The use of AI by brands and agencies is by no means new. However, interest appears to be ramping up based on recent announcements. So, too, it seems, are the potential risks.

Integr(A)t(I)on: Last week, WPP CEO Mark Read called AI “fundamental” to its business, adding that the holding company has been using it to accelerate production and reduce costs associated with producing work. Read has also “been personally experimenting a lot with OpenAI’s ChatGPT,” according to Bloomberg. Regarding how AI will impact creative jobs, he insisted that “it’s not going to replace creativity, but will be an aid to it.”

One of WPP’s top clients, Coca-Cola, recently announced that it would be working with management consulting firm Bain & Company and OpenAI to find ways to enhance its marketing processes using AI technology. Spectrum’s ad division also announced it was starting a video production platform to help clients create ads with features like AI-produced voiceovers. Elsewhere in the last few weeks:

• Snapchat released an AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT.
• Large agencies like Havas, Horizon, and DBB told Digiday they were making investments in AI.
• Product placement company BEN became BENlabs to reflect its focus on AI.
• Spotify debuted an AI DJ.
• Patrón Tequila made a “Dream Margarita” AI art generator.
• Snapple created a tool that generates its bottle-cap “Real Facts” using AI.

But it’s not all rainbows: New concerns have emerged around things like Bing’s AI chatbot and the way it communicates with people. Some have raised concerns around the potential brand-safety risks associated with being near malicious or fake content generated by AI.

This week, the FTC warned marketers to be cautious of how they use the term, writing, “You don’t need a machine to predict what the FTC might do when [AI] claims are unsupported.”

Read the full story here.—KH

Each Tuesday, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Jason Lyman is CMO at Customer.io, a marketing automation platform. He’s held marketing positions at Microsoft, Dropbox, and BetterCloud throughout his career.

Favorite project you’ve worked on? I was lucky enough to join Dropbox in 2014 and spent four incredible years scaling up their product marketing function and supporting their entry into the B2B space with Dropbox Business. In 2018, our business reached the size and maturity where it made sense for the company to go public. I was lucky enough to be a part of the small project team that worked on the IPO and helped craft the story we told Wall Street to get them interested in investing in our company. The work we completed as a part of the IPO process was challenging and stressful. However, when we learned that our IPO offering was oversubscribed, it made all the hard work worth it.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? While I have spent more than a decade in technology marketing, I did not start my career thinking I would work in this industry. For my first job out of school, I worked as a strategy consultant for a firm with a strong client base in the media and entertainment space. Since I have always been interested in film, television, and music, I always assumed that I would work in one of these areas after I finished consulting. However, I saw firsthand the power of technology while advising these media and entertainment clients and knew that this was the industry where I wanted to spend the rest of my career.

What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend? I am a big fan of the Official SaaStr Podcast. It is full of interviews with operators and investors who share personal experiences scaling a SaaS business. The podcast guests are transparent about what worked and did not, so you can quickly learn how these insights might apply to your business. With more than 600 episodes, you can quickly scan the topics discussed and find those guests who are speaking about the top-of-mind issues that you are facing in your role today.

Since 2015, Amazon’s venture capital arm has invested in consumer technology startups focused on everything from AI and voice technology to entertainment. But The Alexa Fund’s most recent partnership may surprise you.

In February, Amazon announced that it had led a $20 million Series A investment round for Superplastic, a character-design studio that specializes in making celebrities—digital celebrities, that is.

Superplastic’s computer-generated virtual influencers have social media accounts, cult followings, and brand partnerships, just like human influencers. And the characters are surprising, to say the least.

There’s Dayzee, an “incorrigible flirt” who is blue with spiky purple hair, who holds PhDs in nuclear physics and aerospace engineering, and has more than 700,000 followers on Instagram.

Then there’s Janky (a dumpster-diving “streetwear icon” who is also a…cat?) and Guggimon (a “fashion horror artist, ax collector, and DJ,” who happens to be a white rabbit with vampire-like teeth).

So, where does Amazon fit into this slightly confusing space? Read the full story on Retail Brew.—MA

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

The ’gram: Here are 10 tips to improve Instagram reach using SEO-style tactics.

Very interesting: LinkedIn breaks down interest targeting for advertisers.

Time for change: A look at how retailers are rethinking online returns.

Wrap up your day: Read the latest industry news, personnel changes, account wins, and more with Double Shot, our new evening newsletter. Sign up here.

Gen Z can be fickle, but they have their brand loyalties. Which brand had the highest favorability among Gen Z adults?

1. YouTube

2. Netflix

3. Amazon

4. Google

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Tips to incorporate first-party data collection into experiential marketing
• State Farm went all in on TikTok for the Super Bowl—was it worth it?
• The marketing behind the six-figure bags given to Oscar nominees