SAN FRANCISCO: Hotwire has launched a global AI innovation team and its first proprietary AI tool, known as GAIO.tech.
The tool delivers insight into brand reputation, influencer and recommendations by platforms including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, the firm said.
The platform got its name because it enables brands to use generative artificial intelligence optimization — GAIO as an acronym — to understand brand mentions through AI chatbots and identify prominent answers and sources. The data shows clients which media outlets, channels and influencers should be leveraged and prioritized to optimize a brand, according to Hotwire.
“We tried to take a different approach, which is to ask not what we are doing with AI, but what the target audiences are doing with AI,” said Hotwire VP of AI innovation Sven Winnefeld. “More and more consumers and B2B buyers are using generative AI to research products, to research information that leads to buying decisions or influences them. Theoretically, it is a different communications channel.”
The agency appointed Winnefeld to lead the AI-focused team supporting GAIO.tech across its organization. The group, intersected with the data analytics team, will consult clients on AI strategy and communications programs in addition to developing the suite of proprietary AI powered solutions.
GAIO.tech is the first in a series of AI technology and consulting services that Hotwire is planning to launch in the coming months to help global brands use AI as part of their marketing and communications strategies, the agency said in a statement.
Hotwire debuted the solution in beta mode for clients in late April and early May, with plans to offer demos and access to the tool and consulting services from the launch date. The idea for the product came out of client conversations, Winnefeld said, and was built in collaboration with their input for how they’d like data to be presented and integrated into presentable formats.
“Our ambition is to be one of the leading agencies when it comes to generative AI,” Winnefeld said, noting that Hotwire is “heavily investing” in the area. “What we are seeing is that a lot of the traditional communications marketing services are changing because of AI, and we want to be at the forefront of this.”
Hotwire reported a revenue decrease of 3% to $58 million globally and an increase of 6% to $33 million in the U.S. in 2023, according to PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2024.