AW: How is the league utilizing AI? [tk – was this question around generative AI specifically?
CO: There’s a lot of good AI can do, but a lot of caution needs to be placed around AI [like] IP protection and a host of other things. We do have an innovation hub as well [that] provides us the ability to do a lot of rapid prototyping, experimentation, and innovation around AI solutions. We can do this without disrupting our core operations. Within the innovation hub, we also have a cross-functional committee of technologists, data specialists, marketers, [and] security personnel so when an AI or innovative solution comes through the hub, it gets vetted by all these different team members.
If that idea comes through at the end of the vetting process, we know that multiple experts within the organization had a chance to assess the viability of that idea. The other thing about the vetting process is that it also allows us to make sure that whatever AI or generative AI solution we’re bringing in is something that can support our strategic objectives and our goals of enhancing the game experience and continuing to increase fan engagement.
AW: What is the innovation hub currently working on right now?
CO: The specific one we’re doing, from a marketing perspective, is around how we use AI to scale content production [like] videos and so forth, but it doesn’t end there. As the NFL continues to grow globally, there’s more demand across different countries. What we’re currently vetting as part of the innovation hub is how we can leverage AI and Gen AI to scale globally. When I talk about scaling content globally, it’s content across all of our owned and operated digital channels, but also social media. It’s more of a holistic approach to generating content and being able to leverage it across any channel.
For example, in the U.K., if a particular player is more popular, we can have an ad or something on social [media] with that person’s image, but if in Germany, it’s a different player, we can easily swap. [We’re testing] how can we do that in a way that helps us protect our brand, retain our authenticity, but also be able to scale across multiple languages. We have to also pressure test that, so we’re looking at languages that are long text like German, or languages that go from right to left like Arabic and Hebrew, [and] non-Romance languages like Chinese.
AW: What early results or insights have you gleaned from these initiatives? What else do you want to explore with AI?
CO: We’re at this stage where we’ve identified some strategic partners that we can collaborate with, and then the next step is to start the actual experimentation. No results yet, but we’re heading in the right direction.
AW: How is the league using data to fuel and measure fan engagement?
CO: On the martech side, we have a group of data scientists. We consume data from them into our martech ecosystem. We’re then able to slice and dice our data for deeper insights to drive personalization and scale across different channels to our fans. Our martech strategy doesn’t start and stop from a digital perspective, we’ve also integrated the experience into the physical. We did a quick test at The Draft, where [people] could scan their ticket and in real-time, we got that information and could use it to personalize their experience.
