AI in the News: What marketers should care about

AI went bonkers last week. Should marketers care? Yes. Does it feel like just another thing to pay attention to when you already have a full plate? Also yes. 

Between Google and Open AI, in this not-so-regular update of what is happening in AI, I look at the spate of Google tools that came out and cover what's new with ChatGPT. That being said, I think you'll actually be interested in the releases because they all have potential marketing uses. 

So, grab your coffee (and maybe a snack, it's not good to drink caffeine on an empty stomach (she says drinking caffeine on an empty stomach)) and let's dive into what's new in AI. 

Big AI Themes

You'll see that the big themes for last week's releases are all about efficiency, real-time processing, enhanced productivity, integration, data analysis, and video management. While this may not sound new, from what I these tools are making the AI reality we have been sold more of a reality than ever. I haven't had a chance to actually try these out, but in my process of evaluating what to look at first, I ran all of the new features through a "what would marketers care about?" filter. Why? Because I'm a marketer and I don't have time to wade through endless release notes. So! me and my trusty intern (AI, ironically) boiled down the uses to a few themes for each new product.  

What Now, Google?

​Google has been incorporating AI into its search results since 2001. With a history of consistent improvement and innovation, they advanced to being able to identify cats in videos thanks to the launch of Google Brain in 2011. Between acquisitions and internal development, they have been focused on enhancing search engine performance and other enhancements. ​Recent innovations have focused on generative AI, improving natural language generation and real-time intelligent assistance, pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve and continuously transforming user interaction with technology.

Last week's announcement really shows off their investment in AI. Although I haven't gotten to experiment very much with these tools, I intend to do so with a potential follow up blog on topics I think are interesting. In the meantime, here's what's new and why you should care with the new Google releases! 

Pricing: Gemini Flash is designed for developers building their own AI products and services, available for public preview in Google’s AI Studio and Vertex AI. Pricing details are typically provided upon consultation.

Google Gemini

What is it? 
​This AI model is part of Google's Gemini project and is designed to handle rapid, real-time processing. It excels in quick data interpretation and response, making it ideal for applications that require instant feedback and high-speed computations.

Why should marketers care? 
Working with developer resources, marketers could potentially use this for:

• Ad Optimization: Marketers can use Gemini Flash for instant analysis of ad performance, enabling real-time adjustments to campaigns for better results.
• Customer Interaction: Real-time customer data processing can improve chatbots and virtual assistants, providing immediate and accurate responses to customer queries, enhancing customer satisfaction and engagement.

​More Information: Google DeepMind - Gemini

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Pricing: Project Astra is part of Google's research initiatives, primarily used for astronomical research. Specific pricing is usually discussed during the implementation phase with interested research institutions.

Project Astra

What is it? 
This initiative focuses on leveraging AI for astronomical research. It aims to use advanced AI techniques to analyze vast amounts of astronomical data, aiding in the discovery of new celestial bodies and phenomena.​

Why should marketers care? 
It's laying the groundwork for the following functions: 

• Market Research: By applying AI techniques from Project Astra, marketers can analyze large datasets to uncover trends and insights that were previously difficult to detect, improving targeting and strategy development.
• Content Creation: Utilizing AI to discover and predict consumer interests and behavior patterns, enabling the creation of more relevant and personalized content.
  
• More Information: Google Research Blog

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Pricing: The Gemini AI Teammate, aimed at enhancing collaborative environments, is available through Google's AI platforms. Pricing models are generally customized based on usage and integration needs.

Gemini AI Teammate

What is it? 
​This tool is designed to work alongside humans in collaborative environments. It can assist with tasks such as coding, content creation, and data analysis, acting as an intelligent assistant that enhances productivity and efficiency.

Why should marketers care? 

• ​Content Creation and Curation: Marketers can collaborate with Gemini AI Teammate to generate high-quality content, streamline content curation, and ensure that all marketing materials are engaging and relevant.
• Campaign Management: The AI can assist in planning, executing, and monitoring marketing campaigns, making it easier to manage multiple campaigns simultaneously with improved efficiency and reduced errors.
  

More Information: Google AI Blog

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Pricing: This initiative emphasizes integration across Google products. There are no specific costs associated with this concept, as it involves the underlying AI enhancements within existing Google services.

Gemini is Everywhere

What is it? 
This concept emphasizes the integration of Gemini AI across all Google products and services. From Google Maps to Google Docs, the idea is to have a seamless AI experience that enhances user interactions across various platforms.

Why should marketers care?

