MarTech Top Voice: Interview with Steven Batiste, Co-founder and CTO, Inferred Mind

Transforming AdTech Market with GenAI and Sentiment Analysis: A Conversation with Inferred Mind’s Steven Batiste

Today’s MarTech Top Voice is Inferred Media’s Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Steven Batiste.

The Advertising technology (AdTech) landscape is a dynamic ecosystem. It has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, fueled by the advancements in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and predictive intelligence-powered sentiment analysis. These powerful tools have enabled AdTech solutions to become more efficient, targeted, and effective than ever before.

Initially, the application of GenAI in advertising was primarily centered around creative aspects. GenAI, today, is largely leveraged to generate visually appealing graphics, write compelling copy, and optimize marketing campaigns for various platforms. This automation significantly streamlined the content production process, allowing for faster and more efficient creation of digital ads.

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However, despite these advancements, a crucial challenge persisted: effectively targeting the right audience with precision and efficiency. Traditional targeting methods often fell short in accurately identifying and reaching the desired demographic. This is where predictive intelligence-powered sentiment analysis stepped in.

By analyzing vast amounts of data, including social media posts, online reviews, and customer feedback, sentiment analysis algorithms can accurately gauge the emotional tone and sentiment behind consumer opinions. This valuable information can then be used to create highly targeted ad campaigns that resonate with specific audience segments.

For instance, if sentiment analysis reveals that a particular demographic is expressing negative sentiment towards a competitor’s product, AdTech solutions powered by GenAI can dynamically adjust marketing messages to highlight the advantages of the client’s offering. This personalized approach not only improves campaign effectiveness but also enhances customer satisfaction.

In conclusion, the convergence of GenAI and sentiment analysis has ushered in a new era of AdTech. By automating creative processes and enabling precise audience targeting, these technologies are revolutionizing the way businesses reach and engage with their customers. As GenAI and sentiment analysis continue to evolve, we can expect to see even more innovative and effective AdTech solutions emerging in the future.

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Marketing Technology Insights (MTI): Please tell us about your AdTech journey and how you started with Inferred Media.

Steven Batiste:

Thank you MTI for having me at your MarTech top voice interview series.

I have 20 years of experience in online, entertainment, games and medical industries, and have led development of major video games titles that generated >$2.5 billion in revenue.

In 2022, while Meta’s stock was underperforming, I was brought in to reinvent their Ads initiative and Ads Experimentation Platform. My approach led to unprecedented growth in Meta’s ad revenue, all at a scale of billions of users. My work directly contributed to Meta’s stock skyrocketing from $167 to $525.

Today, I am the CTO and Co-Founder of Inferred Mind, using my expertise to redefine predictive marketing. The idea of Inferred Mind came to me when I saw all the privacy laws starting to form, predicting that soon it will be hard to use data and it is time to find alternative ways to target users. We decided to focus on behavior and not on data.

MTI: How have AdTech solutions evolved in the era of GenAI and predictive intelligence-powered sentiment analysis?

Steven Batiste:

AdTech solutions have evolved significantly in the era of GenAI and predictive intelligence-powered sentiment analysis. Initially, GenAI in advertising primarily focused on creative aspects, such as generating engaging visuals and optimizing copy for marketing campaigns. This transformation streamlined content production for digital campaigns. However, a critical gap remained: effectively targeting the right audience with precision and efficiency.

Now, it is time to address this gap by leveraging advanced data analytics and AI-powered insights to enhance audience targeting. Instead of solely relying on digital advertising techniques used by big tech, we need to expand these capabilities into traditional advertising channels as well. AI technology brings a more comprehensive understanding of audience behavior, preferences, and sentiment, enabling advertisers to optimize their campaigns across a broader range of media.

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By integrating predictive intelligence and sentiment analysis, we will be able to analyze consumer behavior patterns and provide data that traditional advertising lacks. This enables businesses to reach their intended audience not only in digital spaces but also through more traditional outlets, making the entire campaign process more efficient and precise. This holistic approach helps bridge the gap between modern digital targeting strategies and more conventional forms of advertising, ensuring that businesses can leverage the full potential of AI-driven insights.

MTI: Could you share some examples of your adtech use cases from the programmatic content domains? How do customers generate ROI from your solutions? 

Steven Batiste:

We have built a platform that includes a unique and unbiased, privacy first, AI Engine that leverages global real-time mainstream and social media content, alongside an archive of over 500 million historical documents. In short, Inferred Mind knows what’s happening anywhere and everywhere in the world right now and what’s about to happen next, down to the street level of hyperlocal. This platform offers brands a unique opportunity to stay ahead of the competition by delivering the right personalized messaging to the right audience at the right time. The system has transformed how brands approach digital marketing, significantly increasing conversion rates by 400% and delivering up to 16 times the productivity and efficiency.

We have built a platform of AI Personas: synthetic agents designed to emulate the perspectives of individuals across the globe. Each persona uniquely perceives the world through the lens of a specific demographic, allowing for the creation of ultra-targeted campaigns with tailored messaging. These AI Personas represent millions of distinct identities, factoring in emotions, socioeconomic data, demographics, geography, and political viewpoints.

