There’s a raging debate about ad visibility in recent times.
Much as I’d like to think it’s triggered by my post Don’t Fall For The ‘Invisible Versus Unseen Ads’ Charade, the real reason doesn’t matter.
The crux of the issue is that advertisers are claiming that ~15% of their online ads are seen by bots, with one FORTUNE report putting the figure as high as 50%.
In response, big spenders are writing contracts with the provision that they will only pay for ads seen by humans.
Frankly, all this sounds so 20th century to me.
If robots are going to replace human beings in many areas, advertisers are myopic in ignoring bots. Algorithms are already playing an increasing role in making purchase decisions.
Take stock trading for example. According to Flash Boys, the latest financial novel by Michael Lewis, over 60% of trading volume in the US markets are now driven by algo trading.
Even when it comes to everyday consumer goods, delivery apps like getMagicNow (USA) and Jiffstore’s Jiffbot (India) are already shaping purchase in many ways.
The way they’re garnering investor dollars and attracting engineering talent, I envisage a day in the near future when I simply tell an app I want a dozen bananas, and a bot analyzes all kinds of Big Data about catalog, location, competitor pricing, and so on to to decide the Brand, Store and Personal Shopper app – thus automatically making several purchase decisions undergirding my order.
And it’s not only me. In his article What’s the Role of Advertising When Machines Do the Buying?, former CMO and current Gartner Vice President Jake Sorofman muses,
…what happens when intelligent things and smart machines are the deciders?
Therefore, advertisers can’t stick to their traditional stand of paying only for ads seen by humans.
As Internet of Things becomes more pervasive, the role of bots will increase: As commenter lucy notes on Digiday, a sensor in our fridge will decide when we’re short of milk and automatically tell the shopping app to purchase it. So, apart from handling the mechanics of the purchase, bots will even drive purchase intent.
In other words, bots will slowly but steadily climb up from action through to consideration and interest stages of the purchase funnel.
Against this backdrop, advertisers need to pay for ads seen by bots, not just humans – although they needn’t wine and dine bots just yet!
