Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way businesses and digital platforms engage with their consumers. While we continue to watch the early years of this digital frontier roll-out, it’s important to assess the risks and growing concern that comes with AI technology.
Content Credibility and Authenticity
Though the roots of AI can be traced back to the 1950’s, generative artificial intelligence—a model that creates images, texts, and videos in response to prompts—only became publicly accessible in recent years. As companies continue to take advantage of AI for marketing and communications, it’s important to remember that this technology is like all digital tech that came before it—based on machine intelligence. Failing to verify information, data, and other content generated by AI can be career devastating for the humans behind the prompts. Regardless of what model you’re using, it’s crucial to double-check generated content and information through reliable sources.
On top of checking for accuracy, make sure AI-generated content follows your brand guidelines and tone. Over-reliance on AI content can make your business sound generic, repetitive, or robotic. A good reminder for marketers everywhere—generative AI should be treated as an asset to your design process, not the sole source of creation. Make sure the use of AI doesn’t overshadow your brand’s unique and authentic voice.
Looming Legal Issues
Mistakes due to AI technology can deliver devastating blows to a company’s reputation. Earlier this year, a small claims Canadian court ordered Air Canada to compensate and pay damages to a passenger after its AI-chatbot gave the customer wrong information about bereavement fares. Newspaper conglomerate Gannett announced an indefinite pause on its AI tool LedeAI after several newspapers published high school football dispatches littered with typos and repetitive information. Automated content generation may lighten the work load, but a lack of human oversight could lead to legal troubles. Several artist coalitions have filed lawsuits against Google’s Imagen 3 and AI art application Midjourney over alleged copyright infringement. A quick glance over AI-generated content before posting could give your business peace of mind and a future savings on legal fees.
Over-Automation and a Lack of Connection
Automation has become a key asset for social media management services like Sprout Social and Hootsuite. AI tools can now help businesses streamline digital communications by scheduling posts, responding to comments, and managing customer queries. Over-automation of these services can give your audience an impersonal, detaching impression of your business. Over-reliance on AI for direct interactions with your audience could also damage your brand’s reputation. Your company’s digital presence should be a healthy mix of automated interactions and human connection.
Nothing Can Replace Human Oversight
While AI tools offer major advantages to social media marketing and digital communications, businesses must learn to balance this emerging technology with the human elements of their brand. Understand the risks that come with allowing AI to represent your company and exercise human oversight with each post. Above all, remember who built your business in the first place—real, authentic people.
