Artificial Intelligence has emerged in the last year as a tool to support communication activities thanks to the spread of generative AI technologies that allow content to be created automatically. In the United States, 29% of young professionals belonging to Gen Z claim to use productive AI tools such as ChatGPT, followed closely by Gen X (28%) and Millennials (27%). In particular, the sectors where AI is most used are marketing and advertising (37%), technology (35%) and consulting (30%).
As we know, the use of chatbots has had a significant boost in the U.S. for one reason out of all. Overseas, the regulation of privacy in the use of innovative services is less stringent than in Europe, so companies and individuals have had fewer doubts about implementing ChatGPT in their projects from the start. On the old continent, where legislation driven by the GDPR is decidedly more ironclad, things are different. So much so that the guarantors of some countries, such as Italy, had at first blocked access to the chatbot. Nevertheless, at the beginning of 2023, ChatGPT exploded in Italy, reaching more than 9 million interactions, demonstrating users’ interest in the opportunities of generative AI. In this scenario, SumUp – a fintech active in digital payments for businesses of all sizes – has identified five ways merchants can use Artificial Intelligence to innovate marketing strategies and digitize their business.
Generative AI: ChatGPT and Bard to create the name of a club or a new cocktail
Devising a shop name, fascinatingly describing the dishes on a restaurant menu, and creating original storytelling related to the history of one’s business are helpful strategies for increasing brand recognition and building customer loyalty. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google’s Bard can support shopkeepers thanks to their ability to generate texts automatically: using a simple chat, it is possible to ask ChatGPT to create the name of a restaurant by specifying the type of cuisine, to ask for advice on the list of dishes or cocktails to put on the menu and, for each of these, to get support in choosing a creative name.
It is, therefore, a valuable tool in the brainstorming phase, but it is not suitable if you want to devise a recipe or write informative content: as specified by the platform itself; in fact, ChatGPT can generate information on people, places and points that is inaccurate (called ‘hallucinations’) or not current because its knowledge is up to 2021. Bard, which has been available in Italy since mid-July, also has the same functionalities and limitations: being, however, a tool developed by Google, it draws on all the information indexed by the search engine and can therefore generate content also drawing on topical data.
Midjourney for social image creation or inspiration
Brand communication increasingly passes through the visual component: text-to-image tools such as Midjourney allow the automatic generation of images. They can be useful support for shopkeepers and traders. Although more complex than ChatGPT, they are increasingly finding uses in the catering field because they have to be used in English and require a subscription. For instance, German food journalist Oliver Wagner [4] experimented with using Midjourney to create photos of dishes from existing images that needed to be improved or by generating them from scratch.
By following instructions directly on the platform, it is possible to create so-called ‘prompts’, i.e. textual instructions to be given to the tool to generate images. One can, for example, make ‘a pineapple cocktail’, possibly even adding a style: ‘a pineapple cocktail pixel art’. The resulting images can be used for communication on social media, to make a poster for an event or to proof a dish. Suppose they are published online or printed in content disseminated to the public. In that case, however, it is always essential to make it explicit that the images have been created with Artificial Intelligence to avoid them being interpreted as authentic images and thus generating a deep fake effect. It is also good not to use the styles of famous artists and photographers to avoid copyright issues.
Chatbots to make communication with customers more effective
Chatbots are the trend of the moment among the emerging applications of Artificial Intelligence. They can be used not only to support creativity but also for communication with customers for marketing purposes or in support of customer service. In fact, there are various applications that merchants can integrate within their proprietary channels to set up an empathetic and effective “conversation” with the customer thanks to generative AI technology. Chatbots based on generative AI can be used to create personalised messages, answer questions from users of an e-commerce site or send targeted content with promotions and communications of new products. Chatbots demonstrate how the rapid development of generative AI will transform communication, bringing more and more brands and users closer together in areas such as restaurants, shops, travel, or services in general.
Anti-fraud Generative AI technologies for secure payments
The integration of AI into digital payment systems is pervasive. Although not all merchants know it, digital payment systems often include technologies to fight against fraud or prevent or block unauthorised use. There are also opportunities to apply Artificial Intelligence in customer service and user authentication. SumUp devices are equipped with anti-fraud technologies capable of detecting strange patterns in analysing user behaviour. These tools are based on biometric authentication and machine learning: Artificial Intelligence can use biometric data (fingerprints, facial or voice recognition) for secure banking authentication; machine learning is used to detect bank account takeovers by detecting unusual customer behaviour and to detect and prevent credit card fraud. These tools also monitor transactions in real-time, managing to adapt over time to the evolution of new threats.
