The threats and opportunities AI presents for brands on social

When I received the brief to write this blog, I started to stress a little about 

1) My lack of knowledge in Artificial Intelligence (AI)  

2) My lack of time to get fully up to speed on this complex subject to a level worthy of my esteemed colleagues at PA. 

So, I asked ChatGPT:

“What are the threats and opportunities AI presents for brands on social in 750 words”

It would have been easy to copy and paste the words that lay before me, however, being remanded for cheating in my third week of working with Hydrogen possibly wouldn’t go down well in my probation meeting. Instead, I digested the information the AI-generated know-it-all spat out in a matter of seconds, giving me the time and space to think about what it all really means.

Time

Time is money, originally coined by Benjamin Franklin, and now chanted in marketing agencies during daily stand-ups is where we’ll begin. Our clients (brands) buy our time, and understandably want to see the value of that time. Outside of the shiny side of social, our time can be spent including but not limited to: writing notes, researching, pulling stats, scheduling posts, and other, important, but time-consuming tasks. AI has given us the ability to reduce our admin time and focus more on creating the work that makes our client’s brand famous.

Creativity

It is often suggested that technology sucks the life from creativity, but not always in AI’s case. AI is a brilliant tool for sparking creativity, and something we’ve been using recently to kick-start social media campaign brainstorms. It would have been scoffed at a few years ago to suggest a computer is bringing a fresh perspective to the table, but here we are.

On brand’s social feeds, AI is transforming how content is created. Tools powered by AI can analyse trends and audience preferences to create content which resonates with the individual. AI can also help to write copy, generate video content, and with the social media programmes in every agency's armoury, Canva and Adobe Spark, AI can create content suggestions based on current trends. 

With the good comes the bad, and in recent years, we’ve seen the dangerous side of AI generated content in Deepfakes. As AI can generate convincing fake videos, images, and audio recordings, these can be difficult to differentiate from authentic content. For a brand, this poses potential danger for fake posts circulating online and damaging reputations.

Data Analysis 

We live in a time where data is more valuable than gold and AI’s ability to dissect this data is one of its most powerful tools for brands. AI tools are able to sort through piles of data and metrics to uncover insights that a human may have missed.

It is also incredibly powerful for tracking real-time conversations, allowing immediate feedback on campaigns, meaning brands can quickly pivot for anything going against them, or increase what they are doing for something good.

In 2023, a YouGov survey reported that 60% of British people are fearful of the rise of AI, with loss of privacy noted as one of the biggest threats. It is no secret that social media platforms collect extensive data from users (hello Mr Zuckerberg and everyone at Cambridge Analytics) and with AI using this to create personalised advertising and content recommendations, there is a severe theatre of sensitive data being exposed, leading to privacy violations and brand distrust. 

Engagement

Gone are the days of tolerating dodgy elevator music whilst on hold for yet another complaint. AI-driven chatbots have given brands the chance to provide real-time customer support, answering questions and resolving issues promptly, significantly improving customer experience.

Although speeding up communication with brands, the loss of human touch in brand engagement poses a threat. As customers, we value personalised interactions and the over-use of AI can leave us feeling frustrated with a negative view of the brand.

From complaints to content, AI can also analyse when brands' channels are getting the most engagement and what type of content is thriving. By aligning their strategies with consumer behaviour, brands can enhance engagement and loyalty.

On the flip side, AI is creating bots who can manipulate this data by simulating real-time users and engaging in social media activities like commenting, liking, sharing, and getting into fights on Reddit! Brand reputations can become at risk when bots are used to spread negative comments. 

Love it, loathe it, or just don’t understand it, Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. This powerful tool has the ability to help brands communicate better at every stage of the customer journey, building loyalty and positive brand sentiment on and offline. Elsewhere, it's revolutionising medicine by assisting in spotting cancer cells, creating tailored lessons for students to ensure everyone has an equal chance at education, and it’s even helping pet owners to communicate with their dogs by analysing barks.

As AI begins to grow in many positive ways, it will of course cause more threats. They say, however, good can’t exist without evil, so strap in, don’t chat to stranger-bots and good luck.