IBM Watson Is Now Offering AI-Powered Digital Ads That Answer Consumers' Questions

Big Blue is bringing a new kind of big data to digital ads. We've seen Bob Dylan talking to IBM Watson about love and loss in TV spots for months, and Big Blue now wants us to connect with the same kind of artificial intelligence--but not to discuss humanity's deepest issues. No, the idea here is more about the weather and the right kinds of spices to put in our soup. The Armonk, N.Y.-based tech giant today is announcing Watson Ads that will let consumers ask questions by voice or text and receive answers. IBM's relatively new ownership of The Weather Company's digital properties is coming into play in a serious fashion: Watson Ads will first appear on Weather.com, the Weather mobile app and the company's data-driven WeatherFX platform.