Samsung‘s new partnership with InMobi’s Glance AI, an AI-powered advertising platform that will (thankfully) only be active in the States at launch, is an early look at how artificial intelligence will be exploited by advertisers in the future.
Something like Glance AI’s service, which pairs advertising with device screens during downtime, is already done. Amazon’s Kindle range has an ad-supported version that comes with the benefit of a reduced price tag. Spotify is free, as long as you’re fine with ads. However, asking you to opt into ads on your smartphone’s lock screen is a step we weren’t expecting until… well, much later.
At a Glance AI
Smartphone lock screens are generally semi-useful repositories of information that subtly induce anxiety by reminding you how many messages you have yet to respond to. Glance AI ramps that up by using AI-created images of yourself dressed in all manner of interesting clothing. Should you encounter a look that you particularly like, it can be purchased with a click or two.
It’s a dream idea if you’re a retailer or someone who earns money from placing ads in front of customers. For users, though? It might be a tougher sell. Samsung’s Galaxy Store in the US will host the “shopping experience”, according to InMobi. It will be entirely opt-in, meaning you’ll have to download and set the app up yourself, but we can’t help worrying that enough money will wind up adding the ‘service’ to smartphones as pre-installed bloatware.
The company obviously believes it’s the future of shopping. “Glance AI helps consumers discover and visualize what’s possible – starting with an outfit that makes them look and feel great – and own it with just a tap on the platform,” said founder Naveen Tewari, adding that Glance AI will be “a fully user-opted-in experience where inspirational commerce and content converge.”
If the term ‘inspirational commerce’ didn’t immediately make you gag, you’re either in advertising or are an ideal candidate as a Glance AI user. Of course, folks don’t actually have to buy anything from the shopping platform. There’s also the option to save the generative AI-created outfits (which appear on something approximating your body) as wallpapers or images that could be shared. Hey, if the generated images are good enough, you might fool your Instagram followers into thinking that you’re wearing this stuff instead of having to pay for it.
