The media industry stands on the precipice of a technological revolution. Over the past year, we’ve witnessed how Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gone beyond the hype to become a transformative force, reshaping the creation, distribution, and consumption of content. For media companies, the imperative to deeply embed AI into their systems is no longer a choice but a necessity. Here’s why this integration must begin today:
1. The Potential for Operational Efficiency: Start Now to Scale
AI offers media companies unprecedented opportunities to enhance operational efficiency. From automating repetitive tasks, such as content tagging and video clipping, to streamlining the production of personalized or localized content, the potential for increasing output with fewer resources is immense.
A report by PwC estimates that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with significant portions allocated to cost savings in industries such as media and entertainment. McKinsey also highlights that AI could automate up to 60-70% of tasks, including those in the media sector.
By standardizing metadata tagging with AI driven computer vision, film and TV, studios can implement unified taxonomies when onboarding assets from third party production companies. This vastly improves media searchability, saving marketers time and money while increasing the quality and creativity of their promotional material.
Emotion significantly impacts humans’ ability to retain information. By applying sentiment analysis to ad-supported content, AI introduces a new dimension for targeting. This additional telemetry enhances brand safety for advertisers and drives higher CPMs for publishers.
However, it is by no means straightforward to tap into this vast potential. Companies need to redesign processes, educate employees, and continuously improve iteratively. These efforts require time and energy. By starting to integrate AI in a scalable way now, even in narrow use cases, companies can get ahead and gain valuable insights. Early adopters will be better positioned to capitalize on the potential for operational efficiency as AI tools continue to improve and become more sophisticated.
2. A Rapidly Evolving Landscape: The Need to Keep Pace
The media landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace, driven by technological advancements and changing consumer behaviors. AI is at the forefront of this evolution, with capabilities ranging from content personalization to real-time analytics. Companies that delay adopting AI risk being left behind as competitors leverage these tools to deliver more engaging and personalized experiences to their audiences at a faster speed.
In 2024, there are now over 3,000 operational AI startups, each attracting significant venture capital funding. Understanding the myriad products, their benefits, and capabilities is a daunting task. The rapid pace of AI development means that the longer companies wait, the more they will need to catch up. As AI algorithms evolve, the gap between early adopters and laggards will widen, making it increasingly difficult to compete. Starting today allows media companies to stay abreast of AI advancements and remain relevant in an ever-changing industry.
3. People and Expectations: Preparing Your Workforce
One of the biggest challenges media companies face when integrating AI is the human element. Employees need to become familiar with AI tools and understand how to leverage them effectively. This shift in mindset and skillset cannot happen overnight; it requires time, training, and a cultural shift within the organization.
The Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium predicts that more than 90% of ICT jobs will undergo high or moderate transformation by AI. This shift will necessitate reshaping the workforce to incorporate AI, emphasizing the need for immediate action in upskilling employees. By starting the integration process now, companies can gradually upskill their workforce, aligning employee expectations with AI’s new capabilities. This proactive approach will reduce resistance to change and ensure a smoother transition as AI becomes more deeply embedded in daily operations. Additionally, involving staff early on in the AI integration process can foster innovation and encourage the development of new ideas on how AI can enhance media products and services.
4. The Flood of Tools: Achieving High Adoption and Consistency through Integration
The AI market is already flooded with a wide array of tools, each promising to solve different problems or enhance specific aspects of media production and distribution. However, this abundance of tools can also lead to fragmentation, inconsistency, and the use of unsanctioned, private tools by employees, which can pose security risks.
Deeply integrating AI into existing IT infrastructure is crucial for fully realizing AI’s benefits and overcoming the significant challenges associated with scaling AI beyond pilot projects. Without deep integration, organizations may struggle with complexities that prevent widespread AI adoption. As evidenced by BCG, only 11% of businesses have successfully integrated AI into multiple areas of their operations. Additionally, deep integration ensures that AI systems are designed with regulatory and security requirements in mind from the outset, reducing risks and enhancing compliance through robust monitoring and control mechanisms. This comprehensive approach is essential for managing the complexities of AI deployment and ensuring long-term success.
5. Staying Ahead of the Curve: Building a Future-Proof Strategy
Finally, integrating AI today is not just about meeting current needs—it’s about future-proofing the business. As AI continues to evolve, the media industry will see the emergence of new use cases, from AI-generated content to advanced predictive analytics that can shape editorial strategies. Companies that have already embedded AI into their core systems will be better positioned to experiment with and adopt these emerging technologies.
To give a more specific example – in the US, more than 20% of inhabitants do not speak English at home (US Census). Today, addressing this long-tail of various languages is not feasible from an economic standpoint for media companies. Already today, media outlets can leverage AI in certain use cases to produce localized content for this population at a fraction of historic costs – thus increasing their addressable market by nearly 70 million people in the US. Companies adopting this technology today will be able to instantly roll it out across their entire content catalog once the technology is ready.
A future-proof AI strategy involves continuous learning and adaptation. Media companies must remain agile, regularly reassessing their AI tools and strategies to ensure they leverage the latest advancements and meet the evolving needs of their audience. This ongoing process will help media companies stay ahead of the curve and maintain their competitive advantage in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Conclusion: The Time to Act is Now
For media companies, the integration of AI is not just a technological upgrade—it’s a strategic imperative. The potential for cost savings, the need to keep pace with a rapidly evolving landscape, the importance of preparing the workforce, and the abundance of AI tools available today all point to one clear conclusion: the time to deeply embed AI into media systems is now. By taking action today, media companies can position themselves for long-term success in a future where AI will play a central role in every aspect of the industry.
In this context, platforms like qibb offer a significant advantage. As a low-code integration and automation platform tailored for the media industry, qibb enables companies to seamlessly incorporate AI into their existing workflows. It simplifies the integration process, reduces technical barriers to adoption, and ensures consistency across all tools and systems. By leveraging qibb, media companies can achieve faster, more efficient AI integration, empowering their teams to focus on innovation rather than the complexities of technology deployment.
By embedding AI deeply into their operations with the help of platforms like qibb, media companies not only optimize current processes but also lay the foundation for future innovations. The sooner they start, the greater their chances of thriving in the AI-driven future of media.
