What's next after Generative AI?

It feels like only yesterday we were all blinking in the face of it, and now generative AI is properly shaking things up in marketing and communications. Think about the ease of which one can now craft compelling social copy in a flash, whip up initial drafts for blog posts, and even get AI to chew through customer data to pinpoint exactly what our audience in somewhere like Northampton (and beyond!) is after.

But it does make you wonder, doesn't it? What's the next big thing lurking around the corner? If generative AI is seemingly all about creation and analysis, I reckon we'll see a real push towards proactive and predictive intelligence (and to some degree this is already in play). Imagine tools that don't just tell us what has happened or help us create something, but actively anticipate market shifts, predict consumer behaviour with even greater accuracy (perhaps even down to local trends in places like Kettering or Milton Keynes), and even automate strategic decision-making in a truly intelligent way. Maybe we'll see the rise of sophisticated "Marketing Autopilots" that can adjust campaigns in real-time based on predicted outcomes, or tools that flag potential PR crises before they even brew on social media.

Generative AI is the here and now, and it's brilliant, but the speed of innovation is relentless. No doubt we need to keep our eyes peeled for what's coming next, and make sure we're not still fiddling with the old tech when the new shiny toys arrive.