Marketers are learning that most consumers can detect AI-created ads, which tends to undermine brand authenticity
Recent advances in artificial intelligence have given merchants and marketers powerful tools for mining customer data, but relying on AI to create slick marketing content tends to make shoppers wary and “apprehensive.”
That was the lead finding in a broad, global survey conducted earlier this year by London-based YouGov, a technology research consultancy. It has been confirmed by other studies measuring the effect on consumers of artificially created marketing imagery and text.
YouGov said its research across 17 global markets found that about half of consumers are uncomfortable with brands that “use AI to create brand ambassadors (in place of real-life celebrity figures), and utilizing it to generate or edit images used in advertising.”
The role of AI-generated images has been a growing concern across the spectrum of digital media since filters began to proliferate on cellphone cameras that make faces look unrealistically smooth and body shapes idealized. Especially for young women, critics complained, those unnatural images undermine self-confidence by establishing impossible standards.
Dove, the skin care products brand owned by Unilever, took that dynamic and created a smart, well-executed marketing campaign (the Dove Self Esteem Project), including a short, lush video of ordinary people to memorialize its promise to “never use AI to create or distort women’s images.”
YouGov said its survey found that the discomfort with idealized images of humans extends to products as well, although real photos versus digitally manipulated images are sometimes hard to tell apart. Nexcess.net, which provides e-commerce platforms for merchants, conducted a survey across age groups to answer that very question: Can consumers tell an AI-generated content from that created by humans?
Nexcess.net said it excluded images of humans and found that about 55% of the time respondents could identify the AI-generated image-text sets for a call-to-action, email copy, make-up bag, and a social post. Younger people were better at spotting the AI material than older participants.
Even ad copy gave itself away more than half the time with awkward phrasing and cold mechanical language. According to Nexcess, “There’s something to be said for direct, no-fluff copy when it comes to content creation. But AI tools seem to take that a bit too far.”
The ability of shoppers to spot AI text “may begin to affect the success of e-commerce businesses,” the company said. On the other hand, “copy with the human element provides the extra emotion and persuasion necessary to convert a potential customer from warm lead to sale.”
AI is also an element in e-commerce decision fatigue among shoppers. A survey by Texas-based consultant Software Advice of more than 5,500 global consumers found that shoppers are becoming “overwhelmed with the sheer volume of search results, ineffective filters, and unreliable reviews, making it harder to find what they truly want.”
Amazon has attempted to address the problem of shoppers having to spend a lot of time reading through product reviews by using AI to boil down all the reviews into a paragraph that attempts to sum them up. These may be helpful to some, but read like machine-made descriptions, like this one for a dress shirt:
“Customers like the appearance and value of the shirt. They mention it’s beautiful, a good summer shirt, and worth a second look. However, some are disappointed with the wrinkle resistance and buttons durability. Opinions are mixed on the fit, quality, comfort, and fabric quality.”
What does all of this add up to? Back to basics or some newly adaptive form of humans and AI?
AI is useful as a tool to start with but experts suggest it takes a human, personal touch to make content resonate.
For example, an AI-generated description for a garment might read, “This stylish red dress is perfect for any occasion. Made from high-quality materials, it offers both comfort and elegance.”
Content created by a copywriter: ”Turn heads at your next event with this stunning red dress. Crafted from luxurious silk, it not only exudes elegance but also ensures unparalleled comfort. Whether it’s a formal dinner or a casual gathering, this dress is your go-to for making a lasting impression.”
Successful e-commerce marketing is complex but so are humans, who have become much more alert to canned messages and machine-enhanced imagery. That might explain why retailers continue to grow their brick-and-mortar presence.
The real winning combination is the idea of marrying the computational power with the creative and intuition of humans…It’s called Human Computational Modelling. The power of a human armed with the capabilities of AI and leveraging it correctly. We have seen this work effectively many times over and in many forms. For merchants and marketers, it is an opportunity to unlock huge value for their company and shareholders as well as their own personal career development.
The alternative, a competitive DIS-advantage.