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AI for Small Businesses | Amazon Business
Adam Simon, US Head of Innovation, IPG Media Lab hosts this Amazon Business Small Business Summit Session on how you can use artificial intelligence in your small business today.
On the Cusp of an Artificial Intelligence Boom
The past few years have seen an explosion of tools that bring the power of synthetic media to everyday consumers. You may have seen the Lensa avatar images on your social media feeds, interacted with chatbots, or have read the many, daily, headlines about ChatGPT. In fact, I’ve even utilized the image-generation tool Midjourney to populate pictures below. But let’s back up and first define Synthetic Media - this term refers to media created through artificial means – produced, manipulated, modified by artificial intelligence algorithms.
What makes synthetic media so popular now?
A few things – first the advanced technology – making written responses that mimic human language, and producing art in whatever styles prompted. It’s incredibly impressive and difficult to distinguish AI versus human-produced content. Next, it’s the widespread accessibility – for example, open language models are big integrated into major search engines – Bing’s integration of ChatCGPT for Sydney, Google’s Bard or even AWS and HuggingFace coming together to launch Bloom. AI is available today to creators (and to you!) So, this is important for you as business leaders and operators because AI can and will dramatically disrupt the day-to-day technology that matters to you.
The three key ways synthetic medica can help you now:
- Streamlining Operations – deploying automated services and support
- Disrupting Search – introducing new consumer experiences and large amounts of information synthesized and personalized
- Influencing Creative – the ability to quickly ideate and produce unique marketing materials
We’re going to focus on the third bucket because it can create the largest, immediate impact on you
AI Can Optimize a Variety of Marketing Tasks
Looking at the data*, there are specific offerings already gaining traction in marketing – the top three being paid advertising, personalization in communications, and content recommendations – all made possible through more sophisticated algorithms. Personalization is an important characteristic made possible at mass scale through automation, that is really an underlying benefit of all these areas.
Open Language Models for Personalized Solutions
First, let’s look at Open Language Models – the chat-based models that are evolving online communication and content generation because these are capable of understanding context. Simple to use, it requires the same behavior as searching something on the internet. Type in a query… but instead of returning links, the chat-based technology writes back in human-like paragraphs with more detailed, and seemingly customized answers. There is a lot of discourse right now that this technology will dramatically impact the future of search once it’s more widely adopted. Big tech players are now trialing open language model integration with search capabilities.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
Language models are capable of understanding context. They require the same behavior as typing into a search bar– but instead of returning links, the chat-based technology writes back in human-like paragraphs.
SMALL BUSINESS SOLUTION
Imagine a chef or restaurant owner who’s building a menu with limited ingredients. An open language chat model would be a powerful resource to use specific input (ingredients, time constraints, etc) and get customized outputs (recipe suggestions, cooking instructions) to create bolder, more inspired offerings.
AI Ideation for Brainstorming
This next example builds upon the open language tools, but will demonstrate alternate use cases. Another important characteristic of open language tools is their ability for ideation. AI will significantly improve brainstorming through content development and optimizations.
One solution for small business owners is coming up with creative ideas. Let’s say you’re a donut shop owner and you’re stuck writing captions for social media posts or concepting an idea for the next campaign. Consider ChatGPT your new personal assistant – use the query as a brief, asking for specific punny donut captions or sweet treat storytelling and it will output human-like responses to populate your marketing needs.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
Open language tools are also being used to enhance ideation and brainstorming. Because of the deep learning techniques and processes tools can develop and optimize unique content and ideas for specific audiences.
SMALL BUSINESS SOLUTION
When it comes to small business owners who wear many hats, these tools can be especially helpful for coming up with creative ideas. With open language models, writer's block is a thing of the past. One use case for this technology could be for a donut shop owner who needs to storyboard a concept, simply asking will result in ideas and copy for posts, captions, ads, or even product names.
Image Generation for Enhanced Creativity
The next element of automation is image generation. With the rise of precise text-to-image tools powered by AI anyone can create custom prompts that produce graphics and artwork.
This is a game changer for small business operators! Rather than hiring an artist or designer to create corresponding imagery or marketing materials, you can do it with tools like Midjourney or DALL-E. This works across categories – it will work particularly well for vibrant and visual industries like the example featured here, for beauty. Let’s say you’re a salon owner with hair or makeup specials – you are no longer bound or limited to photography or models to display these looks – inputting your specific prompt to generative AI tools could result in the colorful creative art you need to represent your offerings.
Image generation is already being integrated with popular creator platforms – like TikTok AI’s greenscreen. The same process of making enhanced creative visuals can be used to make custom backgrounds for TikToks.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
A text-to-image tool is powered by AI and uses machine learning to process language inputs and output computer-generated art and images. Users create custom prompts with information and keywords to create corresponding visuals.
SMALL BUSINESS SOLUTION
Image generation will transform marketing possibilities for small businesses – take a creative industry like beauty for example – a salon owner can utilize tools in this category (MidJourney; DALL-E) simply by writing a prompt that suits their vision to create vibrant materials to be used in their design.
Image: created by IPG Media Lab using the AI generator MidJourney.AI
Prompt: Bright colorful hair salon art with women happy drinking champagne
TikTok AI greenscreen.
Tools for Accessible Coding
AI can also be used as a tool to enable easier and more seamless data management and coding – a key advancement for modernizing your company’s online presence. Take the local pizza shop owner for example – he’s losing business to apps and services that enable mobile orders because until now he’s only enabled ordering over the phone. He is ready to bring his business up to speed and build his own website tools like Jasper, or even AWS’s BLOOM will allow him to complete standard programming tasks like writing and explaining code.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
With the large amounts of data and algorithms that feed into AI tools, these are making it easier than ever to write code, generate search terms, and even create websites.
SMALL BUSINESS SOLUTION
Modernizing a business comes with many expenses and challenges, but AI will help everyday small business owners take on some of these tasks – like website building and management. For example, the pizza shop owner can access clear, directive templates to create a custom web site.
Image Prompt: Modern pizza chef using laptop thinking
*estimated based on public information
Synthetic Media Summary
Find a summary of the various AI tools that you can use as a small business below. Please note that the information below is based on public information and is subject to change.
Links to AI Tools
Additional Resources from IPG Media Lab
About Adam Simon
Adam Simon has been driving innovation in entertainment and media for almost 20 years, starting with producing one of the first branded podcasts for Unilever in 2005, which quickly led to producing original digital content for CBS. Looking to deepen his technical abilities, he then joined NYU’s cutting-edge Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), building custom hardware, software, and services exploring gaming, geolocation, wearables, and social software. While at ITP, he put these skills to use at the award-winning game studio area/code, where he contributed to games for Shark Week, AMC, and the chart-topping mobile game Drop 7.
In 2008 Adam co-founded Socialbomb to work with clients like HBO, Red Bull, Technicolor, and the BBC to build groundbreaking interactive television experiences and mobile social software. Socialbomb was acquired by Refinery29 in 2013 to build the foundation for their new technology platform, and power a wave of connected commerce. In 2015, Adam joined UM & the IPG Media Lab to lead innovation strategy across their global clients, including Epic Games, Hulu, Sony Pictures, Spotify, Amazon, American Express, Coke, Uber, L’Oreal, BMW, MillerCoors, and Johnson & Johnson.
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* https://www.statista.com/study/57404/artificial-intelligence-use-in-marketing/?locale=en
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