AI-Generated Art for Marketing Campaigns? There’s More to It Than You Think…

You can’t automate creativity, and no technology can find a way to harmonize this contradiction. You can, however, use artificial intelligence (AI) to help you unlock and direct it. AI-generated art is the new frontier of online marketing that can enable you and your business to go beyond the ordinary.

Applications like DALE.A and Midjourney have managed to become a success in a short time, giving anyone the chance to leverage AI to generate images and elements that look as though they were made by humans. But these apps are only the tip of the iceberg. The potential of AI-generated art has not yet been tapped on a large scale. Think about tools that can be used to create branded images, ones that mirror your own brand and are more relatable to users than the stock photos or generic graphics everyone has been using for years. Now that I’ve sparked your interest, let’s travel even a bit further. But first, an introduction to AI Art.

What is AI-Generated Art?

Artificial intelligence combines computer science and data science, to try and mimic the intelligence of human form. With the help of machine learning, AI can translate data acquired by a computer to deep learning. AI visuals, in our context, creates intelligent, lifelike visuals that are generated by algorithms. These algorithms process a large number of images to detect existing patterns, and therefore learn how a human would process the knowledge and create the image.

Nowadays, AI-generated art can be created with programs, like Vision API and Google Imagen, that can generate visuals or animations from inputs like text and images. Visuals created by AI range from stock photography to 3D models and illustrations, to videos, virtual reality scenes and animations.

AI-generated art has a ton of potential for growth because of how easy it is to create visuals, and how relatively new this field is. AI programs can be used to create a wide range of images and videos that can then be shared via social media, websites — and marketing materials. Visuals created by AI can help you create content that is more relatable to your customers, increase brand recognition, and build a stronger relationship with your audience.

How to Create AI-Generated Art

There are many available applications that you can use to create AI-generated art, aside from those already mentioned, but Vision API, Midjourney, and Google Imagen seem to be the leaders in this field currently — especially when we’ve got our glance on marketing possibilities. Vision API, for example, scans text, images, and audio files for keywords, generates visuals and images, and outputs the finished product. If you want to create an image for an ad, for example, an easy process consists of importing a photo, text, and keywords, and Vision API will generate a stock image similar to it.

Besides Vision API, there are many free applications that you can use to generate images from inputted texts such as Starry AI, and NightCafe. All you have to do is to input a few parameters and you are good to go (The inputted text can be a detailed sentence or even a single word — the program will work with what it’s got).

That said, it doesn’t stop at images. You can also create customizable Avatars, as well as animated GIFs and videos — and these can further enrich your marketing campaign, especially when it hits social media, where a single image is not enough. In fact, this field has become so trending recently, that even Meta decided to jump in and try to take its share of the cake.

Tips for Successful AI-Generated Art Creation

Visuals, including those generated by AI, are powerful, and have the potential to improve your marketing campaign results. However, you should first make sure you are selecting the right visuals that resonate well with your target audience.

Therefore, the initial step is to research your target audience, their personalities, the art they respond well to, and the keywords they are using — just like you would do as part of any marketing strategy up to now. You can do this by performing keyword research, doing customer interviews and surveys, or by simply observing your target audience in real-life settings. This can help you a lot when you approach your AI platform and try to “explain” to it what kind of imagery you wish to create.

However, there is still a legal barrier here. AI images and videos base themselves on what the computer has learned, meaning that your AI-generated visual is based on another visual that was fed to the computer — and that visual might have an issue with copyright. This is especially relevant when talking about generated visuals of humans, which require their consent for marketing use.

Another issue is the type of content that each platform will allow you to produce. DALL-E, for example, has very specific guidelines on what types of images can and cannot be created, touching issues like illegal activities, racism, gore images, and so on. You must also make sure to state that your marketing content was created with the help of AI, so as not to mislead your target audience in any way.

Conclusion

Visuals created by AI can help create fresh and visually appealing content that is related to your business, thus increasing brand recognition. It can also help you personalize your marketing content and to build a stronger relationship with your audience. If used right, and if you have done your homework, then these powerful pieces of art can take your marketing campaign to the next level.

However, as you can see, despite their power, there is still some lack of clarity about the ownership rights related to this art. Should the art be owned by the AI that made the image or the person who provided the inputs? There are still lots of questions to be answered in that domain. Once those issues are cleared out, the AI-generated is definitely something that you should consider adding to your marketing toolkit.

This post was originally published on Uri Samet’s blog on Medium.com, For the original story click here.

Google Rolls Up a New Tool, and It Can Change the Way Online Reputation Management Is Done

The internet today offers us more advantages and facilities than we imagined only years ago. However, sometimes we tend to forget that it has its pitfalls. One of the most harmful — or should I say disturbing — practices plaguing the internet is the non-consensual data sharing of others. Having personal information, like your phone number, address, or email, published in places where you don’t want it to be can undoubtedly not only invade your privacy, but also harm your online reputation.

