Revolutionising Digital Signage: How AI Creates Smart, Adaptive Displays

Customers are constantly barraged with information. Hence, businesses continuously seek new means to cut through the noise and interact with their target audience.

Digital signage has become a prevalent solution for grabbing the attention of your target audience and conveying information, but static displays can quickly become stale and ignored.

This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI), a market that is projected to reach $190.61 billion by 2025, steps in.

AI integration with digital signage will revolutionise the technology and process. AI will make your digital signage create super smart, adaptive displays that capture attention and deliver a personalised experience.

Businesses can create dynamic signage that responds to their environment and audience, ultimately increasing engagement and driving results by leveraging AI.

In this post, we’ll explore the power of AI in digital signage, how it creates dynamic displays and the benefits it offers.

Overview of AI in digital signage

Artificial intelligence (AI)is a technology that allows computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities. Its integration into digital signage is a groundbreaking development in the realm of advertising and information dissemination for many reasons.

Before we delve into how AI can help you create smart, adaptive displays for your business, it’s crucial to understand what AI entails in the context of signage.

AI uses evolutionary algorithms and machine learning to analyse data and decide what content to display. This data can include several elements, such as:

Audience demographics: Age, gender, facial expressions
Time of day and day of week
Weather conditions
Inventory levels (for retail applications)
Customer purchase history

AI can create a more contextual and relevant viewing experience for each viewer by analysing this data.

AI transforms traditional digital signage networks into dynamic, responsive, highly targeted communication tools.

This integration enables businesses to deliver personalised content, analyse public engagement in real-time, and optimise messaging for maximum impact.

The fusion of AI and digital signage displays opens up many possibilities, from enhancing customer experience to driving sales and fostering brand loyalty.

What’s even more exciting is that both AI and digital signage are growing markets. By 2032, the digital signage market is projected to be worth$50.6 billion, while the AI market, with a current value of nearly $100 billion, is anticipated to grow twentyfold by 2030, up to nearly two trillion U.S. dollars.

As both sectors develop at the same pace, it’s only natural that they will continue to merge to create new possibilities for businesses.

How does AI create smart, adaptive displays?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised digital signage by enabling displays to become smart and adaptive.

Let’s explore the mechanisms behind AI’s ability to analyse data and adjust content on the fly, making digital signage more engaging and effective.

Data collection via facial recognition

Digital signage is mainly used to provide information. However, today, you can actually collect data through digital signage.

Businesses can adequately understand who their customers are by employing artificial intelligence solutions like facial recognition in digital signage.

Integrating facial recognition with digital signage may sound like something out of a science fiction movie. But in reality, facial recognition in digital signage is already here, and many forward-thinking businesses are racing to adopt it.

Many organisations are eager to adopt facial recognition digital signage mainly because it is effective in identifying and analysing audiences.

As a result, it offers a solution for improving retail sales and enables companies to provide more tailored, informative, and engaging experiences to consumers.

So, how does this AI solution work with digital signage?

Facial recognition works by using cameras to scan individuals’ physical features to gather helpful biometric data. Facial recognition software can collect data based on facial features, expressions, gender, age range, voice, interest level, and other helpful demographic data.

Let’s take a look at this scenario:

Imagine entering a retail store and stepping in front of a digital signage display equipped with facial recognition technology.

The display screen could evaluate your age, gender, body size, current clothing style, and a variety of other data before potentially recommending a product you love.

At the same time, the same screen could hold all of the information gathered from your face scan and any previous face scans it has performed.

When this procedure is completed thousands of times, the retail store will thoroughly understand its target population, including its requirements and desires.

With this data, the retail brand could provide highly relevant and helpful content to its customers, which would likely improve its retail sales.

Data processing

Once data is collected, the next step is to use it appropriately without creeping out customers.

AI integrated with digital signage means the AI algorithm will naturally process and analyse the data at incredible speeds, identifying patterns, trends, and correlations that humans might miss.

The best way to use data correctly is to offer a good deal to consumers based on the information received from the process and analysed data. When you provide value for data, people will be okay with it.

This value offering could include something your consumers will like, such as a coupon, discount, or personalised experience.

However, remember that data should not be gathered just for the sake of collecting it, and this is so for many reasons.

First, if businesses do this, they can either create massive liabilities for themselves. Let’s use facial recognition as an example.

While facial recognition and digital signage are powerful marketing combinations, they also raise concerns about individuals’ privacy. Hence, businesses must be transparent about their data collection practices and comply with relevant privacy laws.

Secondly, collecting data just for data gathering could let businesses fall into the trap of too much segmentation.

