AI and technology
Paul Rowlinson, managing director, GroupM Digital UK – responsible for Xaxis
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the defining technologies of our time, and its impact is being felt in the advertising industry. Marketers are already applying AI to identify prime retargeting opportunities and better predict high-performing impressions, helping to improve the ability of ads to achieve all-important outcomes. But the power of AI isn’t limited to performance-boosting benefits. Marketers can run thousands of tests using AI to pinpoint the best time and price for a bid in an exchange, making each media buy more cost-effective.
Custom algorithms created with AI will continue to be a defining feature of advertising as we head into 2020 as marketers invest greater budgets. Although this investment will be heavily directed toward the human intelligence behind the technology, rather than the software itself, because making the most of AI relies on being able to optimise against clearly defined custom outcome indicators. This is an immensely complex task in practice, which requires highly-skilled data scientists and engineers to create and customise algorithms based on a specific set of measurement metrics defined by individual brands. Going into 2020, it will be the brands and agencies that have access to this talent through strategic partnerships that will achieve the best business outcomes.”