That is only half of the problem, though. The fact that anyone today can publish misleading and defamatory information about you, makes the process of reputation management more complex. It’s easier to publish something that damages your online reputation without a need to prove authenticity, and a lot harder to get it removed. Being the primary search engine, Google and its algorithms are naturally a part of the issue.

Well, fortunately, Google is now showing commitment to becoming a part of the solution as well. The company has recently launched a new tool called “Results About You” that allows users to request the removal of personal information, or false information regarding them, from Google search results. We’re talking about a Beta version right now, operating only in certain regions, but this is certainly a game changer, in terms of how you can maintain your online reputation management (ORM) by yourself, without assistance from an ORM specialist or firm.

Google is stepping up its game with the new online reputation management feature

Google first announced the “Results About You” feature in May 2022, and within a span of just 3–4 months, it has officially gone live for USA residents.

With this new tool, you can now request Google to remove a search result showing personal details about you — if they are posted without your consent, intended to harm you, contain illegal information, or are outdated.The process is also straightforward, with the goal of making sure that everyone has access to this tool. You click on the three dots on the right corner of that search result and select the “Remove result” option from the menu. More importantly, you have the ability to conveniently track the status of your request, checking whether it is still in progress or approved/rejected.

While this is seen as a game-changer in the online reputation management community, it is not actually a precedent. In 2014, Google officially enabled the removal of personal information in the EU, as part of the ‘right to be forgotten’ act. However, while the ‘right to be forgotten’ feature was basically forced upon Google by the authorities, the “Results About You” is certainly Alphabet’s way of initiating a solution to the problem, and not just being coerced into responding to it.

Another supplemental tool currently in the making is upcoming “proactive alerts”. This feature will send notifications to users if their personal information is spotted in search results. The alerts will definitely be quite handy, considering no one can keep constant track of all Google results containing their personal info at all times.

Having said that, the combo of these two features — Result-removal requests & timely alerts — would make this whole upgrade much more optimal for managing your online reputation. Once you know if, when and where information is published about you online, it is much easier to react to it — whether it is positive information, good for your ORM efforts, or negative.

Protection against doxing — crucial to your online reputation management efforts

The basic idea behind Google’s newly launched feature is to guard users against doxing attempts. For those who are not familiar with tech-talk, doxing is the act of publishing and distributing information about someone without their consent (usually with malicious intent). In the past, one would have to go through a long and tiring process of trying to contact Google and demand the removal of the information — a process which would sometimes require turning to courthouses and providing proof that such information is indeed false and defamatory, with all the expenses involved in that — things are supposed to get much simpler.

Many statistics also reiterate the increased prevalence of doxing. A Pew Internet study conducted in 2017 stipulated that there’s been an increase in online harassment, including doxing, compared to its prior 2014 analysis data, with some 41% of U.S. adults experiencing harassment. Now, imagine the number of cases that roll onto Google’s doorstep. So far, they haven’t shown a lot of willingness to actively deal with these issues. Perhaps this tool can be a good (albeit way too late) start.

Google’s “Results about you” is a move forward from its previously introduced ORM tools

You might be thinking that Google is pretty late to address this issue despite being a technological giant with a monumental sway worldwide. But note that it’s not the first time Google has come forward with some data removal options to alleviate user-reputation concerns.

Even before the release of the “Results about you” feature, the company offered some online protection tools related to different problems. For example, Google allows users to request the removal of their sensitive banking details from search results had they been published online. Also, the platform permits people under 18 or their parents to request the deletion of their photos from Google search results. Moreover, there are also other protections in place, as per which users can request to discard any explicit non-consensual imagery involving them.

There are two main aspects to emphasize in terms of difference here. The first one is the process, which I’ve discussed the need to make much more accessible. The second one is the potential of aiding people and even businesses in controlling how they appear online. That’s why it is imperative for anyone in the ORM field to assess this tool, follow its development and understand how it can be deployed as part of the holistic ORM strategy.

Now, do you want to appear in the search results? Google has covered this too!

On the other side of the coin, Google also puts forward a feature called “People Cards” for people or organizations who want an online presence and desire to have control over the information (appearing in Google results) related to them. Let’s emphasize here that these cards are different from “knowledge panels” that we all know. Instead, people cards are specifically designed for literally anyone (or anything) who wants to be identified on a Google search, with their personally-entered details. Currently, this tool is only accessible if you reside in India and African countries, though it might be extended to other regions soon.

Let’s not be naive here. Google understands the challenges of this technological era & is accordingly leveling up its strategies to not let go of its global hegemony. Google is not looking first and foremost to help you boost your online presence and tilt it in your favor. However, this doesn’t mean that you cannot use it in favor of your ORM efforts. Once again, this is a Beta version we are talking about, but just think about the potential of this card, which catches a prominent spot on Google searches.

