn’t replace the creative process.”