Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a great tool, but can also be an advertising killer when pasted right from the site. Businesses have begun to use AI to promote products and market events, which has raised concerns. Although it’s beneficial to help come up with ideas, AI will implement its own concepts which may not be reliable. It can also generate ideas to help catch people’s attention, but the lack of originality is a point of contention for many. Given the number of issues surrounding AI, a lot of uncertainty as to what it should be used for.
Businesses want to make their advertisements as successful as possible, but don‘t want to pour in large amounts of time or money to do so. AI has proven to be a great resource for such companies as it can create professional-grade advertisements in minutes and for little to no cost. However, AI occasionally takes answering the prompt to an extreme by creating sources that don‘t actually exist.
This was illustrated in a recent social media post by Ben Earl, a magician who posted about his experience with AI advertisements. According to his post, Murphy’s Magic, a website for a John Carey book, contained a quote by Earl that he never provided. After seeing the false quote, he contacted Carey, who was unaware of the error because it was generated by ChatGPT and not fact-checked before being uploaded. This mishap goes to show the dangers of relying on AI to assist with marketing, especially if the products it creates are not going to be scanned for accuracy.
The GH Falcon sat down with the school’s Entrepreneurship and Event Marketing teachers to get their opinions on businesses using AI. CTE teacher Brady Shulfer explained how, “Businesses use AI to market because it is easier and financially more efficient.” However, he also said, “It’s too easy a use and they’re not using creator tools. It will probably take over jobs involved in artistic designing in the future.” Shulfer believes that AI will take over the advertising industry and graphic design may no longer be a potential career path.
While businesses are allowed to use AI, the potential of inaccurate information and the ethical issues surrounding its use lead many to argue that there is no place for AI in marketing. Despite backlash, many companies continue to turn to AI due to its cost-effectiveness and ease of use. As these businesses continue to utilize emerging technology, they must ensure their advertisements remain original and contain accurate information. While issues with AI‘s reliability continue to arise, the safest option is to keep marketing old-fashioned and continue to have professionals create advertisements.