• Seamless Integration: With Gemini AI integrated across Google products, marketers can have a unified AI experience that enhances tasks such as keyword research in Google Ads, optimizing content in Google Docs, and analyzing customer behavior through Google Analytics.
• Cross-Platform Consistency: Ensuring that marketing messages and strategies are consistent across all platforms, providing a cohesive brand experience for customers.

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Pricing: Veo, Google's AI-powered video analysis tool, is accessible via Google's AI tools for developers. Pricing details are available upon request, often tailored to the specific needs of the users.

Google Veo

What is it? 
​Veo is a new AI-powered video analysis tool that helps in interpreting and managing video content. It can be used for applications such as video editing, content curation, and automated tagging, making video management more efficient.

Why should marketers care?

• Video Analysis: Veo can automatically analyze video content to identify key segments, suggest edits, and tag content, making video management more efficient and effective.
• Enhanced Engagement: By understanding viewer behavior and preferences through AI analysis, marketers can create more engaging and targeted video content, increasing viewer retention and conversion rates.

More Information: Engadget on Gemini 1.5 Flash

Combine the power of these all together you become a marketing Transformer, ready to personalize marketing strategies, streamline processes, analyze data, and come up with more interesting campaign that will be as fun for you to make as it will be for your audience to consume. 

Welcome OpenAI Overlords

Before we dive into a comprehensive list of things marketers can do with ChatGPT, let's do a quick recap of its previous capabilities. Previously, ChatGPT could handle primarily text-based interactions, excelling in text generation but struggling with processing or creating content in other formats like images or videos. Context retention was limited to shorter interactions, making complex or detailed queries more challenging. Data analysis capabilities were basic, providing static insights without real-time processing. ChatGPT's role focused on individual assistance, offering information and performing tasks separately rather than collaborating dynamically with users. Integration across various platforms was discrete, often requiring users to switch between different tools and interfaces. Recent innovations have vastly improved these aspects, pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities and transforming user interactions with technology.

Although I haven't had an opportunity dig into the Google tools, I HAVE been messing with the new version of ChatGPT and I'm delighted. One of my biggest pain points was to have it look at external documents and have them integrate it into what I'm working on, either as a reference or to help control tone based on a client's external brand voice. Now, I just ask it to edit a paragraph I just wrote for tone and voice based on either a client's brand guideline OR their website! 

ChatGPT Free Tier: Free users have access to GPT-4o with limits on the number of messages they can send, which varies based on current usage and demand. When the limit is reached, users are switched back to GPT-3.5.

ChatGPT Plus: Priced at $20 per month, Plus users get access to GPT-4o with a higher message limit. They can send up to 80 messages every 3 hours with GPT-4o and up to 40 messages every 3 hours with GPT-4. During peak hours, these limits may be reduced to ensure accessibility for more users.

(see their website for more pricing options)

ChatGPT 4o

What is it? 
ChatGPT 4.0 brings advanced multimodal understanding, allowing it to interpret and generate text, images, audio, and video. It maintains context over extended interactions, providing real-time insights and detailed analysis. Acting as a collaborative AI, it assists with tasks like content creation and project management, seamlessly integrating across various platforms to enhance user experience.

What should marketers care about? 

• Document Referencing: Seamlessly pull information and content from Google Docs and websites.
• Real-time Data Analysis: Analyze campaign performance instantly, providing actionable insights on the fly.
• Multimodal Content Creation: Generate and integrate text, images, audio, and video for comprehensive marketing materials.
• Enhanced Context Retention: Maintain context over extended interactions for detailed campaign planning and execution.
• Collaborative Assistance: Work collaboratively on tasks like content creation, strategy development, and project management.
• Integrated Platform Experience: Easily integrate functionalities across various marketing platforms and tools.
• Advanced Customer Insights: Utilize AI to understand customer behavior and preferences, tailoring marketing efforts more effectively.
• Efficient Workflow Automation: Automate routine tasks to focus on creative and strategic work, enhancing overall productivity.

More information: GPT4o and More Tools

​I haven't really messed with the video features, but it did generate the image for this blog. So that's cool! 

AI in a Nutshell

Now that we've taken a whirlwind tour through the latest and greatest in AI, it's clear that there are still some rows to hoe before all of the tools that are being developed become super useful to marketers. However, with things moving along as quickly as they are, we'll be able to engage some of that juicy data analysis sooner than later. 

In the meantime, do you have a favorite AI tool or AI plugin that you use on the daily? I'd love to know! 

AI Prompts to Create a Better Bio

I recently write an article about how to write a better bio and it includes a few simple prompts you can drop into ChatGPT (or your favorite open format AI tool) to create a first draft to get you started. 

Read the Blog