The Evolution from Big Data to AI
Big data and AI models are not new, but are a realization and commercialization of data streams that we have been recording for decades. Thanks to improvements in storage capacity, computing power and software, we are now able to recognize complex patterns and relationships. These advances have led to a range of data analysis methods:
- Descriptive statistics: Describing data and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
- Diagnostic analytics: Exploring the reasons behind data, such as Click-Through Rates (CTR) and Return on Investment (ROI).
- Predictive analytics: Personalizing marketing initiatives and creating models that resemble the target audience.
- Prescriptive analytics: The use of generative AI to make recommendations and prescribe actions.
The impact of data on sectors like tourism
In some industries, such as tourism, products are increasingly seen as a commodity, making data and data processing essential. Companies like Priceline and Expedia dominate the industry because of their sophisticated data processing, often more so than their knowledge of the product itself.
Example of the enormous impact of data companies on tourism. Kayak’s algorithm provides consumers with ticket price advice.
Embracing generative AI by large corporations
The dramatic increase in usability is what makes today’s Generative AI tools so attractive, be it ChatGPT, Synthesia, Midjourney or AskCodi. The amount of data is unstoppable. Selections by themselves and metadata generate new data again, becoming an endless cycle of reinforcement learning where ethics and ‘human control’ become extremely important.
The data cycle of Generative AI
As always, bias is a dangerous development in the datasets. More and more sites and platforms are adopting indexing bans for AI tools. For models like ChatGPT, there is a fundamental risk, in terms of content, of a model collapse.
Risks of Fake Content and Fake Activities
The rise of AI has also led to an increase in fake content and rogue practices, such as click farms, clickbait, domain hijacking and typosquatting. Experts like Sander Duivestein emphasize the difficulty of distinguishing real from fake, which raises philosophical questions about the seriousness of this issue.
Typosquatting on misspelling
European Regulation of AI
With new European legislation in the field of artificial intelligence on the horizon, such as the EU AI Act, the impact on algorithms and generative AI will be significant, possibly even greater than that of the GDPR.
New opportunities within PPC and ChatGPT
With the right expertise, ChatGPT Plus and the associated tools, such as third-party plugins from Expedia, Kayak and OpenTable, offer new possibilities for affiliate marketing and PPC. The combination of ChatGPT’s language processing capabilities with specific content provides tailored advice and a personalized user experience.
ChatGPT plugin store
A prime example of this is when you provide ChatGPT with the prompt: ‘Cozy hotel in downtown New York, February 2024, for two people, seven nights.’
This does not produce listings in a result page, as in Google, but to-the-point advice in conversational style.
The link shown in the advice leads to the landing page of the selected hotel via Expedia with an APIM gateway. A large number of parameters are included and the appropriate landing page is displayed (once again with personalized ads).
A simple response:
‘Nice but much too expensive. Is there anything cheaper that is also cozy?’
This is basically fine-tuning the prompt, but works very intuitively and delivers a good result.
There are already hundreds of plugins that offer new opportunities for merchants to score leads or sales with a good APIM system.
The future of searches and PPC
With the integration of ChatGPT in Office and Google’s Bard in Chrome, the way in which PPC is used through search engine results pages (SERPs) is likely to change. Now is the time to experiment and learn from failures (failing forward) to discover the possibilities and effects of generative AI.
Chrome and ChatGPT 3.5 side by side
While the risks of AI and fake content should not be underestimated, the emergence of advanced AI technologies such as ChatGPT offers new opportunities for structured, personal and effective marketing communication and PPC models. With the right knowledge and partners, companies can leverage these new technologies to boost their marketing strategies.