Havas/UCLA: How Intelligence is revolutionizing the UX of media platforms
Invisible AI is already operating at some level in most of our daily lives and its sphere of influence is set to expand dramatically in the very near future.
18 Havas and UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television (TFT) are pursuing their collaboration on the Future of Storytelling project, which has evolved from a general UX Design focus looking at GAFA ecosystem to the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on these same logics. While AI in the popular imagination conjures images of humanoid or otherwise anthropomorphized robots, invisible AI is already operating at some level in most of our daily lives and its sphere of influence is set to expand dramatically in the very near future.
From voice and language processing to image and video processing, through predictive analytics, all these developments are impacting UX Design and by consequence the media ecosystems brands and consumers are dealing with on a daily basis. After several years of slow but steady advances in AI research, 2015 and 2016 were standout years, judging by recent acquisitions, investment by major companies in AI labs, and the proliferation of AI startups.
DISTRIBUTION
Digital-native companies from Silicon Valley continue to update the rules of the media industry. One of the major areas of ongoing disruption is content distribution, which affects multiple strands of the media sector, from film studios to television networks to telcos. In spite of a $7B+ record-breaking year at the 2016 box office, theatrical attendance remains on a downtrend as consumer attention continues to disperse across mobile screens. The home, long the purview of cable providers and telcos, is currently governed by new digital technologies, supplied by GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon).
Streamlining access for consumers through advanced distribution mechanisms is one part of the equation. The other is fostering interactive touchpoints to maximize consumer attention and engagement with content.
Tech giants from Silicon Valley operate across the world through global distribution infrastructures (excluding China). YouTube, part of Google/Alphabet, is available in 89 countries, Netflix switched on the lights in over 130 countries at last year’s CES, and Amazon’s Prime video service announced its presence in 200 countries at the end of 2016. This ongoing expansion has put increasing pressure on domestic competitors in the media industry, which are focused on local pipelines with largely limited and time-based outlets in international territories.
In this competitive environment, content is still king. Long-spanning franchises and compelling intellectual property continue to drive viewership across a growing field of platforms. To cement their presence in media, incumbents like Netflix and Amazon have thus increasingly scaled their investments in content and innovation, reaching $6B for 2017. Beyond content, the digital consumer experience has become an equally critical source of innovation. As content becomes ubiquitous, consumers increasingly look for seamless access and superior forms of presentation and interactivity.
As the content surplus mounts, both sides increasingly channel their efforts into content navigation, which has become an integral part of the consumer experience. Streamlining access for consumers through advanced distribution mechanisms is one part of the equation. The other is fostering interactive touchpoints to maximize consumer attention and engagement with content. One of the key ways to accomplish this is through AI-based technologies. Our research aims to track and analyze these trends across the industry to develop a comprehensive overview of the media industry’s ongoing convergence with Silicon Valley.
CURATION
As new platforms emerge, several similar ideas are often released to the public from differing outlets. A central strategy for success and dominance in this crowded and diverse marketplace is differentiation through content curation: the gathering and presentation of select content, often specific to a niche market or theme. There has been much discussion in recent years of big data, machine learning, and the use of algorithms as curators. However, we are starting to see some pushback to these high-tech methods of content discovery and presentation in the form of explicit marketing of human-curated content and collections.
These topics raises many interesting issues, the largest of which is understanding how human curation is combined with, or sometimes prioritized above, computer curation.
In our initial assessments, these topics raises many interesting issues, the largest of which is understanding how human curation is combined with, or sometimes prioritized above, computer curation. In other words, why are we seeing this tension between human and algorithmic curation? How is the “human” element being used within strategies of content discovery and presentation and to what ends? And what is the future of this dichotomy, i.e. where is the balancing point? Even the “big four,” though they obviously rely heavily on algorithms, big data, and machine learning, are also beginning to foreground human curation in certain areas, including Google Play Music, Amazon’s “Interesting Finds” gift shop, Facebook’s Events app and news feed, and Apple Music.
Our research examines the growing niche marketplace for film, tv, and music streaming, along with the vast retail community, focused primarily on monthly subscription services. It will evaluate how content curation is strategically used within these different platforms and how niche marketplaces are trying to differentiate themselves through curation and UX/UI design. We also look at how curation, both human and algorithmic, is being used as new platforms and players seek to navigate the digital economy. With such a vast subscription system in place, consolidation may be soon in the future for all parties, working similarly to a bundled cable subscription. Overall, this project explores how different digital industries are handling their competitive marketplaces by looking both at the industry and at the quality of the UX.
