At Las Vegas earlier this month, an announcement was made that signalled a definite paradigm shift: Google and WPP announced a new collaboration that will see the two giants of their respective industries come together in a rapidly evolving digital media ecosystem.

The collaboration between WPP and Google Cloud intends to transform the marketing industry by harnessing Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro technology within WPP's AI-powered marketing operating system, WPP Open, used by over 35,000 people throughout WPP with a clientele that includes The Coca-Cola Company, L’Oréal and Nestlé.

While both Google and WPP declined to comment on individual questions on the partnership, they did direct exchange4media to blog posts and company literature that make their intentions clear. Gemini 1.5 Pro will first be utilised within WPP Open and its tools like Creative Studio, a generative AI application within the operating system. One of the key areas of focus is smarter content optimisation.

And given the rate at which AI technologies are being leveraged across the board, agency and digital executives, who wished to remain anonymous, said that these tie-ups between AI tech companies and media holdings were just getting started. Adobe had previously announced the launch of its AI-powered GenStudio, “an AI factory for
advertisers,” with IPG having already signed on back in February.

Meanwhile, WPP’s in-house suite of tools’ integration with Google Gemini 1.5 Pro is touted to bring a new level of sophistication to content creation, offering a suite of tools that can handle tasks from writing headlines to creating dynamic 3D product images. By integrating Gemini 1.5 Pro into WPP's AI Performance Brain, a service
that uses AI to predict how well marketing content will perform, the system can improve the way it predicts the success of marketing content, even before campaign activation.

Prashant Puri, Co-Founder & CEO, AdLift, believes there's a high chance that AI-generated content will become common in advertising as AI advances across industries. After all, AI can analyze massive amounts of data to understand target audiences and craft messaging that resonates with them.

Akshay Kulkarni, AVP – Digital Center of Excellence, Sokrati, says marketers have been identifying various use cases to plug AI into their mix: AI can forecast future trends and consumer behavior, helping marketers make more informed decisions about their advertising strategies. This can lead to more successful campaigns and
higher ROI. Additionally, AI can also be used to analyze large datasets to extract valuable insights about consumers.

“But here are some points to ponder. Can AI truly replace human creativity in crafting unique and engaging ad concepts? AI-generated content also raises concerns about bias and misinformation, especially in advertising,”says Puri.

Hima Bulusu, Director - Key Accounts, TheSmallBigIdea, points out, however, that AI is not a tell-all, do-all tool yet. She asserts that content generation cannot completely rest on AI, “not today, not ever. The essence of content generation is uniqueness with a completely nuanced understanding, that AI without human intervention is not
yet capable of. However, creative individuals who have mastered the use of AI are soon going to be a force to be reckoned with in the advertising industry.”

WPP and Google are betting that these technologies have the potential to free up millions of dollars for Indian brands to re-invest in only the best-performing campaigns. Marketers – both in India and around the globe – will have the opportunity to engage with their audiences in increasingly personalised ways, while also achieving
significant cost savings through the optimisation of campaigns and automation of repetitive tasks.

Puri says the industry must navigate these concerns and establish ethical practices to ensure AI becomes a tool that empowers human creatives, not replaces them. “Ultimately, the future of advertising lies in embracing AI's potential for efficiency and personalization while ensuring it remains an ethical and creative space.”

"The market sentiment for the use of AI currently is to say that players who are not leveraging the power of AI in some way, shape or form, will be left behind their competitors who are doing so. That being said, while AI can automate many tasks, human creativity and strategic thinking will remain essential. AI can only be used as a
plug-in but not as the ultimate solution," says Kulkarni.