The buzzword on everyone’s lips in the tech press and analyst corps these days seems to be “generative AI.” Led by OpenAI and its flagship DALL-E 2, the technology has utility, broad applicability, and sex appeal – all key ingredients for killer apps. There is even a Jon Oliver segment about it.
Backing up for those unfamiliar, generative AI lets users “generate” media on the fly by explaining it. Think of it like image search, but instead of querying an existing index, the images are created on the spot. And it can get very specific (e.g., “a teddy bear doing dishes”… “a stick figure on a treadmill”).
Those that frequent Localogy conferences have already gotten this deep dive. Yext CDO Christian Ward has been considerably ahead of this trend (see video below). His angle is that this is natural language processing (NLP) in action, which portends the evolutions in local search that Yext is pioneering.
Mundane But Meaningful
Beyond local search (a separate and deeper post), generative AI has several implications and applications in the broader marketing world. As always, this starts with larger brands and then move down-market to SMBs, though that process could take a while and will unfold over several years.
So what are those applications? Some are revolutionary and others are mundane but meaningful. For example, generative AI offers more control and customization for brand marketing assets. In that sense, it can replace stock photos and videos currently used as marketing collateral.
Accordingly, this should be worrisome to the Getty Images of the world, which are arguably overpriced and primed for disruption. Adobe is getting ahead of this potential disruption in its Creative Cloud, which includes stock media. At its recent Max conference, it stressed that it’s all in on generative AI.
Elsewhere, we’re seeing the trend advance. Most notably, DALL-E 2 (whose name is a mashup of Salvadore Dali and the Pixar favorite, WALL-E) recently came out of closed beta and is widely available. Several clever use cases and humorous generative images will follow in the coming months.
Generating Income
Meanwhile, the latest milestone for DALL-E 2 is that it is now also available as an API. This will accelerate its growth as app developers of all varieties integrate generative AI into their workflows, or into consumer-facing features. It is expected to become a fixture in apps like Canva and Adobe Illustrator.
As for pricing, technology that’s this advanced ain’t free. If it indeed replaces stock media in brand marketing, it likewise replaces budget allocation to those services. Pricing models evolving today include usage-based pricing (which are gaining steam in a broader sense in SaaS) for images generated.
Finally, where is this all going? The exciting part is that we don’t know. Generative AI’s killer apps will be “generated” organically as creators and developers run with it (as it often goes). Meanwhile, taking a page from Christan Ward’s book, it signals underlying NLP technology that has wider-reaching impact.
Check out Ward’s full keynote address below and stay tuned for more insights as Localogy plans L23.
