You’re glued to your TV and it’s not all your fault. Source: Shutterstock

Expert insights: How AI keeps you glued to your screen

TEN years ago, the world didn’t have enough engaging content – whether text, audio, or video.

However, with the proliferation of the internet, cheaper cameras, and a multitude of editing software, the world of content has exploded and audiences are just spoiled for choices.

Vying for attention has forced broadcast media to transform itself and in the process, led them to leverage AI and predictive analytics to re-invent their businesses.

In an exclusive interview with Tech Wire Asia ahead of the ConnecTechAsia summit in Singapore this week, Zenga MD and CTO Shabir Momin discussed the latest trends and developments in the industry.

“Broadcast media has one key big difference, it’s a race for masses. With many channels coming up and taking their niche, the industry is very fragmented. While everyone is trying to create interesting and engaging content, they’re limited by a 24 hrs cycle,” explained Momin.

It’s a non-interactive medium and is build on experiences. Therefore, mapping the right context and target audience from a brand’s perspective seems like a big challenge.

The rise of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, patterns, machine learning, and many other aspects of data science make it possible to actually recommend what the audience would like to watch, based on nature, likes and dislikes, time of the day, mood and behavior based and many other such patterns that they build.

“Using all these insights, crispier content can be created which can keep the viewers glued to the screen,” said Momin.

It’s also possible to recommend what kind of brands would get the best mileage out of a certain type of content and it’s viewers.

“It’s not a one-formula which fits all. It changes by geography, language, and many other factors,” explained Momin.

Doing so helps brands discover insights and recommendations about the kind of marketing engagement they should adopt and helps them better understand their audience.

If we stop following thumb rules and kind of let the science give it a shot from scratch, one would be surprised how different things are today from what we described it to be in the beginning.

Online mediums such as YouTube and Facebook who are able to give their users some contextual content and at the same time provide the right advertisements to drive engagement with the content benefit the most.

While advertising can keep riding on the shoulders of content, direct contextual advertising has a big market.

The reality is, there are hundreds of ways to use AI to transform video and engagement. The future belongs to content platforms that do it in a way that benefits viewers and advertisers simultaneously.