This two-part exclusive deep dive with industry experts Pradeep Kumar, CEO of NP Digital India; Siddhartha Vanvani, Founder and CEO of Digidarts; Sunitha Natarajan, Director – Digital Strategy at Social Panga; Saurabh Uboweja, Managing Partner and Practice Leader, Positioning Strategy at BOD Consulting; and Venugopal Ganganna, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of LS Digital has them discussing multiple aspects about the arrival of Meta AI on Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
This, Part One, sees them explore how Meta AI will reshape digital marketing strategies, what it means for marketers, the opportunities and challenges it brings, and think aloud about which sector stands to gain the most from Meta’s AI assistant.
Meta AI, built with Meta Llama 3, ‘the most advanced LLM yet’, Meta’s AI assistant was rolled out in India on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger last week. This ‘next generation assistant’ is prepared to enhance the lives of its users, helping them plan and get things done, including mundane tasks like preparing dinner or studying for a test, assisting in content creation, accessing real-time information, and, of course, much more. The ‘Imagine’ feature also allows users to create images from text in real-time.
This launch was, of course, met with equal parts apprehension and excitement not only by users but also by marketers, who have been wondering how the arrival of Meta AI in India would impact them and their consumers. Read on.
Without a doubt, Meta AI will reshape digital marketing strategies. Saurabh Uboweja, Managing Partner and Practice Leader, Positioning Strategy at BOD Consulting, views Meta AI as a game-changer for digital marketers. He says, “For the longest period, AI has been seen as something that is inevitable but also intimidating at the same time.
“Today, digital marketing teams, whether big or small, can use the tools provided by Meta AI to get, analyze, and interpret user data in easier, digestible ways. As Meta AI evolves in India, this will definitely empower marketers to come up with data-driven marketing strategies that will help optimize their marketing campaigns and, in turn, maximize their ROI,” Uboweja adds.
Siddhartha Vanvani, Founder and CEO of Digidarts, views it as a revolution that will enable digital marketers to create personalized, efficient, and engaging campaigns. “Marketers will be able to harness the advanced power of Meta AI to better understand consumer preferences and behaviors, allowing for more targeted ads and content to be integrated with AI on platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.
“Additionally, the ability to create and edit content in real-time can effectively reduce the time and cost of campaign creation, leading to more frequent marketing innovations,” says Vanvani.
Pradeep Kumar, CEO of NP Digital India, believes that Meta AI will empower businesses to connect with consumers more meaningfully, driving growth and innovation in the digital marketing landscape.
Kumar comments, “Meta AI’s entry into India will transform digital marketing by enabling advanced personalization, real-time customer engagement, and data-driven insights. AI will automate various tasks, enhancing efficiency and allowing marketers to focus on strategy. Innovative ad formats and localized content will resonate better with diverse audiences. Predictive analytics will help anticipate trends, keeping businesses ahead of the competition.”
Highlighting how the availability of data and personalization aided by Meta AI will enhance digital marketing strategies, Venugopal Ganganna, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of LS Digital says, “With advanced machine learning capabilities, Meta AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify trends and preferences unique to the Indian market. This allows marketers to craft highly targeted campaigns that resonate with specific demographics.”
“Moreover, Meta AI’s predictive analytics can help anticipate consumer behavior, enabling brands to stay ahead of the curve. The result is a more efficient allocation of marketing resources, higher engagement rates, and better ROI. This shift towards AI-driven strategies will also foster a culture of innovation as businesses strive to leverage cutting-edge technology to connect with their audiences in new and meaningful ways,” adds Ganganna.
Sunitha Natarajan, Director of Digital Strategy at Social Panga, expects Meta AI to have a significant impact in the industry. She says, “While ChatGPT and Gemini have made waves in the AI landscape, Meta AI brings a unique perspective and capabilities to the table, leveraging Meta’s vast resources and expertise in building user-centric platforms.
“With the AI landscape still evolving, there’s ample room for innovation and disruption, positioning Meta AI to make a substantial impact in the industry,” Natarajan adds.
