Amidst discussions about how companies are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence (AI) platforms like ChatGPT to transform the way people work, learn and conduct business, it’s important not to overlook the impact this has had on marketing and content creation. Leading companies like Coca-Cola, Nike and Shutterstock are using AI tools to speed up and enhance user-generated content, inspire new product concepts, and enable customized royalty-free and copyright-free content creation.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said here that “The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.”

Validating Gates’s opinion is the increasingly commonplace announcement of yet another major company that is using AI to enhance customer service, filter data or expedite laborious tasks. The other use case is how AI has irrevocably altered the speed, scale and relevance of the content that is being created, and has rewritten the user-generated content playbook.

Coca-Cola Is Rewriting the User-Generated Content Script

User-generated content as we know it includes social media posts, videos and reviews that are created by your audience or customer, and in most cases is promoted by the brand on social to engage its audience to participate or with a “show us” call to action.

Looking to capitalize on AI content creation is Coca Cola. In partnership with Bain & Company and OpenAI, Coca-Cola will be the first marketers to leverage OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL•E 2. As we previously shared here, ChatGPT, is an experimental chatbot that provides answers to questions in an open-ended, easy-to-understand conversational format, and DALL•E 2 is a tool for generating realistic, royalty-free images based on a description using natural language.

On the platform, createrealmagic.com, consumers in specific markets will gain access to a library of Coke assets that can be used to generate AI user-generated content and where they can submit their creation for a chance to be featured on digital billboards in New York City and London. In addition, 30 creators will be selected for the Real Magic Creative Academy at Coke’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, where they will co-create content. One Coke executive had this to say about the program: “By opening the platform to digital creatives around the world, Coke hopes to democratize both its brand iconography and “highest-profile advertising assets.”

As one of the most recognized consumer goods company, Coke is not only doing something that’s ambitious, but will certainly serve as a dos and don’ts guide for other brands and companies that are also looking to venture into the AI user-generated content space. By virtue of Coke allowing users to alter and incorporate its trademarked assets in content, it is also developing a future global audience that will assist in the creation of branded content that will keep the brand fresh and innovative.

Here are other ways that AI user-generated content (UGC) can help to create compelling and engaging content at scale that results in:

Generating Royalty-Free and Copyright-Free Images

While platforms like DALL•E and Midjourney can create amazing photo-like images based on a clear description or prompt, the images have been found to infringe on copyright protection of artists. These images are being rendered via the technology scraping the web to create the desired image, and at times it uses images that belong to artists or photographers.

Shutterstock, in partnership with OpenAI, has not only found a solution for this, but because they each have their own royalty-free stock image libraries, they can easily bypass the aforementioned copyright concerns while further monetizing their intellectual property (IP). Shutterstock’s website posts this message: “The imagery that trains Shutterstock.AI is from our own contributors. This means it’s ethically sourced, totally clean, and extremely inclusive. And that means you get the best content possible.”

Because Shutterstock owns the rights to their content, it allows for potential partnerships with brand partners, customers and contributors to tap into its vast stock photo library and generate royalty-free content without the potential legal challenges of doing so.

Adobe recently announced here that it is launching its own AI image generator. The company announced a “family of creative generative AI models” called Adobe Firefly and is releasing the first two tools that take advantage of them. One of the tools works like DALL•E 2 or Midjourney, allowing users to type in a prompt and have an image created in return. The other generates stylized text, kind of like an AI-powered WordArt. “The system is only trained on content that’s licensed or out of copyright — not work from artists across the internet.”

Summoning an On-Demand Product Design Team

DALL•E 2 and Midjourney are being used to conceptualize and visualize a variety of would-be products. Case in point is the Instagram account @ai_clothingdaily, which consists of AI-generated apparel and has AI renderings of Nike and several other sneaker brands reinterpreted as incredibly realistic and ornate footwear fashion. As explained here, “Each pair takes a familiar Nike silhouette — such as the Air Force 1 and the Vapormax — and gives it a lace-centric, intricate makeover. Some fans have likened it to an imaginary Simone Rocha collaboration, while others note the incredible abilities that AI possesses. Regardless, we find pairs like the “Vapormax” stacked with double-bubble Air sole units, sitting pretty alongside dainty crocheted flowers, woven plastic lace-like uppers, and silky laces.”

Earlier this year, Nike announced a collaboration with the legendary Tiffany & Co. When the image of its shoe collaboration with the jewelry company was posted on social, it was met with underwhelming approval, which led consumers to create their own interpretation of the shoe, which was far more inventive. This demonstrates that, whether by choice or not, your audiences can speak volumes about what inspires them or what they’ll buy. It’s a great opportunity to quickly crowdsource new product ideas or gain insights into future design considerations. Below was my interpretation of the collaboration.

As we’ve shared, companies are increasingly turning to AI to generate personalized and engaging user-generated content. While AI UGC offers benefits such as efficiency, scalability and innovation, there are also potential drawbacks, such as a lack of authenticity, quality control issues and ethical concerns.

Despite these challenges, more and more companies are beginning to incorporate AI tools in their marketing strategies and AI-driven UGC in their marketing campaigns to drive engagement and brand loyalty. As brands like Coca-Cola serve as the industry tutors for other brands and organizations to watch and build on, we’ll begin to see more innovative uses of AI in content creation in the coming months, as opposed to years.

Questions? Feel free to email us here. As always, thanks for reading!

Header Image: Coca Cola