Coca-Cola has become the first marketer to partner with OpenAI, the developer of artificial intelligence (AI) software like ChatGPT, through a collaboration with management consultancy Bain & Company.
The partnership will enable Coke to utilize AI tools such as ChatGPT and DALL.E, a digital image generator based on deep learning, to enhance its marketing strategies and operations. The potential applications of AI in brand marketing include personalized advertising and targeted messaging, as highlighted in the press release. Zack Kass, OpenAI’s head of go-to-market products, lauded Coke’s AI strategy as the “most ambitious” yet seen from a consumer goods company.
AI has emerged as a leading area of investment, and Coke’s early adoption of OpenAI solutions is likely to accelerate the trend and create practical use cases of the technology in marketing. James Quincey, chairman and chief executive of The Coca-Cola Company, expressed excitement about unleashing the next generation of creativity offered by AI.
Bain has been integrating OpenAI’s offerings into its internal systems over the past year. Manny Maceda, worldwide managing partner at Bain, described AI as being at an “inflection point,” and stated that the collaboration with OpenAI would enable Bain to tailor digital services for clients using AI models. The release highlighted potential applications of AI in industries such as retail banks, telecommunications, and utilities.
While AI has garnered a lot of attention and investment, it has also faced scepticism due to ethical and implementation concerns. Tools such as ChatGPT and DALL.E can sometimes express misinformation confidently or behave in odd ways. Microsoft, which previously worked with OpenAI, recently announced an additional $10 billion investment in the startup and has implemented OpenAI’s language-learning solutions into Bing and its Edge browser.
As AI continues to advance and gain momentum in marketing, ethical considerations surrounding the technology will remain an important topic of discussion. Nonetheless, the potential applications of AI in brand marketing and other industries are vast and exciting.