If you had the choice between reading a report or watching a short, comprehensive video of the same information, what would you choose? Most of us would pick the video.
As we know, 80 percent of all consumer internet traffic soon will consist of video content. What’s driving that traffic and the consistent growth in video consumption over traditional text?
Imagery's Advantage
Sometimes words are not enough. On the surface, imagery is consumed more quickly than text, which allows for learning more in a shorter amount of time, or spending less time learning one thing. Visuals foster empathetic connections with consumers and easily create a sense of community.
The challenge of this transition in the media landscape and audience experience is for communicators to quickly and efficiently create videos that can be delivered through various platforms in different formats.
Creating Videos Efficiently
For a human to create different versions of a variety of videos takes a large amount of time, and with that, money. In addition, to keep up with so many videos pertaining to relevant industry information, an agency will need all hands on deck developing scripts, producing and then editing these videos.
Over the past few years, content-creation techniques and tools have been rapidly changing. Smartphones have democratized content creation, putting mobile studios in everyone’s pocket.
Enter AI
In the communications world, agencies and in-house teams strive to empower staff to be creative and seek innovative ways to develop content. But even the best phones and DSLRs require editing and creative resources to stitch compositions together and develop a compelling story. This remains an expensive process, even in the most streamlined editing suites. Editing innovation hadn't kept up with capturing innovation. Well, at least not before the introduction of artificial intelligence-produced videos.
With the assistance of human creativity, AI now has the capacity to produce automated videos efficiently. The premise behind AI video creation is that a human writes a text script that AI technology can pair with interesting short video content. AI software can discern the communicator's text and through machine learning rules and feedback, it can adapt and pair relevant video content and produce an automated VO or text on screen to illustrate and tell the story.
Some PR firms and brands already are experimenting with different tools and platforms to facilitate storytelling.
Humans Retain Creative Control
When experimenting with AI video, communicators may debate their level of trust in machines being able to do a good job of channeling a brand's intended message. Communicators, however, remain in command of the video’s voice as they control the story told through the text of the script, which triggers AI to complete the relevant content creation.
Humans will always be necessary in these communications processes because they are the visionary and emotional drivers. Technology allows humans to spend more time being creative and bold, focusing on what really matters in the communications industry-the story and how it's being told.
AI video is the perfect combination of human and machine capabilities to get the best out of both. It can be daunting to take the plunge into waters that are changing communications' landscape, but to be agile and stay ahead companies must move quickly to reach, engage and collaborate with strategic audiences.
Kareem Farid is lead storyteller for APCO Worldwide and heads its Ideation Factory. Follow him: @kareemfarid