The artificial intelligence wave is rising, and for digital innovators worldwide, the message is clear: You have to ride the wave if you want to keep your head above water.
Experts across the web discuss how artificial intelligence will shape the future of the web, a topic that took center stage during a recent installment of the Webby Talks series with Claire Graves, Chair of The Webby Awards and WP Director of Product Management Engine, Jason Konen.
‘The Race to Outpace’ draws on insights from The Webby’s 2024 Trends Report (produced in partnership with YouGov) to offer an analysis of the current state of AI, common fears and misconceptions about it and how we can to use artificial intelligence strategically in this new era of innovation.
Whether you rely on advanced technologies in your professional life or are just a digital revolutionary looking to stay on the cutting edge of the modern web, this presentation provides deep insight and food for thought about AI, how to harness its power for everything from personalization to search and how it is already reshaping the ways we interact with brands, products and people online.
The current state of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is changing rapidly, and this new wave of innovation comes with its share of criticism. From inherent bias to job insecurity, many concerns have already been raised about the fair and ethical use of AI. These concerns have been highlighted in documents such as the White House’s AI Bill of Rights and the Future of Life Institute’s petition to halt AI experimentation.
And while concerns surrounding artificial intelligence may seem like an everyday issue, the fact is that artificial intelligence has been a part of everyday life for many years.
“The headlines would have us believe that artificial intelligence is a new phenomenon, but in reality, it has been around for a long time and is already quite integrated into our lives,” Graves said.
He notes that Siri is an artificial intelligence assistant that has been part of modern life since 2011, and tap-to-pay technology has been around since 2013.
However, consumers still have a skewed perception of what AI actually is. Half of respondents to The Webby’s 2024 Trends Report said they don’t use AI — yet 84% of them admit to using Google search, and 70% say they use map and directions apps, which both two use artificial intelligence.
Positive effects of artificial intelligence in modern times
While there is clearly some lingering concern about the use of AI, much of that fear can be alleviated by showing the best use cases of AI tools in the modern era, which can be divided into four simple categories.
- Tools that simplify tedious tasks: e.g. Grammarly for writers and Descript for creating and editing audio transcripts
- Tools that personalize online experiences: e.g. chatbot with artificial intelligence and search functionality for websites
- Tools that enhance the sense of imagination: 46% of survey respondents working in media and production and 53% of those working in entertainment say they are already using AI tools to create more imaginative work at a faster pace
- Tools that create greater social impact: 64% of respondents believe that AI tools can positively impact global issues such as education, public health, food insecurity and climate issues
These are the areas where AI will drive innovation in the modern era and has the potential to quickly and efficiently make positive changes in our world.
“There’s a real opportunity to build tools for security and humanitarian aid,” Graves said. “AI is fast, but not inaccessible. There is fear, but much more hope and optimism.”
Where is AI headed?
Following her presentation, Graves was joined by WP Engine Director of Product Management Jason Konen to discuss how AI is already solving issues related to web search queries and how WP Engine Smart Search harnesses the power of AI to solving search functionality problems for modern WordPress developers .
First, however, Konen tackled the question of when and how companies should make the decision to implement AI for their own purposes. As we’ve seen time and time again, early adoption isn’t always the right decision for every entity—just because a new technology has appeared doesn’t mean it will be immediately useful to everyone.
“This is how I look at AI from a strategic point of view: How can AI improve what we do?” Konen said.
“If the use of artificial intelligence is based on a problem you’re trying to solve, then this is a good application for it.”
One problem that WP Engine is trying to solve using AI is improving search functionality, especially with WordPress. To explain why this is an issue, Konen discussed the historical phases of online search functionality, which he breaks down into three different time frames: pre-Google, the Google era, and the modern era of AI-powered search.
Before Google, web users had to know exactly what they were looking for or risk reading through endless search pages that may or may not contain relevant information. Enter Google, which has greatly simplified the search experience. Search queries became more conversational and relevant results were easier to find.
Now, with AI search, you don’t really need to know the solution you’re looking for—or even the exact problem you’re trying to solve. Users can report a problem and AI will provide highly targeted, relevant solutions for the reported issue.
Smart search and the influence of artificial intelligence
These kinds of personalized, highly relevant results are exactly what the product specialists at WP Engine envision with Smart Search, because for many WordPress users, the native search functionality isn’t powerful enough to meet end-user needs.
“If you’re just using a basic search tool on your site, you might be missing things,” Konen said. “That’s one of the reasons we created Smart Search in the first place.”
Allowing AI to consume and categorize a website’s content makes it possible for Smart Search to find more precise connections between a user’s query and the website content that appears as a result of that query.
Article suggestions is an application that is already enhanced with Smart Search. Layering AI in the search element provides more relevant, more complete article results for the end user on a website, even if they misspell or otherwise violate their original query. This is especially important for WordPress sites that may lack search functionality.
“We had an internal example of a children’s health website and an actual search was for ‘poison,’ but they misspelled ‘poison’ and got no results,” Konen said.
“If you go to a children’s health website and type in ‘POISON’ in all caps, you panic—something is wrong. But no results just because you misspelled it? That doesn’t help anyone.”
One of the last and most important benefits of AI that Konen mentions is the speed with which developers can innovate to create better user experiences. It uses Amazon’s related product algorithm as an example. Although the algorithm works extremely well, it also took years of development by entire teams of developers to become as knowledgeable as it is.
“With artificial intelligence, now you can say ‘let’s look at our website and do something like this’. Is it going to be perfect out of the box? No. But we can keep tweaking it,” Konen said.
“It has democratized the ability to do these things, making it faster to market. If you’re in marketing and advertising, you should look at this because it will improve the things you’re already thinking and doing and make it easier for you to reach the market.”
Race to innovation with WP Engine
Check out the full Webby Talk: The Race to Outpace on LinkedIn or YouTube for even more insight and real-world examples of how AI is impacting today’s digital pioneers.
Smart Search is in production and available for purchase today! Visit this page to learn more or add Smart Search to your WP Engine hosting plan today.
For anyone who wants to get involved with the continued development of Smart Search, you can sign up to test the program in the Alpha phase. The user feedback we receive in this phase will be vital to improving Smart Search in the future, but spaces are limited, so sign up now to get involved!
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