How Marketers can integrate Meta AI into their ecosystems
Looking at how marketers can integrate Meta AI into their marketing ecosystems to maximize effectiveness, Saurabh Uboweja shares, “Today, businesses have access to numerous AI tools from tech giants. Whether it is OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, or integrated AI tools in platforms like Canva, the audience is spoiled for choice.”
“It will be interesting to see how Meta AI competes with existing and upcoming tools to secure its place in the market. However, I feel that Meta definitely holds an advantage, considering Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are integral parts of the marketing ecosystem for brands and marketers,” Uboweja adds.
However, he emphasizes: “Of course, it isn’t magic. The key to integrating Meta AI into your marketing ecosystem is to first recognize your marketing goals and understand how Meta AI can help you achieve those goals. We need to train our teams to use these tools effectively. Invest in ongoing education so everyone understands the power of AI and how to maximize it.
“This is all about continuous improvement. We need to constantly monitor our initiatives, seeing what works and what doesn’t,” Uboweja says.
Siddhartha Vanvani expands on how companies can integrate the features of Meta AI into their existing business processes and platforms, and lists the important areas of such integration. “These,” Vanvani says, are:
“Leveraging AI-powered insights by using Meta AI analytics and insights to understand consumer behavior and preferences, which can uncover more effective marketing strategies.
“Automating customer interactions by using Meta AI chatbots on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and other platforms to provide instant customer support, recommendations and personalized interactions.
“Content generation and curation through the use of Meta AI’s content creation tools to not just quickly create, but also optimize marketing materials, ensuring they are engaging and relevant to the target audience.
“Optimizing ad campaigns by using Meta AI-powered targeting and personalization to deliver more relevant ads, improving conversion rates and ROI.
“Enhancing existing social media presence by developing strong online communities, integrating Meta AI features to interact with users in a more interactive and responsive way on social media.”
Pradeep Kumar says, “Businesses can integrate Meta AI by leveraging its tools for personalized content creation, real-time customer engagement, and data-driven insights. Automating tasks, optimizing ad targeting, and using predictive analytics will enhance efficiency and effectiveness, enabling more impactful marketing strategies and improved ROI.”
Venugopal Ganganna believes “Integrating Meta AI into a marketing ecosystem requires a strategic approach. First, businesses should invest in training their teams to understand and utilize AI tools effectively.
“Meta AI can be incorporated into various stages of the marketing funnel — from audience segmentation and personalized ad targeting, to content creation and performance analytics. By using Meta AI’s data-driven insights, businesses can refine their marketing strategies to be more precise and impactful,” Ganganna says.
He adds, “It’s also crucial to ensure that Meta AI tools are integrated with existing marketing platforms to streamline processes and improve efficiency. Regularly evaluating and fine-tuning AI-driven campaigns based on performance metrics will help businesses maximize their effectiveness.
Ganganna says, “By embracing Meta AI, companies can achieve a higher level of personalization, automate routine tasks, and make more informed decisions, ultimately leading to enhanced marketing outcomes”.
Sunitha Natarajan says, “To maximize effectiveness, businesses can evaluate the integration of Meta AI in all chats via Messenger and WhatsApp to automate customer service responses. Other possibilities include content curation (customer support and content ideas), real-time insights (market trends), ad optimization, and social listening to an extent.”
Meta AI – Opportunities and challenges for Indian businesses
Saurabh Uboweja shares his concerns and excitement about Meta AI, “Meta AI offers exciting prospects for Indian businesses. From AI-driven hyper-targeted advertising to AI-generated campaigns and creative assets, the possibility is limitless.
“Challenges exist, though. Data privacy is paramount in India, and businesses must handle customer data responsibly and securely. Additionally, businesses need to be mindful of the results generated by Meta AI initially before fully integrating it into their marketing ecosystem. This caution,” Uboweja says, “is necessary because, in the past, tools like Gemini have been unreliable and produced controversial results that were not well-received by the audience.”
