Watch: How American Express and Galderma use AI

Galderma is adopting AI in its products, including using machine learning in new apps that provide skincare regimens, but the dermatology company is cautious about how the emerging tech appears in advertising, according to Tara Loftis, global president of skincare at Galderma and global head of Cetaphil. Meanwhile, American Express is using the technology to combat fraud, as well as to communicate with customers through channels such as email, according to Jessica Ling, executive VP, global brand advertising at American Express. Both brand leaders discussed their AI strategies during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity at Dentsu Beach. The brands are adopting AI in different ways, applying the new technology to improve services, but they also have reservations about its role in advertising. Ad Age’s guide to everything that happened at Cannes Lions “When it comes to AI, we’re squarely fixated on how we can actually improve the lives of our consumers,” Loftis said. “On the creative side, we’re a little bit more skeptical, to be honest.”More: Ad Age’s AI glossary for brands “I have yet to see how AI is really contributing meaningfully to the creative advertising process,” Loftis said, “because it can sometimes take away from the credit that’s due to the actual creatives that are concepting and creating art.” Generative AI, especially, is a hot topic among creatives as ad agencies and tech platforms experiment with text, image and video creation with the help of large language models. Brands realize AI could help build mass campaigns quickly, but there also are risks associated with giving control over to machines. Some brands have taken extra precautions around how AI shows up in their marketing. For instance, Unilever has promised to only use human models in advertising. Last month, Toys R Us was criticized for releasing an AI-generated commercial, as it experimented with the technology. For Galderma, AI is mostly being applied to products, not marketing, Loftis said. “We created our own AI tool and AI app in partnership with our huge dermatology community to ensure that we could really, like, at the snap of your fingers get customized dermatology recommendations that are bespoke to your skin needs.” American Express has found a role for AI to enhance its security measures. “We were one of the first financial services companies to use AI to protect our customers from fraud using machine learning,” Ling said. Generative AI also has a role to play in how American Express conducts customer relations, according to Ling. “We really think about that [generative AI] in terms of text for channels like email and digital, and really ways to drive efficiency,” Ling said, “so that the creative talent on my team can focus on the big ideas and the innovation.”

Watch: How American Express and Galderma use AI

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