By mirroring how real people think and feel, AI Personas provide invaluable insights into the diverse opinions shaping global public sentiment.

Powered by an advanced AI engine, this system perceives the world through different personas for any moment in time, past, present, and future. Inferred Mind’s technology processes these personas continuously, tracking emotional and opinion trends, and providing real-time insights into sentiment shifts on both local and global scales. It also detects bias patterns and tracks changes over time.

MTI: Which AdTech trends are you keenly following in 2024… how are discussions on AI ethics, data privacy and brand safety influencing AdTech innovations?

Steven Batiste:

In 2024, we are closely following key AdTech trends such as data privacy, AI regulation, and brand safety, as these areas are shaping the future of advertising innovation. Data privacy, in particular, has become a top priority due to the growing concern from both consumers and regulators about how personal information is used in advertising. We’re paying special attention to how companies are adapting to stricter regulations like GDPR and CCPA, while ensuring that their advertising methods remain compliant.

At Inferred Mind, we take pride in being fully compliant with data privacy regulations, offering full transparency and explainability in how we generate our results. This is critical, as compliance not only builds trust with users but also sets a high standard for ethical AI use in the AdTech industry. As AI regulations continue to evolve, we anticipate that more companies will need to make significant adjustments to their targeting strategies to maintain compliance without sacrificing effectiveness.

Another trend that is gaining traction is brand safety, which is becoming increasingly important in today’s highly connected and fast-paced digital environment. With more companies facing brand crises due to inappropriate content placement or misalignment with their values, there is a greater demand for solutions that provide real-time analysis and crisis management. Our technology helps address this need by offering real-time monitoring of brands and the topics surrounding them. By identifying the root causes of potential crises early, we enable brands to take timely, data-driven actions to mitigate damage and even turn negative situations around. Additionally, our platform tracks the effectiveness of these interventions, giving brands the insights they need to continually refine their strategies and protect their reputation.

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In 2024, the interplay of data privacy, AI ethics, and brand safety will continue to influence AdTech innovations, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of these discussions. These trends not only push the industry toward more responsible advertising practices but also offer a competitive advantage for companies that can adapt swiftly and effectively.

MTI: What kind of results have you achieved with AI insights for AdTech growth?

Steven Batiste:

We’ve achieved impressive results with AI insights for AdTech growth as we conducted case studies with customers to validate and refine our technology. The outcomes of these case studies have been remarkable, with campaign managers reporting up to 16 times higher productivity. This drastic improvement in efficiency allowed them to focus more on strategy and optimization, rather than manual processes.

Furthermore, our advanced targeting solutions drove a 400% increase in conversions, a testament to how our AI-powered insights can dramatically enhance the precision and effectiveness of advertising campaigns. By delivering more relevant ads to the right audiences, our technology helps brands not only maximize their reach but also achieve significantly better engagement and return on investment. These results give us confidence that, once launched, our platform will provide transformative benefits to brands looking to harness the power of AI for growth.

MTI: What are your predictions for the Adtech landscape in 2025 – how are you preparing for the future?

Steven Batiste:

In 2025, I predict that the AdTech landscape will undergo significant shifts, particularly in areas like privacy regulation and AI governance. As privacy concerns grow, I expect to see more stringent laws aimed at ensuring transparency and giving consumers more control over how their data is used. One key issue is the lack of explainability in current targeting methods, which often leads to consumer distrust.

Addressing this concern will become crucial, and platforms that can provide clear, understandable insights on how data is used will have a distinct advantage.

I also anticipate that AI regulation will become a focal point, especially regarding the generation of creative assets—such as messaging, images, and videos. As generative AI continues to evolve, there’s a risk it could go too far, creating unrealistic or even harmful representations, much like the backlash we saw with airbrushed images in the 90s. GenAI could push these boundaries even further, and there will be a growing demand for ethical guardrails to prevent the spread of misleading or damaging content.

In preparing for this future, we’re committed to building technology that not only supports marketers but also prioritizes consumer well-being. Our approach focuses on providing full transparency and ensuring that the AI solutions we offer are designed with consumers in mind. We aim to deliver the transformative results that marketers dream of, while staying ahead of regulatory changes and maintaining the trust of consumers. This balance between innovation and responsibility is central to our vision for the future of AdTech.

MTI: Please mention an Adtech/ martech expert you would like to recommend to be featured on our martech top voice series: (why  did you choose the expert, please mention the reason):

Steven Batiste:

Apple is marking an interesting investment for growth in AdTech which I think would be interesting to explore. One of the key figures overseeing this growth is Todd Teresi, Apple’s Vice President of Advertising Platforms. Under his leadership, Apple has been steadily increasing its presence in the advertising space, focusing on building a more comprehensive ad tech stack.

Thank you so much, Steven Batiste for sharing your insights with our audience. We look forward to having you again with us.

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