For example, many advertisers want to segment their audience to an incredibly granular degree, such as a 26-year-old Greek male who owns a house and wants to purchase curtains.

When your data segmentation is too niche, you miss the point that 38-year-old white males also purchase curtains.

We recommend focusing on broader audiences when delivering digital signage experiences, which can increase sales and brand awareness.

Content personalisation

AI can help you create smart, adaptive displays in digital signage, delivering personalised experiences to your target audience.

For example, a banking display can analyse customers’ preferences through loyalty programs and provide personalised recommendations for the bank's products and services.

Companies can create meaningful interactions that address each viewer’s interests and needs by incorporating contextual data, such as weather or time of day.

Imagine a customer walking into the bank after a stormy morning. An AI-powered display could analyse their loyalty program data and recognise them as mortgage holders.

The display could then adapt and showcase loan options for home renovations, perfectly timed to address a potential need arising from the bad weather.

This contextual awareness, powered by AI, is what separates static signage from truly engaging experiences.

Furthermore, AI can also analyse social media trends and individual user data (where permissions are given) to modify digital signage content. For example, if a user has shown interest in a particular product or event on social media, the digital signage in a retail outlet or event venue can display related commercials or information when it recognises that individual.

Always remember this: we all feel great and special if someone treats us in a personal way, and that is not restricted to human touch alone. With AI technology, you can provide your customers with the same personalised treats that keep them loyal to your brand.

Real-Time adaptation

The real power of AI in digital signage lies in its ability to adapt content in real-time.

Digital signage powered with artificial intelligence allows AI algorithms to make instant decisions about what content to display at different times of the day or alternative days of the week, reflecting a dynamic environment.

Since AI inserts a personalisation component in digital signage, it will create a great deal of flexibility and adaptability.

A/B testing and optimisation

Unlike static signage, digital signage system allows business owners and their staff to quickly update and manage content, which can include advertising new product lines and promotional offers.

You can then measure sales lift or other specific sales metrics tied to your promotional content.

Digital signage integration with AI allows you to continuously test your offers and optimise what works best, allowing you to measure your return on investment.

You can do A/B testing in real-time, and AI can help you determine which messages, layouts, or designs are most effective at engaging viewers, leading to improved performance over time.

Predictive analytics

What is AI for marketing without predictive capabilities?

AI integrated into digital signage transforms it from a simple promotion tool into an intelligent system.

By analysing historical and real-time data, a digital signage system is able to make smart decisions that improve a business promotional effort’s success rate.

A movie theatre, for example, may use AI-based digital signage analytics to anticipate moviegoers’ preferences and optimise content recommendations, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and driving ticket sales.

Businesses that stay ahead of trends can make data-driven decisions that improve customer experiences and increase ROI.

Interactive interface

In addition to demanding more individualised experiences, consumers want more control over their interactions with brands.

We see an uptick in preference for self-service solutions that make transactions more efficient and give users access to information much quicker.

AI can facilitate the installation of interactive digital signage. Available as touchscreen displays, interactive signage features allow users to pave their journeys, choosing to view content they are most interested in, perusing products they’re looking to purchase, and navigating the order process—all without waiting to speak to a staff member.

The possibilities of using AI to create more interactive displays are vast. For example, it can pool in-store products into the display to allow customers to check features and prices or compare two products quickly and conveniently.

AI can enhance digital signage interactivity and streamline customers’ shopping experiences. It also frees up staff time, allowing them to focus on more critical in-store management and operation areas.

Enhanced interactivity

Integrating AI into digital signage takes interaction to a whole new level. Just as we have facial recognition, AI technology, known as gesture recognition, can be integrated into digital signage.

A classic example is where a museum allows customers to interact with artefacts or explore additional multimedia content using gesture recognition.

Businesses can enhance customer experiences, particularly in retail, entertainment, and public spaces by providing engaging and immersive interactions.

When you integrate it with voice recognition, you can take it to the next level. This will cater to accessibility needs and provide an alternative for users to interact with the signage.

Making AI understand and respond to verbal commands will make digital signage more inclusive and convenient for a broader audience.

Deep learning

Deep learning is a mechanism by which AI learns from previous content and patterns to generate new information — similar to how the human brain processes data to help decision-making.

When applied to digital signage, AI can utilise its deep learning mechanism to collect and access vast amounts of data and react to them in real-time.

Aside from providing businesses with unique and valuable information about their customers, AI in digital signage can also automate the delivery of targeted content, drawing conclusions, and responding to unique situations based on its learnings and thought patterns.

Over time, it continues to learn more from the data it collects, expanding its neural networks and improving its responses and actions even further.

Here is a quick scenario:

If a female shopper just entered a retail store, deep learning could quickly guess she is wearing a leather skirt.

