The Future of AI in Digital Advertising

Marketers are beginning to realize AI’s potential as a tool for improving the effectiveness of campaigns, but understanding of its capacity remains limited. "Smith & Tinker's Patent Double-Action, Extra-Responsive, Thought-Creating, Perfect-Talking Mechanical Man […] Thinks, Speaks, Acts, and Does Everything but Live." - Ozma of Oz, L. Frank Baum, 1907 Written almost 110 years ago, L. Frank Baum's product description of a mechanical man powered by artificial intelligence (AI) was a humorous oddity in a fantasy world. While we may not have Tik-Tok -- except on screen in the Return to OZ -- we do now have smart technology. The powerful urge to streamline our existence has spawned a host of consumer-level AI applications that promise to do nearly everything. AI-driven tools like image and voice recognition on smartphones, algorithm-based viewing suggestions for Netflix, and Google’s real language analysis in search, are now integral to everyday life.