Marketers Caught in an AI Duel

BY Mansi Sharma

Interactivity – a simple cognitive function that sets humans apart from other beings is slowly becoming the preferred tool for technological giants to ascertain market dominance. They are trying to imitate empathy and moral reasoning to replicate the richness of human interactions. These nuanced technologies can ultimately hold power over humans and how they perceive communication with machines. OpenAI and Google’s recent announcements regarding their advancements in voice and audio technologies are hinting at a distinct future in this regard. This would also open a whole new world of possibilities for marketers who want to meet the customers when they are the most receptive.

From Chats to Conversations
Until now, people have only been chatting with online search tools – sending in a query and getting jacketed responses. There is no role of human emotion involved in the whole process. However, OpenAI and Google’s advancements in their AI tools are changing this. The tools can analyse facial micro-expressions, body language, and contextual cues, giving an insight into complex human emotions. Their enhanced multimodal capabilities can understand and process text, audio, and visual inputs simultaneously, facilitating active conversations between humans and machines.

For brands trying to make that next big sale or get on top of the customers’ minds, these advanced tools mean better control of their communication strategy. With better understanding of the emotions and moods of the audience, they can modify strategies to reach out to them when they are the most receptive.

Russhabh R Thakkar, Founder and CEO, Frodoh World explains, “For brands, this unlocks a paradigm shift in personalisation - moving beyond coarse demographic targeting to tailoring ad experiences that harmonise with a viewer’s precise mindset and emotional resonance in that specific moment. Imagine dynamic creative that organically ebbs and flows with someone’s fluctuating moods, attention levels, and personal contexts as they consume content. From a marketing standpoint, this could redefine how we connect with consumers on a fundamental human level. Rather than intrusive interruption, we can finally craft empathetic brand experiences that delight and inspire when people are most receptive. Done right, this integration of tech and emotional intelligence has the potential to transcend transactional advertising toward forging deeper, more authentic relationships with audiences.”

Redefining Search Marketing
These new advancements, especially with OpenAI launching limited yet free resources for users under GPT 40, will also disrupt the way customers search on the web.

As per Sahil Chopra, Founder & CEO- iCubesWire this shift “could impact search marketing by requiring brands to optimise for AI-driven search tools, diversifying their online visibility strategies.”

Akhil Almeida, Head – Marketing, Bandhan Life elaborates, “This shift is particularly relevant for the Indian market where mobile-first interactions are prevalent. For brands like Bandhan Life, this means adapting search marketing strategies to include conversational AI optimisation. Content must be tailored to be easily accessible through AI-driven interactions, ensuring that users receive relevant information seamlessly.”

He adds that the new advancements can have an impact on voice search as well, which is struggling to find its footing in the market, “Voice search has not taken off the way people expected it to, largely due to complexities in dialect, accent, and cultural nuances that vary from one region to another. If this is addressed, then it unlocks several opportunities. For instance, optimising content for voice searches about insurance policies can help reach a broader audience, including those in rural areas who might prefer voice-over-text interactions due to literacy barriers.”

From Disturbance to Disruption
Along with facilitating search prowess, the new advancements can help marketers create more personalised, conversational, and relevant content for viewers. This is especially good for the Indian market, where diverse linguistic and cultural nuances play a crucial role.

Deba Ghoshal, Vice President and Head of Marketing, Voltas Ltd. shares, “For example, the visual interpretation features open up new avenues for product demonstrations, virtual try-ons, and augmented reality applications, enhancing the overall customer journey. Additionally, integrated AI services, including Search, Photos, and Workspace, will empower marketers with powerful content creation, analysis, and optimisation tools, offering opportunities for visual storytelling and brand narratives. Advancements in AI-powered search capabilities will enable brands to optimize their online presence and deliver more relevant information to their target audience. This can lead to an improved search engine ranking, better click-through rates, and ultimately, increased brand visibility and engagement.”

A Modern Tech War
While the latest technologies emerge from both the spaces – OpenAI and Google – the industry also mulls if this could have a lasting impact on the latter’s hold over the web search industry. Dominating the global market, Google handles over 90% of worldwide search queries, making it the most widely used search engine.
Google uses sophisticated algorithms to provide search results, a list of hyperlinks pertinent to queries. OpenAI, on the other hand, gives concise, AI-generated summaries instead of these link lists, leveraging Microsoft’s Bing technology.

Himanshu Arora, Co-Founder, Social Panga explains, “All giants in the AI and tech space have the potential to challenge each other, even if Google has a largely monopolised market status. While Google will always be one of the biggest players in the space, I think OpenAI can exert its use in indirect ways. For starters, OpenAI does not operate like Google, a search engine. It has grown in a short period to impact the way people search for information. It understands and generates human-like text, and it can provide contextually relevant results. These factors will make it a potential competitor to Google, even if not directly. It has the potential to create a more dynamic search engine space. It will be fascinating to see how it changes and how users interact with search engines. Yet, progress in AI could significantly alter search marketing for brands by presenting novel approaches to comprehend and engage with search engines and users.”

Ghoshal feels that OpenAI’s multi-modal capabilities are the biggest threat to the supremacy of search engines like Google, “Search engines continue to dominate the Indian markets, shaping how users discover and access information online. Having said that, AI platforms are increasingly gaining momentum amongst young customers due to the introduction of multimodal AI assistants that can process voice, text, and visual inputs. If these assistants gain widespread adoption, they could become the primary gateway for users to access information, bypassing traditional search engines.”

However, he also reckons that the competition between the two AI technologies could drive innovation in user-friendly search experiences, benefiting brands that adapt quickly to leverage AI capabilities effectively.

For the marketing community, there lies a sea full of opportunities that can benefit them to a great extent. It does not matter what platform they rely on to find the result of their queries about these changing technologies but they need to be present on both sides to make the next marketing move.

Tags : #e4m #marketing #Google #advertising #AI #OpenAI #marketingtools