Social media ad spend declined in the second half of 2022, and the category will make up a shrinking slice of total digital ad spend in the US this year, according to our forecast. But brands still need a social media presence. That’s where AI and ChatGPT can help. Here are six uses for generative AI in organic social campaigns.

1. ChatGPT is your brainstorming buddy

One of ChatGPT’s strongest uses is ideation. Whether you’re taking an idea you already have and iterating or starting fresh, ChatGPT can help.

We asked ChatGPT to give us “unique Instagram post ideas for a millennial-oriented shoe brand” and the chatbot offered unique campaign and partnership ideas, even drilling into specifics of what one of these campaigns—a “shoe of the week” feature—might look like.

2. Create more content

For better or worse—but probably for worse—volume matters when navigating platform algorithms. TikTok recommends posting one to four times per day for maximum visibility. That’s a ton of original content.

Leverage AI to generate ideas, scripts, and captions for posts. But remember: ChatGPT can’t navigate TikTok trends the way a social media professional can. A person should touch every part of the process, from ideation to execution.

3. Adjust content for other platforms

Because of the pressure to post, many brands will reuse the same content across all channels. But the audience on TikTok is different from the audience on Instagram. It’s the same with Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat.

AI can help make small changes, like size and formatting, or even adjust captions to sound more “Instagram-y” (geared toward Instagram’s core audience of millennials) versus “TikTok-y” (aimed at Gen Z, TikTok’s biggest user base). Instagram captions generally call for a level of formality that doesn’t translate well to TikTok, where users expect more raw, unfiltered content.

4. Generate images

AI can generate images that look like stock photographs, but you can also lean into the techy feel of AI for social campaigns. Heinz did this by asking an AI image generator to “draw ketchup” last year.

There’s a lot of room for creativity, but be intentional about AI use. Levi’s decision to use AI-generated diverse models was criticized last week because the campaign looked like a cop out for actually hiring underrepresented talent.

5. Increase content accessibility

Brands should include accessible descriptions and captions for social media posts. Aside from being best practice, it allows for people with visual and hearing impairments to participate in your conversations.

AI can help write these image and video descriptions to allow brands to widen their reach with minimal resources. Like with all AI-generated content, make sure a set of human eyes reviews descriptions and captions for accuracy.

6. Capitalize on consumer AI use

Your consumers are probably also playing around with ChatGPT, Dall-E, and other AI tools. Capitalize on that. The Coca-Cola Co. did this by inviting digital artists to create its campaign using AI tools as a way to build hype with brand enthusiasts.

Pay attention to how consumers are posting on social media as it relates to your brand and find creative ways to capitalize. Posts imagining AI Nike collabs or Pope Francis wearing Balenciaga have gone viral. These can be a real risk for brands, which may have to deal with misinformation about products that don’t actually exist. But if brands are willing to take that risk, the chatter these memes generate can inspire creative social responses.

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