Special Report: ‘Avoid AI marketing slop by keeping human voice’

How can a business stand out when all use generative AI to craft messages to consumers? That is the question behavioural psychologist Nathalie Nahai will address at Abta’s Travel Convention in October.

Nahai suggests businesses can choose to “give people what they’re familiar with”, as generative AI will do, based on their past behaviour, or can choose to surprise people – but that requires human thought.

She said: “When lots of companies are using AI to personalise interactions, how do you persuade people to use you? What psychological principles can you use to craft marketing messages that AI can’t produce because it makes predictions based on what has gone before.”

Nahai aims to highlight some trends that “haven’t yet been picked up by tech companies” and “ways in which companies have got customer sentiment and values wrong”, noting: “Companies come out with apps to do stuff people don’t need help with.”

For example, she pointed to an advertisement in the US which urged consumers to “use our AI agent to book a restaurant because we’ll order your favourite food and book a table inside if it’s going to rain”.

Nahai asked: “How many people use an app to order their food in advance at a restaurant? Going to a restaurant is about getting to choose what you want. You might go to a favourite place to order your favourite meal, but they’ll know that because you’re a regular. You go to a restaurant and think ‘What do I fancy?’ Also, no restaurant is going to sit you outside in the rain. It’s just stupid.”

She said: “Don’t rob people of the experience.”