The BBC has revealed its utilization of generative AI for crafting promotional content for its television programs, commencing with the beloved sci-fi series “Doctor Who”.
Initially, the AI trial is focused on generating written materials like emails, push notifications, and search results on the BBC website pertaining to the promotion of “Doctor Who”. David Housden, the head of Digital Media Inventory at the BBC, disclosed that while humans will initially create the advertising copy, AI systems will subsequently produce variations that necessitate approval from senior BBC marketing team members before dissemination.
David Housden emphasized the importance of testing and learning to tailor BBC content promotion to individual preferences, stating, “Generative AI provides a valuable opportunity to expedite the creation of additional resources for conducting more live testing on a broader range of content we aim to promote”.
The efficacy of these AI-generated marketing assets will be gauged using industry-standard metrics such as click-through rates, open rates, and content impression conversion rates, which measure the number of individuals who proceed to stream a “Doctor Who” episode after engaging with the marketing material.
While the BBC has not disclosed the specific AI system employed for content creation, the broadcaster has assured that all AI-generated marketing content will be clearly labeled as such. These disclosures will notify readers that the messages or articles are part of a pilot initiative and “may have been written with the assistance of AI”.
Although the current AI trial run is confined to promotional materials related solely to “Doctor Who”, the positive outcomes of this endeavor are prompting the publicly funded broadcaster to explore broader applications of AI technology.
According to Housden, a key reason for selecting “Doctor Who” as the initial focus is its dual status as a BBC-broadcasted and BBC Studios-produced series, granting the BBC full control over its content.
Furthermore, the nature of the show, which follows the escapades of a time-traveling extraterrestrial entity combating aliens, robots, and monsters, aligns well with the conceptual framework for an AI-led experiment, as noted by Housden.
Notably, the character of the Doctor has engaged with AI entities on-screen numerous times throughout the series’ extensive 60-year history, tracing back to the 1966 serial “The War Machines”.
Edited by Stephen Graves