Going into elaborate detail, Vanvani reveals the various opportunities and challenges present before the industry with the launch of Meta AI and the sectors that will emerge as frontrunners.
The opportunities Vanvani sees include: “Enhanced personalization, for which companies can deliver more personalized experiences, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Efficiency and automation (across a spectrum of functions and initiatives like) Automation of product development, customer support, and marketing campaigns (all of which) can save time and reduce administrative costs.
“Data-driven insights and analytics, access to which can help businesses make informed decisions and optimize their strategy,” all of which will help Meta AI gain a “Competitive advantage by using advanced technology to enhance its own offering and initial customer interactions,” Vanvani adds.
Vavani’s list of challenges includes “Integration costs to implement AI technology, which may require significant investment in infrastructure and training, Data privacy concerns around the privacy and security of customer data, which, while using AI-driven tools, can be challenging.”
He lists two more challenges: “(The) Technical expertise that businesses may need to acquire or develop expertise in AI technology to fully leverage its capabilities, and Managing AI ethics to ensure the ethical use of AI, including avoiding biases and ensuring fairness,” which, he says, “is a critical challenge.”
Underlining challenges and opportunities, Pradeep Kumar says, “Meta AI presents key opportunities such as enhanced personalization, improved customer engagement, and data-driven insights, boosting marketing efficiency and effectiveness. Challenges include data privacy concerns, implementation costs, and the need for skilled AI professionals.”
Venugopal Ganganna explains, “Meta AI presents numerous opportunities for businesses, including enhanced personalization, improved customer insights, and increased efficiency in marketing operations.
“The ability to leverage AI for data analysis and predictive modeling can help businesses stay ahead of trends and tailor their strategies to meet evolving consumer demands. However, challenges include the need for substantial investment in AI infrastructure and training, as well as concerns around data privacy and security.
Sectors that stand to gain from Meta AI in India
On the sectors that stand to gain from Meta AI, Uboweja says, “One must first look at the kind of businesses and brands that are part of Meta. D2C and home-grown lifestyle brands are mainly marketing their businesses using Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. These businesses stand to gain as with even smaller budgets they can use the insights shared by Meta AI to develop effective and result-oriented campaigns.”
Vavani says, “E-commerce, through personalized recommendations and automated customer support, can enhance the shopping experience and drive sales, and in Healthcare, AI can assist in diagnostics, patient care, and personalized treatment plans.
He adds, “Three other sectors that stand to benefit are Finance, Education, and Retail. Finance can see AI-driven insights improving customer service, fraud detection, and personalized financial advice. In Education, personalized learning experiences and AI-driven administrative support can empower the education sector, and Retail can benefit through improved customer engagement and inventory management through AI, which can optimize operations and increase sales.”
Pradeep Kumar says “Sectors like e-commerce, retail, and financial services in India stand to gain the most, benefiting from AI-driven personalization and predictive analytics to better understand and serve their diverse customer base, ultimately driving growth and competitiveness.”
Venugopal Ganganna says, “The sectors that stand to gain the most from Meta AI’s entrance in India include e-commerce, retail, and entertainment, where personalized recommendations and content can significantly enhance customer experiences.
“Additionally, the healthcare and financial services sectors can benefit from AI-driven analytics and personalized interactions to improve service delivery and customer engagement. By addressing these challenges and capitalizing on the opportunities, businesses can harness the full potential of Meta AI to drive growth and innovation,” adds Ganganna.
Displaying a hopeful attitude for the pros of Meta AI, Sunitha Natarajan says, “While concerns around data privacy, security, and job displacement exist, I believe the benefits far outweigh the risks. I’m excited to see brands in sectors like e-commerce, finance, and healthcare harness the power of Meta AI to drive growth and innovation. It’s a new era, and I’m eager to see what’s in store.”
In Part 2 of this Leadership Deepdive, these leaders will dive deeper into the ramifications of Meta AI in the Indian market, discussing how it will transform content creation, influence consumer engagement and behaviour through personalization, and play a role in purchasing decisions among Indian consumers.
