It’s no surprise that A.I. is and has been impacting our lives in some big ways. For one, you probably ordered your Amazon groceries through your Alexa, or if you called a customer support line recently, chances are you were talking to a convincing bot voice. That latest cultural fixation is around ChatGPT. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a type of language model that uses deep learning to generate natural language text. It is specifically trained to generate human-like text based on a given prompt, and it can be used to perform a variety of natural language processing tasks, such as text summarization, language translation, and question answering. The model has been trained on a large amount of internet text, which enables it to generate text that is similar to the style and tone of a wide variety of sources. (More on that later.) The implications of such a technology are huge, and while I’d love to get into all the implications, I’ll focus on one area: how will A.I. platforms like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or IBM Watson change branding?

The History of A.I. in Branding: How Technology has Transformed Marketing Strategies

In classic “new normal” suite, shortly after I typed that question into this draft of a Google Sheets doc, I was served an Instagram post talking about how fashion brand Valentino recently launched an A.I.-driven ad campaign to promote their latest line.

As it turns out, A.I. has been helping brands grow for a while. For example, PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew brand used a combination of machine learning and computer vision to create an interactive vending machine that could recognize customers’ facial expressions and dispense a free can of soda if the customer smiled at the machine. The campaign aimed to create a memorable and positive brand experience for customers. Or Netflix who used A.I. to generate personalized trailers for its shows and movies to improve the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns. The trailers were created by combining footage from different parts of the shows or movies and were tailored to each user’s viewing history and preferences.

ChatGPT’s Insight: How A.I. will Transform Branding

Despite a history of brands using A.I., I still wanted to understand how these new and quickly evolving A.I. platforms are going to play a bigger role. So, I asked ChatGPT, but I also asked ChatGPT to give me the answer in the voice of Jerry Seinfeld… just for fun:

Hey, have you heard about these A.I.-powered chatbot things like Chatbot and Midjourney? They’re pretty wild, I’ll tell ya. But let me tell you something, they can do wonders for your brand.

It’s like that old saying, “Why bother having a customer service department when you can have a robot do it for you?” With these chatbot platforms, your customers will be getting personalized and efficient service, and you know what that means for your brand? A big ol’ stamp of approval from your satisfied customers. And who doesn’t love a satisfied customer?

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But it’s not just about customer service, these chatbot things can also gather data on your customers and their preferences. Which means you can deliver those tailor-made marketing messages that hit the bullseye every time. And when you’re converting those customers, you’re building a brand that’s stronger than Superman on steroids.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “What about human interaction, Jerry?” Well, you’re right. These chatbot platforms can’t replace the human touch, but they sure can assist with it. Think of it like a comedic sidekick, they set up the punchline, and you deliver it.

One thing is for sure, A.I.-generated content can raise intellectual property and branding challenges for companies in the short term. This includes the use of recognizable characters or trademarked logos in A.I.-generated images, which can lead to disputes over derivative works and copyright infringement. It’s like when Newman tried to use an alias to sell black-and-white cookies.

Another issue is the potential dilution of a trademark. This can occur when a trademark is used in a way that reduces its distinctiveness or blurs the association between the trademark and the original brand. It’s like when Kramer starts using a brand’s catchphrase and ruins it for everyone.

And let’s not forget about the possibility of unfair competition. A.I.-powered chat platforms can be used to mimic a brand’s messaging and style, which can create confusion among customers and erode trust in the original brand. It’s like when George tries to use an alias to buy a big jar of pickles.

But, it’s not all bad news. A.I.-powered chat platforms can be a powerful tool for companies to create more engaging and personalized experiences for their customers.

Alright, I got to go. I’m sure you have a brand to improve. Oh, and by the way, remember ” A brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world: a corner of someone’s mind”

Given that about 90% of this blog post was written by ChatGPT (not just the Seinfeld part), the robot and Jerry Seinfeld images were made on Midjourney and I edited the article on Grammarly, I can understand how A.I. platforms will help expedite marketing efforts like newsletters, blog posts, and social media captions. That said, I do agree with “Jerry’s” assessment that chatbot platforms can’t completely replace the human touch as I needed to edit the text and image quite a bit. As for the countless other platforms out there, I believe we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg. Ethical debate aside (which is deserving of its own post), the competitive landscape and speed of technological advancement would suggest that brands and agencies can’t ignore A.I. in their brand strategies.

-Eli

In case Seinfeld isn’t your cup of tea, I tested this article across many voices. Here’s a runner up:

Hey, it’s your girl Michelle Wolf here, and let me tell you, A.I. is taking over in a big way. I mean, you got your Alexa ordering your groceries like it’s no big deal, you got people tapping their phones to pay like it’s NBD, and if you call customer service, you’re probably talking to a robot who sounds more human than your ex. But the real kicker is ChatGPT. You ever heard of it? It’s like a robot that can write like a human. It’s like it’s read every online document on the internet and it’s ready to write a novel. It’s like if a robot could win the pulitzer prize. But the real question is how is this gonna change branding? I mean, will robots start doing infomercials? Will Siri become the new face of Proactiv? Only time will tell, but I’m excited to see what happens next.”

Eli Becker is the lead creative strategist at Teak. Her passion for storytelling inspires her to research and write (and maybe sometimes with A.I. now) alongside her other storytelling platforms like her band, Eli and the Approach, and her passion project, www.searchergo.com.