Unveiling Magical AI: Insights into AI Language
It’s hard to throw a rock at the internet and not accidentally hit a button for a new magical AI tool that can instantly do in seconds what would have taken you hours. In fact, it seems harder to find a magic tool that isn’t powered by generative AI. Even the FTC is getting in on the hype. In the current online ecosystem, it’s not a matter of when you should leverage generative AI to revolutionize your workflow. It’s a matter of how.
The allure of “magical AI” in marketing is not just a matter of advanced technology; it’s about the promise of unparalleled personalization and engagement. As marketers, we stand on the brink of a revolution, where AI’s potential to understand and anticipate customer needs could transform the very fabric of brand-consumer interactions. This dawn of predictive analytics and machine learning doesn’t just automate tasks but redefines them, promising a future where marketing strategies are not only responsive but also predictive.
With so many options available, though, it’s hard to determine which of the magical AI tools out there are actually generative AI. That’s because the term “Magic” is starting to go hand-in-hand with generative AI, along with the lowly sparkle icon getting new life in the AI landscape. While people marvel at AI’s capabilities to dissect and leverage big data, it’s crucial to anchor these technological advancements within ethical boundaries. The integrity of the data powering magical AI tools underpins their effectiveness and their ethical standing. As marketers, the enthusiasm for AI’s potential must be matched by a commitment to responsible data use, ensuring that privacy, consent, and transparency are not just adhered to but championed.
Magical AI. Is it Magic?
Pulling rabbits from hats, making train cars disappear, miraculously escaping from unbreakable chains. These are all examples of modern magic. Society is obsessed with the inexplicable. That explains why so many generative AI tools like to use the term. To the average citizen, the capabilities of AI seem an awful lot like magic. There may be no potions or spells, but it can create something from seemingly nothing. There is one major issue with calling AI magic: anything can be branded as magic, whether it is built with AI or not.
Where did “magical AI” begin?
The evolution of magical AI branding is one that was slow to start, but was very rapid once it took off. A search for “magic AI” on Google shows that up to 2015, most of the online discourse for magic and AI together was either discussions of the use of artificial intelligence to create magic tricks or using it to improve games such as Magic: The Gathering. In fact, at this point the “cool new” artificial intelligence was the XBox Kinect, and Google Brain (the technology behind Google Image Search) was still in its early stages. Before this, magic tools for marketers included the Magic Erase and Magic Wand in Adobe Photoshop. The earliest example directly related to marketing was the Magic Toolbox from 2007. Even the above mentioned artificial intelligence tools, though, depended on human input and were no where near as sophisticated as generative AI.
In this era, before generative artificial intelligence really hit the common market, companies like SEMRush were releasing their Keyword Magic tool and Magic Marketing Tool was in operation.
Jump forward to 2017 and the first true AI tool that uses terms like magic in its branding is Magic AI, a company that has since shut down, that had focused on utilizing artificial intelligence to allow people to better care for their horses.
It is around this time that the internet is beginning to have slight discourse surrounding artificial intelligence hitting the consumer market.
A New Era of Magical AI
At some point, though, someone decided to call it like they saw it. Basically overnight many companies started using magical AI naming conventions for their branding. Companies like Magical AI, MagicAI, and Magic School AI appeared. Existing companies adding AI tools to their services used names like Shopify Magic and Magic Studio. This list is far from exhaustive, a search for “Magic AI” on Google yields at least three different companies who all use the name.
Why should marketers care?
There are a couple of reasons why marketers should be aware of this trend when making content.
Product Names
When creating marketing for a new product, you should urge your clients to rethink the use of the term “magic” or “magical” in their naming, especially if the product can be confused by the general public for one that uses AI. The FTC has warned that leading people to believe that a tool is powered by AI when it isn’t is a bad idea. All of the companies above who use the name in their branding but don’t use AI had decided on the name years prior to the advent of magical AI tools.
