How Volkswagen is using artificial intelligence for ad buying decisions - Digiday

Cars aren't the only thing Volkswagen wants to automate. Artificial intelligence is managing the brand's media buys in Germany and proving to be more effective than its media agency. Whenever Volkswagen uses the recommendations from Blackwood Seven, a Danish media agency that uses AI and predictive analytics to forecast ad spend decisions, it sells more cars than it would have if it had gone with its media agency's recommendation, according to Lutz Kothe, the head of marketing and PR for Volkswagen's passenger cars. Kothe said his team uses Blackwood Seven's algorithm to buy the right ads based on sales. Defining a role for the AI platform, however, has taken Volkswagen a while.