This post was originally published on Uri Samet’s blog on Medium.com, For the original story click here.

How to elevate your marketing efforts with deepfake technology

Successful marketing requires an ability to adapt quickly to new technologies, trends and even social taboos. Thus, it is natural that when deepfake was first introduced to this atmosphere, many regarded it with recoil. Just the name is enough to deter marketers from even understanding what this is about, in an era when “fake news” has practically taken over the discourse — in the marketing sphere and outside of it. However, this instinctive step back might cause marketers to miss out on some interesting opportunities.

Deepfake technology is one of the latest developments that has the potential to significantly impact how brands market themselves going forward. While the implications of this emerging technology may seem obvious — like fake news, for example — marketers, advertisers and digital strategists need to understand how deepfakes will impact their specific industry, before it’s too late. And even though there are challenges, there is plenty to look forward to.

Let’s take the opportunity to see just how deepfake technology can be used for good — as well as bad — purposes by marketers and others. Don’t forget, this new AI-driven technology is going to impact human perception and trust in general. How much, exactly? Let’s try to find out.

What is Deepfake Technology?

Deepfakes are AI-generated media that appear to be authentic. By combining existing images, audio or video with new material, a digital creator can produce content that appears to be real. Some might say that deepfake technology has crept into our lives virtually unnoticed. It has been used to create fake celebrity videos, such as forging footage of Tom Cruise drunk on a plane, creating an Obama speech where he says things he never said, and many more bizarre examples.

The technology powering this is called ‘convolutional neural networks’ (CNNs, no connection whatsoever with the news channel). These networks have been used for ‘computer vision’ for a long time now, and are also applied to audio. Combine the two and you get the magic of deepfake.

Use Deepfake for Good?

Needless to say, the potential of deepfake technology in the field of marketing is huge, both for good and bad causes. Marketers can leverage this technology authentically to improve engagement with their customers, or they can use deepfakes to amplify a deceptive message — much like most other technologies in that their benefits (or harms) depend on the user.

Take the mimicking of famous people’s voices for example (while making it clear that it is a deepfake). But it’s not only about mimicking someone you know. Deepfake technology can be used to convert written text into speech and for audio-to-text conversion, which can help deliver the message to people who need further accessibility options.

In other words, marketers can use deepfake technology to replace the hiring of voice actors, or the creation of similar content for different languages. Want an example? This can be useful for a company that wishes to create a video in multiple languages without having to hire voice actors in different languages. There will always be a mismatch between what is spoken and what is written. With deepfake technology, the written text can be converted into audio and then combined with the intended video.

The technology has been particularly beneficial and used commonly in storytelling, which is an influential way of communicating information. Its value also appears in its capacity to deliver hyper-personalized content, which also makes customers feel special and appreciated. Moreover, deepfakes can help companies create wonderful experiences for their customers through the creation of interactive content that seems very real. All of those can improve the outcome of marketing campaigns.

Bruce Willis can speak Russian?

Many companies have cleverly used deepfakes to generate a buzz around them and their products, and one of the most prominent examples as of late surprisingly comes from Russia. In 2021, the mobile company Megafon created a series of commercials starring the famous actor Bruce Willis — but not really with him actively participating in the campaign. This was done with the help of a web platform designed by the AI company Deepcake, and with full consent on the actor’s side.

Not all is good, though…

Despite their benefits, deepfakes can also be used in malicious ways such as scams or attempts to spread propaganda. Remember the fake Obama video mentioned earlier? Just imagine how that affected people’s opinion about Barack Obama. True, this was way after he completed his term as president, but it has certainly altered people’s perspective of the Democratic party — for better or worse, just not for the right reasons.

Deception usually underlies these types of efforts, and thus for your marketing campaign that relies on deepfakes to work, you must be authentic with your audience. Be sure to communicate to them that you are relying on deepfake media and that the purpose is to deliver a better experience. This way customers will appreciate the candor and enjoy the experience. This will elevate your brand in their minds.

Conclusion

Deepfake technology can be used for good and bad purposes, that is clear by now. The technology is still in its infancy, and it has a long way to develop. While using deepfake media can indeed take your marketing campaigns to new frontiers, you must remember that it also carries a whole lot of ‘bad rep’ with it. That is why it is better to combine deepfake campaigns with authenticity. Once you base your efforts on the right values, the potential can be limitless indeed.

Not convinced by the power of deepfake marketing yet? Well, keep in mind that your competitors will probably be using deepfakes soon. If you want to maintain your relevance in an increasingly volatile marketing landscape, you better get used to deepfake — it is here to stay.

This post was originally published on Uri Samet’s blog on Medium.com, For the original story click here.