Human-AI Synergy in Media & Entertainment: The Next Frontier of Personalisation

Investment in new technology has never been more critical to the future of the media and entertainment industry, especially given the swirl of always-escalating customer expectations outlined in Salesforce’s recent Media & Entertainment Industry Data and AI Trends report.

Subsequently, industry leaders are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven strategies — whilst taking into account an uneven path to profitability and having to do more with less — to take on these challenges at scale. But saying your company is going to embrace AI and doing it effectively are two very different things. An AI strategy can encompass a vast range of applications.

What’s more, what does the future of AI in media actually look like when it comes to improving the customer experience and efficiencies? 

Purpose-built agents for the media and entertainment industry are the gold standard of a targeted AI solution, and have the ability to understand your company, brand, and the way you do business. They can act in ways beyond a simple chatbot or AI assistant and take on real work, from improving content personalisation for audiences, to brainstorming campaign ideas for marketers, or improving customer service calls.

It’s what customers want, according to the data and AI report, and the industry in turn knows it has to prioritise investment in the technology to be successful in the future. 

Evolving customer expectations and AI’s role

Today’s consumers demand faster service (81%), and 73% expect better personalisation. This is particularly true for the media and entertainment industry, with customer expectations being one of its top business challenges, where customers interact with digital platforms daily, whether streaming movies, browsing social media, or engaging with gaming platforms. Customers know the value of the data they share, and they expect that to be reflected in their experiences. 

The industry is responding to that sentiment by making significant investments in AI to improve their operations and deliver better customer experiences. Nearly all media companies (90%) expect to increase their AI investment over the next 24 months. And AI-powered personalisation has been transforming how media companies engage with their audiences.

Think Spotify’s personalised content recommendation engine based on listening history. But taking that a step further is its AI-powered personal DJ that not only plays music the listener will enjoy based on past listening history but also speaks to the listener as a human DJ would, by providing relevant context about an artist, like their upcoming shows or trending news. This keeps listeners engaged and more likely to remain loyal and purchase premium access. 

But content personalisation isn’t the only way AI is enhancing customer experience. The integration of AI in customer service makes interactions more efficient and responsive. Chatbots can handle a wide range of customer queries, from billing issues to troubleshooting. Taking it a step further, autonomous agents can intelligently interact with a customer to solve any number of issues.

For example, an agent can take a call from a customer inquiring about a higher-tiered digital content package and immediately have a complete view of the customer. The agent can speak to them conversationally, upgrade their subscription without having to transfer them to a human agent, and even suggest other relevant upgrades based on their viewing preferences, ultimately resolving the issue on its own using sophisticated reasoning. 

Agents help organisations do business more efficiently

AI agents also solve the efficiency problem, another priority for the industry according to the report. AI is transforming internal operations, particularly in advertising sales and operations. Automating manual tasks such as processing requests for proposals or managing advertising inventory streamlines operations and reduces errors. 

The industry also recognises the value of AI in navigating the complex landscape of cross-device media, cookieless advertising, and inventory management. Fifty-one percent of companies are prioritising AI-driven advertising performance reporting, while 48% are integrating AI into their measurement systems.

AI-driven insights enable advertisers to optimise campaigns, to better help the right ads reach the right audiences at the right time. This improves the return on investment for your client’s ad spends, a critical concern in an industry where advertising remains the top revenue stream. 

Agents can take those tasks a step further by utilising a large action model (LAM), adding personalisation at a level a simple large language model (LLM) AI can not. It enables agents to handle unanticipated requests without predefined requirements. Equipped with dozens or even hundreds of actions, an agent can compose them in a virtually infinite number of ways, including in ways never anticipated, enabling it to solve new problems on the fly.

This can apply to anything from reacting to RFPs to analysing and taking action to optimise ad campaigns. For sales, agents autonomously engage with inbound leads in natural language to answer questions, handle objections, and book meetings for human sellers. Sales coach agents can engage in role-plays with sellers, simulating a buyer during discovery, pitch, or negotiation calls.

The future of AI in media and entertainment is focused work

Media and entertainment industry leaders see AI as critical to the future of the industry, according to the Media & Entertainment Industry Data and AI Trends report. In a lot of ways, that shift is well underway, especially when it comes to addressing higher customer expectations and improving efficiency. Those imperatives are inextricably linked to AI.

The question now is how the industry accomplishes that most effectively, and that is with a highly targeted AI strategy focusing on specific problems – personalising customer service at scale, optimising ad sales, highly targeted and customised content delivery. Investing in not only AI strategies, but those with an eye on purpose-driven agents as the gold standard is undoubtedly the future.