Buddy Loan App introduces new features that help users with job procurement

You may have successfully muted umpteen groups on your WhatsApp already, but late last week select users across the country started receiving messages from a new source: Meta’s AI itself. The social media giant may have been seemingly lagging in the AI race, as Open AI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and more than a few other Large Language Models vie to become the best bot you can engage with, but given its panoply of apps including, but not limited to, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, Meta’s AI already has significant skin in the game.

And given the game is based on which platform rakes in the most advertising dollars based on deliverables it can provide users that include access, ease of navigation, fulfilment of intent, and perhaps most importantly, repeated returns, exchange4media asked digital advertising honchos what Meta AI’s pilot means for India and the ecosystem.

Meta Messaging

Preetham Venkky, Chief Digital Officer, DDB Mudra, says that the age of the broad AI chatbot is over, and every tech company, is looking to create customised functional experiences for its users. "Today, it's all about high quality automated CRM, a code every company is trying to crack."

Cracking a coherent and bug free chat experience will ensure users' stay on their messaging platform instead of wandering to a competitor’s, or even worse back to the open internet.

Ashutosh Nagare, VP – Head of Performance Marketing, Interactive Avenues, believes Meta AI will enhance advertising capabilities by providing speed, agility, and improved consumer engagement. “Previously, ad copy turnaround time took days but with Meta AI, it's now reduced to seconds. Additionally, advertisers can swiftly test images with various backgrounds or colours. As consumers increasingly prefer conversational messaging, advertisers can leverage this to connect, resolve queries, and further engage with and nurture their audience.”

Yash Chandiramani, Founder and Strategist, Admatazz, says that while it's still early to understand what all is possible, he foresees a lot of fun campaigns and engagement-driven content that will be pushed out by brands. “Apart from this, I feel Meta AI will benefit brands by improving ORM and customer service on social media as well. However, the biggest opportunity I see is the sheer amount and depth of data that Meta will be able to gain insights from. It will make targeting all the more easier for advertisers,” he says.

And it’s not for nothing that India and a few select African nations were the first countries in which the organization is piloting this new feature. WhatsApp’s largest market of course is India, home to close to 500 million regular users of the messaging service. But more on that later.

Sanmesh Sapkal, Director - Key Accounts, TheSmallBigIdea, observes that while Meta may have missed out on the early opportunity to integrate AI, their platform has extensive reach across the Indian population through WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. “This broad exposure suggests that adapting to and accessing Meta's AI would be seamless. Moreover, Meta's approach to releasing AI as a feature, akin to tabs like calling and community in WhatsApp, promises ease of adaptation for users.”

And as you may have noticed, it’s not just family and old school reunion groups that are spamming you anymore, as more and more businesses take theirs online. Which naturally brings us to the question of where all the data derived from these interactions and transactions is going and how it’s being used.

Data Drive

Manan Malik, Director - Strategy and Growth at Social Panga, points out that since Meta AI is not going to have end-to-end encryption for further developments and learning, it is going to have access to a lot of consumer data and preferences, which can benefit the advertising industry in a greater way.

With AI on WhatsApp, Meta will be hoping to gain access to the kind of data that is outside the currently encrypted messages. “P2P WhatsApp Messaging is completely encrypted, and that's where the intent based gold mine is. In order to better train LLaMA (Meta’s in-house LLM platform), Meta is going to need access to lots of user-machine interactions and conversations to make it remarkably better. Now, ChatGPT, which is the king of human-machine interactions at the moment, is seeing roughly 100 million active users of the free version and about 10 million on the paid version globally. WhatsApp has more than two billion users. So imagine what they can do,” says Venkky.

“Advertisers will now be able to use this hyper-personalization to build a connection with the users. But the flip sides of course can be the privacy concerns and the 'creepy factor' that some segments of users might feel, owing to over-personalization and the intrusive nature of new-age ads. The AI rollout will further extend the user experience with recommendations and innovative ad formats, especially in the domain of online shopping,” says Malik. 

And it’s also worth noting that these test countries, including our own, are still developing their data and consumer privacy laws, meaning there’s more data intake to rake and presumably cheaper fines to pay, as opposed to the billions of dollars in fines slapped on companies like Meta (not to mention Google, Apple, and other big tech boys) in US, European, and other developed markets.

As we’ve observed here as well, WhatsApp Ads is being implemented by Indian and foreign brands, of every size, colour scheme and ad budget making inroads into the platform for customer acquisition, service, and retention.

“WhatsApp is a brilliant medium to close leads, sales and customer queries for Indian businesses. We've seen a major uptick in the quality of leads and sales when we've used WhatsApp for our partner brands,” enthuses Chandiramani. 

