The City Brain is set to also explore other areas such as education. Source: Shutterstock

Advertisers are using artificial intelligence to get better and better

THE APAC market is booming in terms of digital advertising, with spend set to reach US$156 billion this year. On top of this is the growing advancement in technology within this market, with particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

China is the leading global player when it comes to leveraging AI technology, having already matched the overall US output of AI research. China’s AI research is expanding at an impressive annual rate of 50 percent, with the industry set to be worth US$9.1 billion by 2020.

With the future looking exceptionally bright for AI technology in the APAC region, what does this mean for advertisers?

Combatting ad fraud

Regarding advertising fraud, the progression in AI is making it easier to identify and isolate invalid traffic. With Internet users in the APAC region making up half of the world’s entire online population, the rich consumer data produced is attractive to both advertisers and unfortunately, fraudsters. Fraud rates for China alone can commonly reach up to 40 percent, according to Campaign Asia. 

In an industry that relies heavily on click-based metrics, click fraud is an issue of rising concern. Earlier this year, a large click farm, in which low-paid workers falsify content clicks, was discovered in Thailand involving over 500 devices.

Fortunately, many ad platforms are leveraging the ability of machine learning – a subset of AI that can increase its own understanding over time, without being programmed.

Machine learning allows ad platforms to monitor their online traffic and detect any unusual patterns. With this information, they can keep traffic clean by removing fake users.

Whilst it’s true that machine learning is still in the early development stage, it shows great potential, and with increased investment and human refinement, machine learning could bring an end to the issue of ad fraud in APAC and beyond.

Tailored advertising

The harnessing of automation to build tailored ads is not something new to advertising platforms. However, recent advances in machine learning have enabled the development of tools designed to enhance individual engagement on a huge scale. Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) is one example of this.

DCO combines machine learning and data analytics to create personalized ads most likely to interest specific consumers. This tool determines how best an ad should be delivered in order to maximize the chances of conversion. Through the collection of consumer data from a variety of sources, DCO can determine the preferred format, device, and channels of individuals and then select the best ad variants based on this information. DCO can also collect data about a user’s activity patterns and from this can predict future behaviours.

Across the APAC region, the use of DCO has already reached a mature level. DCO is a versatile tool that can help brands deliver richer, more relevant information, enhance customer experience and deepen long-term consumer relationships.

So, by continuing to leverage emerging technology to enhance the relevancy, efficacy and impact of their advertising, APAC is looking to lead the way in machine-powered marketing.