Top 5 AI marketing activations to know about right now

It’s been a busy month for AI and developers, with big advertising implications. Last week, Google and Open AI presented parallel showcases to reveal next-gen chatbots. And Google launched a new AI search product. Meanwhile, there have been advances in video and music generation. All the while, advertisers continue to use these tools to boost their ad tech and creativity. The cries against AI are growing too. OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, took its turn in the hot seat since it released a chatbot that seemed inspired by Scarlett Johansson’s character in “Her.” Johansson spoke against OpenAI, and the incident seemed to confirm people’s worst fears about unchecked AI development—that AI companies will take intellectual property, data, and even likenesses, without regard for the artists and creators. A similar concern has emerged about Google’s move to put AI into search, with publishers worried the new experience means people won’t visit their websites and instead will get the same information just by asking Google’s chatbot. Also: Why WPP partnered with OpenAI competitor Anthropic Despite AI anxiety, the tech continues to evolve. And there are more examples of brands using AI to build ads, and some promising results coming out of Google and OpenAI. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Here, Ad Age looks at the top 5 recent AI activations in marketing, and what they mean for the industry. 5. ChatGPT’s flirty AI The latest OpenAI chatbot, ChatGPT-4o, was a marketing miss for the company. The demo of the bot appeared rushed, according to AI experts, and the rollout was accompanied by a backlash over the voice assistant. Johansson told NPR she was “shocked” by the voice that sounded like her own. The voice similarities seemed intentional, too. OpenAI CEO Altman described the chatbot in a blog, saying it “feels like AI from the movies.” After the pushback, OpenAI removed that voice option from the product, which still has other variations. Despite the setback, ChatGPT-4o was still viewed as a technological leap forward, because of how lifelike the voice assistant sounded. Google demonstrated a similar chatbot under the name Project Astra, and the voice was more formal than ChatGPT, but still less robotic than the typical computer-generated assistant. 4. Google’s AI search ads This week, Google showed how AI search will accommodate sponsored results. Earlier this month, Google announced “AI overview” in search results, which is not widely available yet but could reach 1 billion Google users by the end of the year. The AI search will take a prominent position on the screen and could change how brands and publishers appear on Google. This week’s event offered a taste of what the new ad experience in search will look like. Sponsored results will pop up with images and product details. In some cases, consumers can interact with a sponsored result. For instance, in a search for “short term storage,” people could upload images of what they want to store and get more refined results. Google versus OpenAI—What brands need to know Google also gave details about how brands can use new AI image-generation tools in Performance Max campaigns. Last month, Google launched ad-generating options in PMax, but they came with restrictions—limits on depicting people and brand logos. This week, Google gave a new way for brands to upload their brand iconography and style guides to train the AI. 3. Girls Inc. earns its AI wings A new spot from nonprofit Girls Inc. was 75% AI generated, Ad Age reported last week. Secret Level made the commercial pro-bono, Sabrina Sanchez, senior reporter, Creativity, wrote. The agency has used AI before in its marketing, and recently made a musical with generative AI. Girls Inc. said AI helped keep costs in check for its latest ad. “We would never have been able to afford to produce this idea at this level without the help of AI and the generosity of talented and good-hearted humans. It’s an incredible example of how AI can work to enhance and realize an idea with limited resources and time,” Girls Inc. said in a statement provided to Creativity. 2. AI gets musical AI is infiltrating the music industry, and it’s getting scarily good at concocting songs on the spot. ElevenLabs, the AI startup that is part of a Disney accelerator program, has been at the forefront of voice and music generation. ElevenLabs Music recently emerged from the startup and offered a preview of its work, including songs that sound convincingly real. One song, titled “My Love,” came with this description: “Indie Rock with 90s influences, featuring a combination of clean and distorted guitars, driving drumbeats, and a prominent bassline, with a moderate tempo around 120 BPM, and a mix of introspective and uplifting moods, evoking a sense of nostalgia and hope.” Meanwhile, Google recently launched what it called “Music AI Sandbox,” and popular electronic musician Marc Rebillet put out his first AI song through the program. Rebillet also performed at Google I/O, the developer event, earlier this month. AI video race is on Video is the next format for AI to conquer, and there have been signs of its coming, even though AI video generation is not yet widely available. OpenAI released Sora, for generative video, in February. It is still in limited release. Earlier this month, Google teased Veo, its AI video platform, without a firm public launch date. The product demonstrations from OpenAI and Google show the potential of video. OpenAI shared a sequel to “Air Head,” a short film about a person with a balloon for a head, which was created with the help of AI video. The follow-up was called “Deflated.” OpenAI was compelled to post a “behind the scenes” video from the sequel, produced by studio Shy Kids, to show how much of the film was done by AI, and which parts were handled by humans. Google released an early look at Veo’s capabilities, too, and said that it’s its “most capable video generation model to date.”

Top 5 AI marketing activations to know about right now

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