And as you may have noticed, it’s not just family and old school reunion groups that are spamming you anymore, as more and more businesses take theirs online.

Immediate Changes

“One of the immediate roll-outs that users are going to notice with the integration of AI on WhatsApp is increased and enhanced use of automation from brands, like appointment scheduling, order confirmations, and product information delivery, etc. This can streamline operations for businesses and improve user experience,” says Malik.

Another important and a connected point would be enhanced customer service with the help of AI Chatbots, resulting in faster response time. At the same time, users will be able to have conversations 24x7 and their interactions will have a personalized experience both in tonality and outcome. This will also have the potential to lift the language barrier, and helps users better and faster.

“Now with Meta AI, we are hoping for conversations to get even easier and with minimal human intervention. While initially, language may be a barrier as it's primarily English and Indians chat in all kinds of languages. Once (hopefully), AI gets better at local languages it will be a complete game changer,” says Chandiramani. 

“Consumers often find endless IVR options and unsolicited calls from advertisers frustrating. However, Meta AI can instantly address consumer queries, providing a better experience and fostering positive brand affinity. While Meta AI is in its early stages and not yet fully rolled out, it will continue to improve, offering a winning solution for consumers, advertisers, and Meta,” agrees Nagare.

Sakpal cautions that the critical question, however, revolves around the extent to which Meta AI will leverage native user data to provide solutions while safeguarding user privacy and finding this equilibrium will be crucial for Meta's AI to offer effective and personalized solutions.

Finally, it all comes down to mapping a users' intent, “Google, currently, continues to be the king of intent, it’s where you go when you have specific questions. Meta’s platforms like Instagram and Facebook are all about inspiration and discovery, while user to user interactions are encrypted on WhatsApp. But now, with this Meta AI coming in, which you can interact with and ask questions, they’ll be looking to crack the code to understanding consumer intent,” says Venkky.

Peerless Hospital has collaborated with Liqvd Asia, a digital marketing agency, to spearhead its marketing campaign aimed at promoting its emergency ward services.

“The campaign aims to highlight the crucial importance of having a reliable healthcare provider during emergencies, utilising outdoor print and above-the-line (ATL) activities. Drawing from the insight that emergencies can strike unpredictably and affect anyone, the initiative emphasises Peerless Hospital's readiness to handle such situations 24x7 with expert medical staff and cutting-edge facilities,” the agency said in a release.

Commenting on the partnership, Ravindra Pai, Deputy Managing Director from Peerless Hospitals said, "At Peerless Hospital, our priority is to ensure top-quality care for every patient. We are committed to providing the highest standard of treatment, ensuring that everyone who visits our facility leaves with a sense of satisfaction and well-being. Liqvd Asia’s impeccable reputation and capabilities made them the automatic choice for crafting & promoting the campaign. It allows us to amplify our message and reach more individuals in need of emergency services. We are confident that this collaboration will not only increase awareness about our 24x7 exceptional emergency ward but also reinforce our dedication to providing compassionate healthcare."

Monish Sanghavi, Business Head of Liqvd Asia, added, "At Liqvd Asia, we believe that health is paramount and it is our core belief to prioritise the well-being of individuals. Joining forces with Peerless Hospital for this campaign is a testament to our shared commitment to excellence in healthcare. This campaign is particularly close to our hearts as it aligns with our mission to educate and disseminate the right information, so that no one is deprived of expert care in case of a medical emergency. We chose the path of honesty by sharing real-world numbers to elevate awareness about Peerless Hospital's world-class emergency services and empower individuals to make informed decisions about their healthcare needs, when it really matters."

The campaign has already commenced and will continue for several more months.

InMobi's lock screen platform Glance has reportedly posted 77% growth in revenue from operations in FY23. The platform raked in Rs 317 crore, up from Rs 178 crore in the previous fiscal, according to news reports quoting the company's holding group's filings in Singapore.

Income from advertising constituted 76% of its total operating revenue, which reportedly grew 62.6% to Rs 242 crore.

Total expenses grew 27.6% to Rs 1414 crore, up from Rs 1108 crore in the previous fiscal.

Losses grew 18.6% to Rs 1067 crore in March 2023 from Rs 900 crore in FY2022.

Glance is a lock screen platform platform that offers mobile lock screen content management and advertising solutions.

In February 2022, the platform raised a staggering $200 million in its series D round from Reliance-owned Jio Platforms as part of a strategic deal.

Microblogging platform X said that it had to restrain certain posts from India at the behest of the Election Commission. These posts comprised political content from officials, political parties and candidates.

The posts have been restrained for allegedly violating the poll code which came into effect when the Lok Sabha election schedule was announced. The platform has been asked to withhold these posts till the poll period.

