Imagine you’re driving home from the office, and you hear the news on the radio — gymnast Simone Biles has won her second individual all-around gold medal. You do a little fist pump for her (everyone loves a good comeback story), and then you notice a digital billboard on the road up ahead.
It says: “We’re flipping out over Simone Biles’ big win. Today only: Come get your half-price burger to celebrate at Burgers McBurgers!”
We’re edging closer to this not just happening but becoming an everyday occurrence, part and parcel of the out of home experience. With artificial intelligence (AI) getting smarter and digital technology gaining sophistication, it’s not hard to imagine a future where adaptive messaging becomes the norm.
But a glimpse at our political landscape might give you pause. What are the ethical implications of using AI in digital out of home (DOOH)? Is the downside of saying something terrible — even if it comes from a bot — worth the potential upside? These are the questions the outdoor industry is grappling with, and for now, there are no easy answers.
The Potential for AI in Digital Out of Home
First, let’s consider the promise of automated, responsive advertising. Research shows that personalized advertising, which is tweaked based on data gathered about an individual, can significantly raise the chance of conversion. Ninety-one percent of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized advertising relevant to their individual needs, according to data from Accenture.
The type of AI we’re talking about is not exactly personalization—it is responsive and automated based on real-time data related to world events, not necessarily personal data. It’s aimed at the group, not the individual. But the effect is the same. When something is more relevant to someone because of circumstance, they are more likely to buy it.
So, for instance, if you pass a fast food billboard at lunchtime, you’re more likely to stop at the restaurant being advertised because you’re hungry. Conversely, you probably wouldn’t stop after dinner. Timing is everything in advertising, after all. Serving up ads that scratch an itch is the key to making a sale, and timing can make all the difference.
Thus, it holds that responsive advertising that reacts to what’s happening in the world in real time could unlock another level of effectiveness and return on investment. Digital billboards have already dabbled in responsive advertising related to weather; boards can swap out messaging based on temperature or whether it’s raining. Using AI to monitor what’s going on in the news for adaptive messaging is the natural next step — but is it an ethical one?
The Ethics of Adaptive Advertising
As much as it would seem to make sense to incorporate AI into advertising (more sales! better targeting!), the proposition raises a lot of ethical issues that will need to be addressed.
1. Is It OK to Make Money Off People’s Pain?
Let’s face it, 95% of news these days is depressing. Whatever AI will glean from headlines is bound to be heavy. Does an advertiser really want to profit from tragedy? While obviously there are bounds of good taste (i.e., you wouldn’t advertise anything based off bombings in Gaza), some less-obvious things may seem OK to advertise off of but actually are in poor taste. Individual businesses must decide where to draw that line.
2. Will People Feel Creeped Out?
One hurdle that has slowed adoption of personalized advertising despite the promise it seems to present is that it smacks of Big Brother. People don’t like to feel as though they’re being watched. And ever-changing adaptive advertising can make them feel that way.
3. What Does Accountability Look Like?
For new technology like this, the sky is the limit. But who’s monitoring the horizon? Individual vendors may eventually institute rules regarding AI use in DOOH eventually, but now it’s early. To cultivate the transparency and accountability necessary in any AI venture, advertisers need to be prepared to answer questions if something goes wrong and a controversy emerges. They also need to act proactively to keep that from happening.
We Live in Complicated Times: Can We Trust AI to Navigate Them?
Disinformation has, sadly, become a fact of everyday life at a time when a major party’s vice presidential candidate can admit he’s willing to make up stories to prove a political point. It’s hard for even a media-savvy consumer to know what to believe. While consumers and bots have gotten better at detecting falsehoods in the age of fake news, some of it can still filter through.
Is that a risk advertisers want to take? We’ve seen many companies stop advertising on X (forever in our hearts known as Twitter) because the content has become so questionable — when the company’s founder is replatforming antisemitic posts and false information, it’s hard to know what your ad will end up next to. Advertisers are generally risk-averse. They may take chances on types of creative or new formats, but they don’t want their message near anything that could come back on them negatively.
And that’s a real risk with AI-powered adaptive advertising. Just imagine the types of DOOH ads that could have been generated just by September’s news cycle — ads about eating pets or attempted political assassinations or crazy things said in a debate. It’s not hard to imagine that could go awry on a responsive billboard. You don’t want the local SPCA accidentally posting a pet-eating meme, for example.
Finding a Better Path With Room for Growth
That AI is coming to DOOH is certain. Whether it sticks is TBD. Though obviously part of the appeal of AI adaptive advertising is automating it so you don’t have to think about it, in the early days, it will need to be heavily monitored so that stupid statements don’t go up on a billboard.
Still, the promise is clearly there. We’re interested to see where it goes and think it has real potential, if people approach it carefully. But then, that’s true of any new technology — it wasn’t long ago we debated the wisdom of even advertising on “unpredictable” social media, and that’s now outpacing even television at nearly $87 billion per year.
Ultimately, as with any new technology, AI will fold into digital out of home, but it will take time and probably some spectacularly bad misses, ones that generate national headlines, before people get it right.