AI Revolutionizes Advertising Technology

The integration of artificial intelligence into advertising technology is fundamentally reshaping how media companies and brands connect with audiences, streamline operations, and safeguard their reputations. During a recent industry panel, experts from leading organizations explored the tangible impacts AI is already having across the sector.

One major theme was AI’s role in enhancing existing processes rather than inventing entirely new ones. Sarge Sargent, a former Disney executive, noted that ad servers have long relied on machine learning to refine their algorithms. Amit Shetty of FOX Corporation echoed this, describing AI as a powerful tool that improves performance in established areas like measurement, ad fraud detection, and brand safety. He emphasized that these systems allow teams to accomplish more with greater precision, though the cost-benefit analysis is still underway.

The discussion also highlighted how AI is transforming traditionally manual workflows. Filiz Bahmanpour from Tavant pointed out that a significant portion of video and TV advertising deals still involve highly manual direct insertion orders. She revealed growing interest among CTV platforms in using conversational AI, similar to ChatGPT, to interact with campaign data directly. This could allow managers to ask natural language questions about performance, pulling insights from connected systems like CRMs or ad servers without manual intervention.

A sobering prediction emerged regarding the workforce. Sargent stated directly that AI will displace many roles focused on manual campaign troubleshooting and management. He explained that properly trained AI agents could eventually perform tasks currently handled by entire teams, signaling that job losses are an inevitable consequence of this technological shift.

Live streaming presents another frontier for AI application. Google’s Inderpreet Sandhu shared how publishers with lean ad operations teams are seeking efficiency gains, especially for global live events. He described a partnership with DAZN for the Club World Cup, where AI helped proactively identify potential issues across hundreds of countries and numerous device types. Sandhu believes that as live content consumption grows worldwide, the industry will need intelligent, always-on tools that operate seamlessly in the background but activate instantly when problems or opportunities arise.

On the critical subject of brand safety, FOX’s Shetty reported substantial advances. AI now provides deep content analysis, discerning nuances in text, images, and video far beyond simple categorization. This includes sentiment analysis to distinguish between legitimate news and propaganda. Shetty confirmed that these tools enable ad operations teams to configure campaigns more rapidly and use generative AI to pinpoint target audiences, assess available inventory, and ensure brand security more effectively than ever before.

Shailley Singh of the IAB Tech Lab provided insight into the emergence of autonomous AI agents in advertising workflows. He explained that large language models can comprehend content subtleties and align them with brand suitability standards. These agents can even interpret a brand’s objectives by analyzing its web presence and policies, then find matching content environments. Singh noted that data giants like LiveRamp are beginning to deploy autonomous agents capable of unifying disparate audience data from multiple partner sources.

This points toward the long-sought goal of true data interoperability. Singh illustrated a scenario where a brand manager could task an AI agent with finding audiences similar to Taylor Swift fans who purchase cruise tickets. The agent would then autonomously query numerous data providers, a process that might take a day, and negotiate with other agents to compile the required audience segments. This represents a monumental shift from manual data reconciliation to automated, large-scale processing.

For professionals navigating this transformation, Sargent offered practical advice. First, develop a clear understanding of what AI is and how its various components can address specific challenges. Second, carefully select the right tools for the job, recognizing that AI isn’t a universal solution. Finally, he stressed the continued importance of human oversight, validating AI-generated outputs and ensuring data integrity remains essential, even as machines handle the computational heavy lifting.

(Source: Streaming Media)