X owner Elon Musk spoke up about the issue, stating that he disagrees with the orders of the election commission on the grounds of "freedom of speech."

“We have notified the affected users and in the interest of transparency.

"We call on the Election Commission to publish all of its takedown orders going forward," said the company.

The EC reported four social media posts each by YSR Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary.

"As per commitments made under "Voluntary Code of Ethics", participant platforms are to take expeditious action on valid legal requests submitted by Election Commission of India and also make adequate arrangements to safeguard against misuse of their platforms. Failure to comply would amount to violation of "Voluntary Code of Ethics", to which X (Twitter) is a signatory. X may comply and take necessary action urgently," read EC's order.

The Lok Sabha elections will commence on Friday, April 19 and the results will be announced on June 4.

Meta Platforms has yet again found itself in the crosshairs of discontent. Globally, advertisers who are the lifeblood of its revenue stream, seem to be unhappy with the returns that the platform has been giving them of late. This isn't Meta's first rodeo with irate advertisers but the current uproar feels like it's reaching a fever pitch. 

We've cut Meta spend by 40-50% across the board. This channel is a mess right now. I really don't know what else to say.

We're seeing anything on Facebook up 30-35% from the Feb 14th outage, and anything on IG essentially flat. Yet Meta keeps pouring more $ into FB placements…

— David Herrmann (@herrmanndigital) March 8, 2024

A Bloomberg report recently noted that Meta’s ad system was faltering. “The cost of running ad campaigns is up significantly, while results are mixed and ensuing sales are down — and there has been no formal explanation from the company, ad buyers say,” the report mentioned.

Tweets from some global ad buyers and marketers back the claim up too. For instance, Cody Plofker, chief marketing officer at makeup brand Jones Road Beauty tweeted that the big tech’s platform is in terrible shape right now. “I usually think it's seasonal buying behaviour when people complain about the algo, but I do think Meta is messed up right now. Seeing some of the weirdest performance and data in a while,” he wrote.

Meta is terrible right now. I usually think it's seasonal buying behavior when people complain about the algo, but I do think Meta is messed up right now. Seeing some of the weirdest performance and data in a while.

— Cody Plofker (@codyplof) February 24, 2024

Similarly, a tweet by media buyer David Herrmann read, “We've cut Meta spend by 40-50% across the board. This channel is a mess right now. I really don't know what else to say.” Herrmann further expressed that he would rather be conservative and hope to make it up once they figure a way out.

However, it looks like not all advertisers are unhappy with the platform. If you scroll down on Herrmann’s tweet, you’ll notice some media buyers mentioning a combined ad spend of a million a month, and getting desired results out of it as well.

So basically on a global scale, the advertisers community is divided into two camps – those frustrated by Meta's perceived shortcomings and those who are still finding success on the platform.

A Meta spokesperson told exchange4media that the platform’s ads system was working as expected for the vast majority of advertisers. However, there were a few technical issues, which according to the spokesperson are now fixed.

“We are researching a small amount of additional reports from advertisers to ensure the best possible results for businesses using our apps,” the spokesperson further added.

What’s happening back home?

While some in the Indian advertisers’ community say that there are no red flags yet, some are considering pulling their ads off of the platform. A senior FMCG marketer told exchange4media, “All I have seen in the past 6 months is my ad budget taking a constant hit because the ROAS is not up to standards. At the end of the day, I need to show numbers ahead, to get my budgets approved. Meta hasn’t given me that opportunity yet, we are in the process of evaluating alternatives.”

A digital expert from a leading agency said, “No red flags so far”. Addressing the ‘glitch’ being spoken about, around the automated bidding system, the person added. “Most agencies don’t rely too much on automatic bid systems as much. These kinds of glitches have happened in the past and FB’s algorithm gets corrected in a few weeks.”

He also mentioned that glitches tend to happen around big policy changes, like when IOS is updated / GDPR comes into play. “I suspect a possible reason for this ‘glitch’ (I prefer we call it algorithm readjustment) could be the integration with Gen AI content engines.”

Experts also think that cookie deprecation has a role to play in Meta not being able to deliver up to every advertiser’s expectations.

Sajal Gupta, Chief Executive, Kiaos Marketing, noted that this has been noticed in all markets, in the US and India. “It is a result of losing audience signals due to cookie deprecation. The sharp targeting one could do earlier on Meta is getting blunt and as a result, media effectiveness is dropping. A similar trend was noticed when Apple ATT was rolled out in markets with high Apple penetrations (US).” he said.

Gupta also pointed out that in the Indian scenario, there are not many options to move monies other than Google and YouTube. “Performance advertisers will be moving monies, it is an input / output equation (ROAS) the advertisers keep on measuring,” he said.

