Some content creators are using generative AI tools to spark new levels of creativity and innovation and are sharing their experiences online in how they’re using these tools to streamline their workflows and boost productivity.
This experimentation with generative AI extends to brands, like Coca-Cola, as well. Notably, platforms are in a race to stand out. Platforms like YouTube are also delving into this area of generative AI, which announced a new suite of AI-powered tools for creators last Thursday. But it’s not without competition: Snap said on Wednesday that it would sunset its AR innovation department due to a variety of factors including “the advent of generative AI” making it more difficult for the company to differentiate its product set.
“The biggest change will be in [who] creates the most compelling content,” said Adam Dornbusch, CEO and founder of the creator management platform EnTribe. “We will see diamonds in the rough shine now more than ever and the sooner platforms and brands recognize that tomorrow’s best content creators are not yet on any marketing team, the more they will win.”
Josh Dreller, a content creator and the senior director of content marketing at the omnichannel platform Skai, said clients are looking to maximize their advertising returns, delegate repetitive tasks to smart machines for efficient campaign management, minimize costly errors, and uncover insights that drive informed decisions. Dreller further emphasized that AI capabilities don’t inherently lead to higher costs, but the potential is there. According to Dreller, this is particularly relevant when such innovations enable its clients to replace more costly partners.
“We’re examining every aspect of how our clients use our application and are finding ways to embed AI at key inflection points to enhance their experience that could mean saving time, reducing errors, analyzing data to build insights, driving performance, and optimization decisions,” said Dreller, who noted that content creators are monetizing every second of their lives, so they put out thousands of posts, which means they need help to generate high quality content.
YouTube Dream Screen
YouTube introduced a generative AI feature, “Dream Screen,” on its Shorts platform, which will be tested for a small number of creators later this year and officially launching in early 2024. This tool lets users to use AI-generated video or image backgrounds by typing their visual concept.
Melony Qin, known as CloudMelon on YouTube, is a tech and AI influencer who focuses on educational content on generative AI and who says she is open to testing Dream Screen once it is available. She recently worked on projects for two brands that involved the use of generative AI, though Qin declined to share the brands or deals. Qin added that there are strict guidelines she has to follow for using generative AI based on different regions.
She pointed to varying data laws and policies like GDPR in Europe and in Japan.
“This dynamic landscape underscores the need to be vigilant about the origins of AI-generated content, such as scripts and voices, as it can potentially impact both source creators and individuals’ identities,” she said.
Qin said generative AI has significantly expedited her workflow and she was able to generate a total of 20 samples of AI generated high quality videos within 10 hours, a task that would typically consume several days of work. But, she emphasized that generative AI is not mature enough to do a human’s work due to the several numbers of edits as different creators have different types of content creation strategies that are tailor made for them.
Eunice Shin, head of practices at growth consulting firm Prophet, emphasized the potential impact of YouTube’s Dream Screen on content creators — and how much time it can save.
“I think that the other platforms are going to try and do their own take on generative AI and YouTube has a little bit of an upper hand on this right now,” she said. “When you start to think about generative AI, one of the elements and key use cases is in creation.”
Furthermore, Shin noted that the advent of YouTube Shorts featuring Dream Screen, coupled with the existing creative platforms like Instagram letting users test generative AI and TikTok’s generative AI avatar, and Snapchat’s My AI signifies a promising era for content diversity and presentation as these platforms empower content creators to explore innovative and imaginative avenues, offering a wide array of creative possibilities.
A 2023 study among U.S. marketers on Statista highlighted the rising adoption of generative AI tools. 73% actively use these tools, like chatbots, in their operations, reflecting AI’s growing impact. Only 17% haven’t embraced generative AI, emphasizing its widespread use in improving marketing strategies and customer engagement.
“It becomes more real when you start to actually provide some utility and that AI technology becomes very useful in day-to-day elements,” she said.
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