That ad you see? It may have come from a robot, kind of

COLONIE: Ever wonder where a business logo, catchphrase or ad copy comes from?

These days, it may start with a web-based artificial intelligence machine like ChatGPT or Dall-E

Ever since ChatGPT burst onto the scene last November, a variety of industries have rushed to exploit the power of AI, in which computer software applications can provide detailed responses to typed-in queries with startling speed.

Some of the first users were software developers who employ ChatGPT to help solve various computer coding problems. It’s a huge timesaver in that business.

But others are jumping on the AI train as well, including advertising agencies.

The ad business may evoke images of Mad Men, the hit show depicting boozy, smoke-filled brainstorming sessions between admen and clients looking to sell their products in the 1960s.

Today’s admen – and women – probably substitute Red Bull and artisanal coffee for the booze and cigarettes. And there’s still plenty of brainstorming.

But in 2023 creating an ad campaign can also involve inputs into an AI application that will spit out advertising copy, logos and illustrations, doing in seconds what used to take hours, days or weeks.

“I keep saying to people ‘We’re at Year 1 of this,'” Christopher Quereau, CEO of the Vibrant Brands marketing and ad agency, said of how artificial intelligence is being used in the advertising business.

One can prompt ChatGPT, for instance, to write a paragraph extolling the virtues of a brand of socks or soup and it will offer up a coherent narrative about why that particular brand is the best.

And it is fast. When a reporter asked ChatGPT to create ad copy for an imaginary product called “widgets” it took about two seconds for it to spit out a lengthy disposition on why this product is the best. “Are you tired of settling for subpar widgets that just don’t stand the test of time? Look no further!” read part of the AI-generated ad.

In addition to ChatGPT, there are AI-powered illustrating tools like Dall-E, StarryAI or Canva that, as one website boasts, allow users to conjure an illustration of, say, a Panda bear on a surfboard.

These AI-generated images are becoming ubiquitous – the popular TikTok app contains countless samples of these photo-like illustrations, often of people.

The Colonie-based Vibrant brands has started using AI to develop copy and illustrations and Quereau says it’s a major time and cost saver.

Instead of hiring a commercial artist who may charge several hundred or thousand dollars and take several weeks to develop a logo or illustration about a product, AI can do it on demand, saving the client time and money.

Does an agency need a catchy new name for a new line of bubble gum? Let ChatGPT take a stab at it.

Does a bank want a logo for its rebranding or expansion effort? There’s an app for that. What about a local pizzeria that may not have the money for an illustrator, but wants artwork promoting its pies?

Quereau’s agency has already started using these tools. Others have, too.

“We’ve been going deep into it for about seven or eight months,” Quereau said.

To be clear, Quereau doesn’t view the first block of copy or illustration from an AI machine as the final product.

Instead, it’s used as a jumping-off point for refining the copy and artwork.

That’s because AI machines, at least at this point in time, don’t have human consciousness or emotions.

These applications don’t have the refined sensibility – the ear for evocative writing or eye for captivating artwork – that can ring the emotional bells needed to sell a product to the public.

“Writers add the human touch,” said Quereau.

“AI systems such as ChatGPT right now can be very good aids for helping humans generate text and images more quickly and often more coherently, but with limitations that require you to keep humans in the loop,” remarked Jim Hendler, director of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Future of Computing Institute. “You can’t take that human out of the loop.”

The need for a human touch speaks to a major fear that AI has sparked – the idea that these smart apps will lead to job losses as computers can increasingly tackle human tasks.

With some exceptions, Quereau doesn’t see that as happening in the advertising business. In fact, it may mean more jobs for people like copywriters or strategists as AI allows an increased volume of work to be done.

“I use AI as kind of like a baseline at the end of the day. The marketer is going to know the client better than anyone else,” said Talia Cass, Vibrant’s content marketing director.

She recently worked on a campaign for a Pennsylvania-based credit union that wanted to emphasise its local roots and the digital services it offers. She input those ideas into AI apps to help brainstorm possibilities. But it took a person to talk with the credit union executives to know what they wanted the end result to be.

Vibrant has a diverse client list, ranging from credit unions like Sunmark, to St Peter’s Health Partners, Albany International Airport and other businesses regionally, including more credit unions, furniture makers and auto dealerships.

They know about Vibrant’s use of AI.

“Some love it. Some don’t care. No one has said they are against it,” Cass said.

Ultimately, savvy business people realise that AI can serve as a tool.

Quereau concedes that this powerful new tool could endanger some professions, though. The rapidity at which AI machines can generate illustrations may mean there is less demand for commercial artists. And he believes that within the next year or so, AI-generated video will likely come into wide use as well.

RPI’s Hendler says he’s not aware of AI actually replacing humans. “You haven’t seen companies laying off a lot of people because they are using it,” he said.

And Quereau believes that anyone in the ad business, including illustrators, will probably see AI as an enhancement, as long as they learn how to use it to their advantage rather than run from it.

“I look at it as transforming jobs, not taking jobs,” Quereau said. “Ignoring it is done at your own peril.” – Times Union, Albany, N.Y./Tribune News Service