For good and for bad, artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. AI-generated content comes up first in Google searches. It’s become a staple of customer service offerings and tells farmers how to optimize their land usage. Even on college campuses, universities have established policies for what is and is not acceptable use of AI — a capitulation that it’s here, and saying not to use it is pointless.
From campaign setups to budget allocation, AI has become ubiquitous, and that goes for the media industry as well. We use AI daily to help with different tasks. However, that does raise a significant question: Are media buyers being replaced or redefined by this new technology?
No to the first part, yes to the second. While AI has already and will continue to change media buying dramatically, human expertise remains more essential than ever, and we don’t foresee that changing.
Here, we’ve outlined how this will play out — in ways that may surprise you.
Where AI Is Winning in Media Buying
Automation is a win in tasks that demand precision. It can take the guess work out of what used to be time sucks in the media business. We’re fans of tools that apply AI to identify optimal solutions, taking into account your desired audience and placement.
AI options have a lot of strengths, including:
- Budget optimization at scale, ensuring our clients’ precious dollars go further without paying for extra.
- Continuous testing and iteration, helping us determine small yet effective tweaks to make to campaigns more efficient.
- Time savings for ad teams, enabling us to pursue only the smartest solutions.
We are aware of numerous success stories from brands that have utilized automation to increase efficiency. AI can identify weaknesses and ehance efficiencies beautifully. And if media buying were nothing but numbers, then AI would clearly be the way to go.
But media buying is more than numbers.
Where AI Falls Short — And Why That Matters
The thing is, AI lacks nuance. It sees success as a matter of black and white, and that’s not actually the case. AI can’t think for the long term or recognize much beyond successes at scale. Thinking bigger and planning for cross-platform success are still light years away.
The bottom line is, AI isn’t always right, especially in these areas:
Tendency to chase cheap clicks, not high-quality conversions. That gray area — recognizing that some clicks are worth more than others if they lead to a sale — is incomprehensible to AI, which prizes volume over value.
Errors in interpreting user intent. Intention is not a straight line. Misinterpreting conversions can lead to spending money unnecessarily or failing to capitalize on sales opportunities. AI still doesn’t have a firm grasp on human behavior, which renders its predictive capabilities woefully inadequate compared to human observation and planning.
Misalignment with brand tone, timing or goals. Machine learning only goes so far. The distinction between a straightforward and sarcastic tone, for instance, can make the difference between a good and bad campaign, but AI isn’t ready to recognize that.
Automation nightmares. Platforms often provide suggestions that we have tried and rejected because they don’t work or even hurt our campaign goals. They also automatically add unnecessary creative enhancements (like music, sitelinks or catalogs) that we must manually turn off, sucking up our time. These additions are not applicable to the campaign and would not make sense to include when, for instance, advertising an artist’s new song or a concert.
When AI fails, the consequences can ruin a campaign. We have seen AI push budget toward ineffective placements after misinterpreting results. Over-optimization can lead to creative fatigue or audience saturation — but AI can’t recognize when a brand is in danger of overstaying its welcome.
Ultimately, AI faces the black-box problem: It is not a brain but a tool that offers limited insight into why decisions are made.
The Changing Role of the Media Buyer
Savvy media buyers recognize that while AI will never replace them, it can help them. The name of the game in any creative venture is flexibility. AI can take on some of the mindless tasks that used to take up so much of media buyers’ time without actually taking over the job. The buyer transitions from carrying out manual execution to
high-level strategist. And that benefits clients.
Human oversight ensures campaigns stay aligned with brand and business goals in a way that AI’s strictly linear approach cannot. Media buyers’ responsibilities now include:
- Training AI with the right real-world data
- Interpreting results
- Making judgment calls AI can’t relate to — things like context, culture, and nuance
Looking Ahead: Predictions for the Next 3–5 Years
AI is going to improve. There’s no doubt it will continue getting better as developers strive to make it more human-like and less robotic. In just two years, AI-written copy has gotten more readable (though still not comparable to a person with pen and paper), proving that creativity can be manufactured, albeit only to a point.
But AI will also continue to face limitations, and that will prevent it from wholly automating media buying. Here is how we see the next few years unfolding.
AI As Co-Pilot, Not Driver
Co-pilots can do a lot of wonderful things. They can prepare for a trip, read maps and suggest better routes, but ultimately they don’t set the direction or take the wheel. Media buyers will remain the drivers in this relationship, making the key decisions and seeing the big picture.
Rise of Transparency Tools and Demand For Explainable AI in Adtech
Don’t discount the inevitability of an AI backlash. It’s already begun in some places, and the demand for transparency is expected to increase. After all, clients paying the big bucks want to know someone is in charge of their strategy; otherwise, they could automate it themselves.
Continued Importance of Human Creativity, Storytelling and Brand Strategy
Real human emotion can’t be mass-produced. Manipulation only carries you so far. To truly connect, which brands must do to thrive, they need that human touch to resonate with consumers. People can differentiate between organic and inorganic content, and storytelling that works keeps them engaged by using the former. That will never change.
The Perfect Balance
AI is revolutionizing digital advertising, but media buyers aren’t obsolete — they’re simply evolving.
At DASH TWO, we’re embracing automation but also investing in the human skill sets that make campaigns meaningful and effective. It’s the only smart way to move forward. Reach out if you want to see how the human touch makes a difference for your next campaign.