What makes a team successful? That was the question that guided Project Aristotle, an extensive Google study that revealed a fundamental factor for high performance: psychological safety.
More than individual talent or advanced tools, the difference lay in collaboration and trust among team members. Interestingly, this principle can also be applied to digital advertising, where artificial intelligence (AI) and programmatic media are transforming how brands communicate with audiences.
A recent example of this revolution is Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), which uses generative AI to directly answer user queries in search results, reducing the need to click on external sites.
Another similar initiative is Microsoft Copilot, integrated with Bing, which also provides detailed AI-based answers, impacting how users access information and interact with journalistic content.
In this new scenario, digital advertising needs to balance automation and human strategy to ensure relevant and effective campaigns. Just as in Project Aristotle, where technology alone was not enough to guarantee success, in programmatic media, the real impact happens when algorithms work in harmony with the creativity and critical eye of communication and audience specialists.
According to Riadis Dornelles from PremiumAds, a company specializing in audience and digital monetization, programmatic media functions like a dynamic and instant auction.
“In a matter of milliseconds, the technology decides where an ad should appear to maximize its impact, ensuring greater efficiency in advertising campaigns. But it’s essential to pre-curate the impacted portals to guarantee 100% channel qualification,” he explains.
According to PremiumAds’ CEO, AI algorithms do not have editorial judgment in the same way a human editor does. They operate based on patterns and data, which can lead to automated decisions not always aligned with human qualitative criteria.
The algorithms analyze user behavior, interests, and browsing patterns to deliver personalized ads, making the advertising experience more relevant and effective. This model allows campaigns to consider not only demographic aspects but also contextual and emotional factors.
“However, it’s essential to emphasize that, just as an editor is responsible for the quality of a newspaper, a programmatic media specialist acts as a curator, ensuring that the advertising space is relevant and safe,” highlights Dornelles.
He points out that, just as a healthy work environment requires human supervision to maintain the team’s psychological safety, programmatic media also needs the attentive eye of professionals to ensure technology is used strategically and responsibly.
Recently, in a webinar hosted by PremiumAds, guests were asked about the use of artificial intelligence. Maurício Louro, a journalist and expert in traffic generation and digital presence, highlighted that “the use of AI can be extremely beneficial for content production, as long as it’s done with judgment and responsibility. There’s no problem in using it, but attention must be paid to the type of content it will be used for. This is something that should already be part of newsroom routines.”
Additionally, Google is increasingly attentive to the balance between technology and authenticity. An excess of AI-generated content without human curation can result in penalties, reinforcing the need for careful editorial oversight. “AI cannot replace the human touch in storytelling, as it’s this element that ensures differentiation and positioning in search engines,” added Eduardo Mansell, partner at GE Sports & News and director of Luneta Digital, a company that transforms digital content into business opportunities.
“In the future—increasingly near—of programmatic media, the competitive edge will lie in the ability to unite technology, human behavior, and creativity, ensuring advertising becomes ever more personalized, strategic, and humanized,” concludes Riadis.
