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AI is a boon to programmatic advertising, and the “intelligence” in artificial intelligence is getting smarter each day. However, because AI algorithms aren’t able to experience emotion or base decisions on gut instinct, there will always be a need for human oversight to help govern AI technology and ensure proper decisions are being made.
Intelligence without oversight isn’t enough
When the late Kobe Bryant passed away earlier this year, social media and news agencies went wild reporting the tragedy. This spurred AI into action, prompting numerous programmatic ads for Kobe memorabilia to show up on consumer device screens around the world.
Many people reacted negatively to this, however. They felt the ads were rude, tacky and appearing far too soon after the unexpected death. All of us human beings understood how these ads were inappropriate, but the artificial intelligence delivering them throughout the world didn’t have a clue.
Consumers looked at the memorabilia ads as “opportunistic” and assumed companies were glamming up Kobe’s death in the name of boosting sales. This was not the case, however. Underlying AI programs had simply gone wild before the brakes could be applied.
These AI-powered algorithms are set up to optimize programmatic ads for clicks, relying on keywords from trending topics in order to figure out which copy should be featured in an ad. This usually results in consumers receiving effective, relevant and traffic-driving content. But every now and then, if there’s no human element involved, these algorithms can backfire. That’s why it’s so crucial that programmatic AI systems maintain a degree of human involvement and oversight.
Integrating the human element
It’s imperative for advertising techs to keep abreast of current happenings and be prepared to intervene or make any necessary algorithm adjustments in order to prevent any poorly-timed or inappropriate ads from being served. At Genius Monkey, we like to refer to this human intervention concept as Quants with Human Oversight.
Not only must marketers remain vigilant on current events, but they must also be on top of their AI-driven programmatic ad-buying game. After all, artificial intelligence is meant to enhance programmatic ad-buying strategies, not destroy them. Here are a few effective ways to maintain control of your AI-driven programmatic algorithms:
Be sure to measure the important stuff. With today’s AI, the opportunities for marketers now are practically limitless. Advertisers can drive results by putting all this collected consumer data to work to find out what works and what does not. Eventually, after adequate adjusting, testing and measuring has been done, marketers can get a true picture of what delivers the optimum ROI.
Include a smart pixel on your website. A tracking pixel can keep track of your users, what types of targeting got them to convert, what they do once they arrive and more. Compare that data to your foremost business results, such as web traffic, sales conversions or a different metric. Smart pixels can also assist you in finding your most valuable targets. Once they are identified, you can find even more members of your strongest audience wherever they go, by utilizing look-alike modeling.
Utilize the talents of your entire team. Not just those of your hands-on-keyboard and quantitative groups. It’s called cross-team collaboration, and it brings more ideas to the table when it’s utilized.
Authentic insight helps govern artificial decisions
Programmatic artificial intelligence is an incredibly powerful digital marketing tool. At Genius Monkey, our AI system analyzes campaign performance by following consumer behavior and search patterns and using data from social media platforms and blog posts to help our clients better understand their customers’ needs. And that information is how we ensure our clients’ digital ads get in front of consumers and lead them to any desired products and services.
So your programmatic ad-buying process should always include artificial intelligence, but there needs to be a degree of human oversight in order for it to bring in the ultimate results. The wrong ad at the wrong time can be a strong hit to an otherwise reputable business, which could lead to wasted marketing dollars. Nevertheless, the advantages of using AI far outweigh any cons, to be sure.