On the other hand, Shradha Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Grapes shared that none of the accounts managed by them have exhibited any significant variance. “All metrics, including traffic, leads, and conversions/sales, are consistently meeting our objectives and operating at their usual pace,” she added.

However, addressing the prevalent issue, Agarwal said that a probable reason for the high buy rate could be attributed to the widespread adoption of meta platforms by multiple businesses, leveraging them to drive sales. “Consequently, competition has intensified, compelling businesses to enhance their strategies to stay ahead.”

YouTube has said that it will be more stringent with its crackdown on ad-blocking apps.

In a blog on its Community platform, YouTube said: "Viewers who are using these third-party apps may experience buffering issues or see the error “The following content is not available on this app” when trying to watch a video. We want to emphasize that our terms don’t allow third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership, and Ads on YouTube help support creators and let billions of people around the world use the streaming service. We also understand that some people prefer an entirely ad-free experience, which is why we offer YouTube Premium."

According to YouTube, it allows third-party apps to only use its API if they are in accordance to its 'Terms and Conditions'.

Google's video-sharing platform could take action against creators and viewers in cases of violation.

DoubleVerify, which provides brand-safety measurement of digital platforms to advertisers, has been accused of incorrectly displaying X‘s Brand Safety Rate on its dashboard for nearly five months. 

Brand Safety Rate is a measure of how frequently ads appeared adjacent to content that met advertiser-approved criteria. 

From Oct 24, 2023 to Mar 14, 2024, DoubleVerify’s dashboard reportedly provided the wrong data for X to advertisers. In some cases, the measurement firm showed scores as low as 70%, whereas X’s Brand Safety Rates were in fact 99.99%. 

The error caused dozens of large brands to pull back advertising spending and stop campaigns on X, claims the Elon Musk-owned social-media firm. 

DoubleVerify CEO Mark Zagorski, in a message to his customers on April 12, apologized for the error. X posted the Zagorski letter on its platform to bolster its image. 

Probe on

It’s unclear how the error occurred. X and DoubleVerify said the companies are continuing to investigate the issue. “We are conducting a thorough review of our processes and systems to ensure this issue does not occur in the future,” Zagorski said in his letter. 

Musk wrote in a post April 12, “Thank you DoubleVerify for correcting your mistake regarding brand safety on this platform. When measured accurately, brand safety on X is extremely good.”

X also shared the speech of Monique Pintarelli, Head of the Americas at X, delivered at the Mobile Marketing Association's Board of Global Advertisers to apprise them about the situation to assuage their concerns. 

“Since October, DoubleVerify has been mis-reporting the Brand Safety scores of X…After digging in with the DV team, I am happy to share that the good news is, we have consistently delivered a safety score of 99.99%, which is above global industry standards and in alignment with safety scores measured by IAS,” Pintarelli said. 

Pintarelli also claimed that the DoubleVerify reporting error affected only X. “We are now at or above industry standards, in all metrics and capabilities,” she claimed further. 

Zagorski’s message to customers

Valued DV Customer: DoubleVerify recently discovered a graphical error in the display of X’s Brand Safety Rate in DV’s Pinnacle dashboard that resulted in displaying an incorrect, lower rate. Specifically, DoubleVerify’s dashboard incorrectly mirrored the Brand Suitability Rate for your campaign onto the Brand Safety Rate in the summary graphic in Pinnacle.  

The underlying data available in DV Pinnacle was accurate; only the graphical visualization was not representative of the Brand Safety Rate. This display error occurred over four and a half months from October 24, 2023 to March 14th, 2024, when it was corrected by DV. All current and retroactive Brand Safety data for X is now correctly represented in Pinnacle. 

The display error was not present in any other area in the UI, including the Incident Reporting and the Rollover Data Detail. 

Based on DoubleVerify’s metrics, X’s Brand Safety Rate across all campaigns we measured exceeded 99.99% from October 2023 to the present. This means that X’s Brand Safety Rate exceeds global benchmarks for brand safety, based on DV’s global industry data. 

DoubleVerify takes measurement accuracy and reporting seriously. We take full responsibility for the inaccurate visual representation of X’s Brand Safety Rate within our dashboard that displayed an inaccurate and lower Brand Safety Rate.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused to X and to our customers in the course of reviewing your campaign performance on X. DV remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and transparency in our data.

DoubleVerify is working closely with X to ensure that all future reports reflect the accurate Brand Safety performance of campaigns run on X’s platform. We also are conducting a thorough review of our processes and systems to ensure this issue does not occur in the future.

Should you wish to have a direct conversation with X regarding your reporting, we would be happy to relay your contact information to your X account lead and facilitate a meeting. Our team at DoubleVerify remains committed to maintaining trust and confidence in our platform, and would welcome a direct follow up with you should you wish to discuss further.