LIVE CONTENT
Throughout 2016, social media networks have increased their focus on live videos. Facebook led the charge, but Snapchat, Google’s YouTube, Amazon, and Twitter (including its Periscope unit) all introduced new live video products and content partnerships. These recent moves have proven successful. Live videos have enjoyed popularity with consumers, far more so than 360-degree videos, another recently introduced format. Initial data suggests that live videos increase user engagement, with users watching longer and commenting more often. Recent updates across these companies’ platforms have sought to accelerate these gains and improve monetization of live video.
It’s less clear, for now, what kind of content will ultimately prove most amenable to live streaming. In fact, today’s live landscape may be misleading for three key reasons.
The emphasis on live streaming reflects tech executives’ continued confidence that video, live and recorded, will continue to supplant photos and text as the most popular way to communicate on social media. Live video also highlights Silicon Valley’s ever-increasing encroachment on traditional television networks, particularly as live TV broadcasts have been resilient in the face of declining viewership and ad dollars. Indeed, Silicon Valley companies have been bidding on digital streaming rights for live TV broadcasts — with, as always, an eye towards collecting user data. Crucially, these companies will rely on their hidden algorithms to determine which video content will be optimally tailored to each user. These algorithms, which help to construct and “program” newsfeeds, will become more effective as the capacity for AI expands.
However, it’s less clear, for now, what kind of content will ultimately prove most amenable to live streaming. In fact, today’s live landscape may be misleading for three key reasons. First, although Facebook has launched an extensive advertising campaign encouraging individual users to “go live,” precedent suggests the company’s focus will shift to professional producers, similar to how Google’s YouTube contracts with its producer-stars. Second, live news content — from individuals as well as established organizations — has been especially visible. News material attracts controversy and can be difficult to monetize, so tech companies will likely seek to expand lighter entertainment offerings while also relying on AI to reduce the most problematic news content. Finally, Facebook and others have been paying publishers to create live content; as those incentives dissipate, the mix of live content will likely change.
SOCIAL COMMERCE
Brands have quickly learned to leverage the affordances of social media platforms to best market their products. By cultivating an identity on each site, businesses allow for direct connections with consumers through meaningful engagement like comments, likes, and shares. Brands integrate ecommerce with their social media content in a variety of ways. Vintage stores without their own ecommerce websites host flash sales through Instagram. Direct sales representatives from companies like LuLaRoe and Younique use Facebook groups to host “parties” that drive sales. Other companies, such as GrubHub, reward loyal Snapchat followers by revealing discount codes through a series of posts.
The growing use of artificial intelligence in social media marketing and e-commerce is a symptom of an evolving on-demand economy: the online marketplace created by recent developments in technology that provides consumers with immediate and efficient fulfillment of goods and service. As Forbes describes, the rapidly developing on-demand economy has given consumers a taste of a new type of buying experience, one that relies on flexibility, personalization, and responsiveness. The integration of artificial intelligence technology into the on-demand economy allows businesses to customize their approach to consumers by analyzing and predicting customer behavior and personalizing the shopping experience.
As brands continue to capitalize on their social media followings to sell products, the streamlining of the process by the platforms themselves seems to be the next logical step.
An example of this can be seen in the integration of chatbots in the online marketplace. The development of chatbot technology is aimed to mimic an in-store buying experience where consumers are able to engage in personalized interactions about their specific needs; some sources say that by the end of 2020, 85% of consumer interaction with brands will take place via digital assistants instead of humans.
Both Instagram and Snapchat have been working toward making the conversion of followers into consumers more seamless for brands. Just as Facebook eventually introduced Marketplace and business Pages, Instagram and Snapchat have responded to the push toward incorporating commerce with content by adding “Shop Now” features. As brands continue to capitalize on their social media followings to sell products, the streamlining of the process by the platforms themselves seems to be the next logical step. We investigate this relationship between social media, branding, and commerce, specifically exploring how brands are turning social media users into direct consumers, and conversely, how social media influencers are turning followers toward brands.
