The current “AI revolution” began with ChatGPT being introduced to mass users, followed soon thereafter by image generators. Even more recently, some major retailers have develop their own proprietary AI tools to provide smart shopping recommendations. So what is the next wave in this modern-day revolution? It might be branding.

In contentious political contexts, many brands go to great lengths to appear apolitical, including choosing to sever ties with spokespeople or influencers who speak out, for fear of alienating members of their consumer base with different perspectives. Such caution is not unfounded; the influencer market is incredibly and inherently unpredictable, because each influencer is also an individual person, with a full spectrum of beliefs and principles that they may or may not choose to share with their audiences. But even if they seek to avoid taking a political stance, embarrassing incidents can arise, such as if they speak out of turn or are photographed at a politically divisive event. 

For brands, advertisements that feature these influencers might suffer diminished effectiveness, if controversial views emerge. To avoid this potential risk, some companies have turned to AI to analyze social media trends, including assessment of whether their potential marketing partners are likely to participate in public political discourse. The AI firms leading this search include Captiv8 and Viral Nation, two tech companies that have developed sophisticated AI algorithms capable of analyzing vast amounts of social media data.

Captiv8’s tools use AI to analyze mentions of influencers across multiple online platforms, then assign a score to each potential influencer brand, reflecting the level of safety, or lack of political stances from this person, it predicts. The “safety grades” range from A, indicating that someone is very unlikely to make a political statement, to C, signaling caution.

Likewise, Viral Nation creates “risk profiles” for each potential partner, on the basis of assessments of years of each person’s internet history, to compile a list of any subtle signs of political engagement. Traditional market research often has relied on public opinion, such as surveys and focus groups; these tools allow brands to go right to the source of the information, and they support both real-time analysis and predictive capabilities. 

Actors in certain industries, including consumer goods, fashion, and tech, have become particularly reliant on these AI tools. These very public-facing brands tend to experience the most pressure to appear politically neutral. Food brands like Kraft and Heinz, for example, have successfully used the AI tools to evaluate potential partners. 

Yet considering some potential issues associated with relying on these tools, especially given the privacy risks that AI monitoring poses, companies would be smart to proceed slowly. Furthermore, AI remains subject to bias, such that it might tag neutral actions unfairly as risky. Therefore, companies must manually check the results produced by these tools, then report all mistakes to ensure they get corrected in future iterations. Likewise, marketing firms must thoroughly beta-test each new version of this software, especially if they plan to use these AI iterations to monitor other sensitive topics, such as influencers’ participation in social activism. When it comes to the AI revolution, it thus seems likely to be televised. 

Discussion Questions

1. Do you follow certain influencers? If one of your favorites were to engage in political discourse, would that affect your view of them?
2. What other sensitive issues might influence your perception of influencers? Do you think brands have the right to monitor these potential partners, using predictive research to evaluate them?

Sources: Sapna Maheshwari, “Brands Love Influencers (Until Politics Get Involved),” The New York Times, August 12, 2024; Mark Scott, “AI, Inc. Flexes Its Election Bona Fides—and Hunts for Customers,” POLITICO, May 21, 2024; OpenAI ChatGPT, “Assistance with Research on AI Use in Influencer Marketing and Political Content,” ChatGPT, August 18, 2024; Wes Davis, “How AI Companies Are Reckoning with Elections,” The Verge, March 19, 2024.