News publishers have been experimenting with Artificial Intelligence for several years now. Simultaneously the big platforms like Google have been looking at how to generate interest in its AI innovations.  

Media companies aren’t just using AI to automatically create word based stories either – AI can also be harnessed for video content. Once again humans set up a template and then AI can be used to select appropriate words and images. While branded content appears to be a current trend, it’s one that works.

Here’s why: When a consumer watches branded content, their brand recall is up to 59% higher than it is with display ads. Viewers are also 14% more likely to seek out extra content from the same brand. As far as ROI goes, these are strong numbers.

Branded content gets more attention and creates brand recognition. Consumers like branded content because they believe the content is more consumer-focused. Since the message isn’t a sales pitch, it creates trust between the brand and the consumer. Traditional advertising does not have the same outcome.

The opportunity for brands to use AI right now is in the lower rungs of content production with commoditised content that they can put out via social media. Bots might not just create the content too. They may also optimise the content to go out at different times, as well as power how an automatic message responder – whether they be one to one or one to many via comments – interacts with users.

Essentially AI systems learn about individuals from what they read and how they respond to content, then deliver content that is most relevant to them. This quite clearly has huge potential for brands to meet the demands of their customers with appropriate content which may deepen brand relationships, or in the B2B sphere might move them a notch or two along the sales pipeline.

Here's a look at branded content https://s.nws.ai/brand-stories

It is essential to have it in a proprietary authoring environment, trusted by global brands and publishers. Ideally, the story format allows brands to combine visual elements with bite-size text, polls, quizzes and shoppable elements into a captivating experience engineered for the mobile web. 

As a bonus, look for the opportunity to distribute brand stories programmatically into standard ad units, as they automatically expand into the full width and height of the mobile device. If you do your branded content well (preferably with AI) it can be a perfect extension to your social media campaigns.