The role of AI in the deep tech industry
The near and long-term impact of Artificial Intelligence in all walks of life is a topic consistently in the headlines nowadays, and it seems a cause for excitement and worry in equal measure. The potential to assist, improve and expedite previously ‘human-driven’ processes is being considered, and in some cases already implemented in projects ranging from healthcare to shopping.
In deep tech B2B marketing, similar conversations are happening. At Publitek, with engineering and technology in our DNA, we are naturally excited and optimistic about how generative AI can help us serve clients even more effectively. This can be in areas such as content creation, social media, creative, and PR, by supporting rapid information gathering, brainstorming ideas, and providing quick answers to questions. Similarly, Automation AI can aid our Software as a Service (SaaS) developments for reporting and insights work that is vital for informing and conducting data driven campaigns with demonstrable ROI.
Focusing on AI for content
Good and effective deep tech B2B marketing, in its many forms, relies on storytelling ideas tailored to core client messaging, value proposition, and brand personality. These are vital if they are to resonate with prospects and achieve objectives. That’s where experienced and knowledgeable PR and comms practitioners who understand their client’s brand, technologies, key messages, points of differentiation, and end markets served are pivotal and where AI can be an aid – but not the solution.
AI is advancing rapidly, but is still in its relative infancy; it needs to be used with intelligence, care, and due diligence. We’ve found its outputs can range from amazing to appalling. In worst cases, results from current tools can often be incorrect, incoherent, biased, or plagiarised. A trawl of social media can quickly find opinions on examples of this where content generated by Artificial Intelligence alone is being spotted and ‘outed’ by the very individuals that marketers are seeking to engage with to support and influence.
In addition, the tone of this type of content may not be consistent, and stylistically it can veer between the mundane and the inhuman. Because AI harvests ‘relevant’ information from multiple sources across the web, you are likely to end up with something of a Frankenstein’s monster of a piece of content – crudely ‘bolted together’ and with about the same amount of personality!
These factors all reinforce the current notion and Publitek’s assertion that, for now, AI should be embraced as a research and information gathering tool only, and not to generate purposeful, engaging, and effective marketing communications content.
How Publitek is using Artificial Intelligence today
We are already using AI across many areas of our business, but with stringent guiderails in place. In content creation, we are beginning to understand and adopt it to support research and information gathering to combine with our own client-tailored ideation and story development. For our client social media campaigns, this technology is starting to speed the sourcing of topics and questions for posts, polls, and even memes. In Publitek’s creative team, as we increasingly combine words with pictures for multi-faceted client campaigns, AI can help with retouching and adjusting images, for example. We can also achieve conversion rate optimisation by using it to test variants of ad creative.
All this work is done whilst ensuring we never take away or bypass the value our people bring, through their niche expertise and experience, to everything we do.
Looking ahead
As this technology is evolving rapidly, with many powerful and well-resourced organisations putting brains and money behind it, frequently revisiting how and where we use it is important. We recognise that taking AI-based shortcuts can impair results and doesn’t allow an agency’s talent, knowledge, experience, and judgement to be leveraged – that’s hugely important in the deep tech space, where specialism leads to a consultancy-based approach that positively impacts clients.
Publitek continues to experiment internally with both generative and automation tools. We are seeking ways to complement and extend how we use them now, and pinpoint how we can provide more powerful insights, deliver (and measure) better results, and generate productivity gains that translate into efficiencies and a better return on marketing spend for our clients.