Internal Decisions
As a marketing team, it’s not a matter of when you should use magical AI tools to improve your workflows, it’s a matter of how. When researching tools that can improve the quality of your content, you should be wary of this new naming trend and how some companies may abuse it. Not every magical AI tool is worth it and not every magical tool is actually using AI. Take this into consideration when deciding between products or evaluating costs.
Headlines and CTAs
In the same vein product naming, use of the term “magic” in your headlines, your Call to Action buttons, or other branding can also be misleading. As people come to associate these terms with AI, the more they will be disappointed when they realize that your product doesn’t use it. As with product names, use of AI terms and other indicators when the product doesn’t use AI is against FTC recommendations.
The Human Touch
As you integrate magical AI into your branding strategies, it’s imperative to remember the value of the human touch. AI enables you to analyze data and predict trends with astonishing accuracy, but the essence of brand connection lies in emotion and authenticity. Balancing AI’s precision with genuine human insight ensures your brands remain relatable and engaging, fostering a deeper connection with your audience.
It’s also about the Sparkle ✨
In the same vein as the discussion above using magical AI and the term potentially being used for misleading marketing, the lowly sparkle icon has received some new life in the form of the official unofficial standard for indicating AI. Some version of those three little stars was found in the icon of nearly every AI powered tool, including the ever-popular OpenAI’s ChatGPT. There were a few AI tools that did not utilize the sparkle icon, such as Bing’s CoPilot which had it’s own logo, but it was easier to find AI tools that had no icon at all rather than one that did not use the magical AI sparkle.
Again, this is something that is entirely unofficial and it hasn’t been openly stated by any of the AI powerhouses that this icon is the official standard for generative AI. The idea of an icon slowly working its way into common lexicon and verbiage isn’t new, however. In 1924, Felix the Cat held a lightbulb over his head. We still use phrases like “lightbulb moment” and associate the lightbulb icon with ideas to this day.
As the sparkle icon becomes more and more associated with magical AI, so will the term magic change colloquial meaning into something more than just wands and spells. In fact, it would be fair to say that the examples of the use of the sparkle in terms of indicating AI is even more popular than the term “magic”. At some point in the near future, a phrase like “sparkle it” may make its way into our slang lexicon to refer to using AI to improve something.
Should Your Marketing Sparkle?
For the same reasons as marketers should be wary of the term magic in branding and copy, they should also be wary of the use of the sparkle.
Buttons
Adding the sparkle to your Call to Action button or links may have one of two responses in your audience. The first is that they will associate the sparkle with AI and assume that the product or website on the other end of the button is AI-powered. This would lead to the same pitfall as the use of “magic” in branding. The other is that they will incorrectly think that the button is going to lead them to an magical AI powered site or chatbot that they may not want to interact with at that moment.
More Internal Decisions
While you incorporate new tools into your workspace, it is important to recognize that many popular tools and applications use the sparkle to demonstrate access to native AI features. Your team should be aware of whether the sparkle is actually using AI or not for two reasons:
- Knowing where and how to use the AI that you’re paying for with your license to the application is important.
- Not realizing that you’re actually using limited AI credits in your workflows may lead to hiccups down the road.
Final Thoughts
As we stand at the crossroads of innovation and ethics, the future of magical AI in marketing is bright with possibilities. The journey ahead is not without its challenges, but the potential for AI to redefine the boundaries of creativity, efficiency, and personalization in marketing is unparalleled. Looking forward, it’s clear that AI will not just be a tool in the marketer’s arsenal but a transformative force shaping the very landscape of marketing strategies.
Are you a marketer who wants to learn more about AI and other new tech in the marketing space? Subscribe to Online Optimism’s newsletter to stay up to date with the latest trends and innovations in marketing. Are you a business owner who is wary of falling into some of the dangers of magical AI? Reach out to us or check out our services page. At Online Optimism, we keep it fresh, keep it simple, and above all we keep it human.