The Week in Data Marketing, MarTech and AI: November 8, 2024 edition

Welcome to The Week in Data Marketing, MarTech and AI, a weekly roundup from Quad Insights that sums up the latest news surrounding the technology-driven transformation of marketing.

Google’s legacy search engine business is facing a formidable new challenge from generative AI: ChatGPT Search. Just introduced by OpenAI, ChatGPT Search uses the web as well as its own knowledge base to generate answers to user prompts, providing links to relevant sources. Early reviews suggest that ChatGPT Search does not pose a threat to Google — yet. Here’s a sampling of reactions from technology writers:

• Maxwell Zeff, TechCrunch: “In its current form, ChatGPT Search is unreliable for what people use Google for the most: short, navigational queries. Queries shorter than four words represent the bulk of searches on Google; these are often just a few keywords that get you to the right web page…. They’re the kind of searches most people are barely even conscious they’re making all day, and it’s what Google tends to do very well.”

• Melissa Heikkilä and Mat Honan, MIT Technology Review: “AI search is a very important way to draw more users, says Chirag Shah, a professor at the University of Washington, who specializes in online search. But he says it is unlikely to chip away at Google’s search dominance. Microsoft’s high-profile attempt with Bing barely made a dent in the market, Shah says. Instead, OpenAI is trying to create a new market for more powerful and interactive AI agents, which can take complex actions in the real world, Shah says.”

• Calvin Wankhede, AndroidAuthority: “ChatGPT Search takes a couple of seconds longer to respond than a typical search engine. And the responses themselves don’t always contain the information you’re looking for. This means typing in a prompt yet again, while Google offers a wide variety of links, and at least some likely cover the topic in-depth.”

Further reading on AI capabilities

• “You can now search through your chat history with ChatGPT on the web” (TechRadar)
• “Give AI a Look: Any Industry Can Now Search and Summarize Vast Volumes of Visual Data” (NVIDIA blog)
• “Are Marketers Prepared for AI Search Disruption?” (CMS Wire)

The Media Rating Council’s decision to accredit Nielsen’s capture of first-party data from streaming broadcasts could represent a turning point for emerging methods of audience measurement, per Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing, a sports media news site. The Council approved the integration of first-party live streaming data into Nielsen’s already accredited National Television service. Nielsen said in a press release the action marks “the first accredited live-streaming solution with persons-level granularity” and said it “bolsters all of streaming measurement moving forward.”

Further reading

• ICYMI: “Nielsen Will Open Measurement to Media Companies’ First-Party Data, a Move That Could Prove Controversial” (Variety)

More on media measurement

• “CIMM Study Explores Big Data Measurement Problems” (TV Tech)
• “Inside advertising’s identity-based targeting crisis—how marketers and ad tech are responding” (Ad Age)

The transition from linear to streaming TV presents unique risks for marketers in protecting consumer data, as highlighted by a just-filed federal lawsuit. Wendy Davis of MediaPost reports that a California resident is alleging that Paramount transmitted information about viewing choices to social media platforms TikTok and Meta, in violation of the Reagan-era Video Privacy Protection Act. Davis says that law bars “video rental companies from sharing identifiable information about consumers’ video-viewing history, without their consent.” Similar lawsuits are being filed around the country.

More on data privacy

• “Are online dating and data privacy an incompatible match?” (TechRadar)
• “South Korea fines Meta $15 million for illegal data collection on Facebook users” (CEO Today)

The blenders of Johnnie Walker whisky are leaning into artificial intelligence to improve customer experience, Georgie Collins of The Spirits Business reports. Diageo just introduced the Single Malt Special Releases 2024 Tasting Experience to allow whisky drinkers to join together and explore some of the releases. The experience involves a combination online/offline activation, pairing a tasting kit with an “AI-enhanced digital masterclass” where drinkers can make and share tasting notes virtually. The kit leverages Diageo’s FlavorPrintConnect platform, which seeks to pair individual taste and texture preferences with recipes, beverages or food product and deliver AI-driven recommendations.

More on AI and customer experience

• “3 AI Use Cases That Can Seriously Elevate Customer Experience” (CMS Wire)
• “Redefining customer experience: How AI is revolutionizing Mastercard” (CIO)