By assuming her age, the system will try to look for existing items in stock and recommend them to the customer. The customers can directly visualise this and make decisions based on it.

This way, customers and clients receive personalised information and quickly make prompt decisions.

Ad scheduling

AI allows digital signage screens to function like online ads, learning about customers, their preferences, and behaviours to pinpoint the right content to show them.

It brings the online ad process to physical stores, ensuring the display shows the right content at the right time and to the right people.

The ad scheduling process is simplified and automated when AI is integrated with digital signage.

The screens will show the customers the products they’re likely to be interested in based on their demographics and behaviours in-store, creating an unprecedented level of personalisation and improving the customer experience.

Automated content creation

Beyond scheduling content, AI can simplify content creation due to its generative capabilities (think Chat-GPT). When tasks, copy, and visual generation are automated, content creation becomes seamless, saving businesses time and resources.

An example is a restaurant utilising AI-based digital signage software to produce captivating menu boards that align with its brand identity in real-time.

Intelligent targeting and advertising

AI enhances marketing efforts by leveraging data analytics and machine learning. Digital signage can analyse customer behaviour patterns and inclination to deliver targeted ads.

In February 2023, Bain & Company, a top management consulting firm, formed a global service partnership with OpenAI, aiming to incorporate AI into its internal processes.

Following this declaration, Coca-Cola became the first organisation to engage in this teamwork.

To initiate this alliance, Coca-Cola introduced a competition named “Create Real Magic.”

This contest encouraged participants to use ChatGPT, DALL-E, and classic Coca-Cola advertising content to craft innovative art pieces. These creations were then displayed on the company’s website.

This is a typical example showing you that AI integration with digital signage is already happening, and it will become a staple in the advertising industry.

Intelligent wayfinding

Wayfinding signage is any sign that helps guide people around and within a business, institution, or other physical destination from one point to another via simple visuals.

When integrated with mapping data and real-time updates, digital signage can provide optimised routes, display relevant points of interest, and even react to changing conditions.

For instance, an interactive digital signage kiosk can use AI to direct visitors around a museum, highlighting popular exhibits and modifying routes to avoid congested areas.

Dynamic pricing and inventory management

Every business owner knows just how important pricing is in customers' buying decisions.

With AI digital signage, businesses can experience lower lost sales and a revenue boost as they can dynamically modify pricing based on inventory levels and market movement.

Consider a grocery shop that updates product pricing on digital screens in real-time to reflect stock availability or special discounts or puts out flash sales for end-of-the-day stock clearance.

This not only helps businesses maximise revenue and customer satisfaction but efficiently manage inventory by optimising pricing strategies.

Intelligent queue management

Think of places like hospitals and banks that tend to experience huge queues. Smart signage empowered with AI can help organisations effectively manage queues and waiting times.

For instance, a bank can utilise digital displays to provide estimated wait times, inform patients about their turn, and direct them to available services.

Businesses can simplify operations, reduce customer frustration, and enhance overall satisfaction by leveraging real-time signage analytics and stats.

Enhanced security and safety

AI machine learning algorithms enable digital signage systems to analyse video feeds and detect potential security threats or safety hazards.

In a business setting like a shopping mall, AI algorithms enable digital signage systems to analyse video feeds, detect potential security threats or safety hazards, and promptly alert security personnel by displaying real-time alerts on all digital signage display screens across the building.

These can help prevent unauthorised access or compromise visitors’ safety so they have a smooth purchasing experience.

What are the benefits of integrating AI with digital signage systems?

AI in digital signage systems is revolutionising how businesses communicate with their audience.

Let’s explore eleven key benefits of incorporating AI into digital signs.

1. Improved campaign planning

AI can help the digital signage industry with campaign planning and scheduling. AI tools will improve and automate these processes.

Campaigns can be optimised and deployed to maximise visibility and impact by bridging AI algorithms with audience data.

For example, as mentioned earlier in the post, AI could be used to determine the best times to display specific content, such as fast food or restaurants advertised on roadside billboards around 6-7 p.m.

2. Enhanced interactions through AI-driven digital signage

According to research, digital signage captures 400% more views than static signs. Now, when it is AI-powered, it is able to do so much more, presenting content that is far more relevant to its intended audience, leading to significantly increased interaction rates.

Digital signage is designed to captivate the on-site audience, keeping their attention away from their smartphones and focused on engaging marketing content throughout their stay, whether in a store or on the road.

Here is a typical example:

In 2014, Pepsi's marketing team made waves with its spectacular augmented reality bus shelter on London's New Oxford Street. The Pepsi Max team employed 3-D rendering and depth mapping to present the brand's theme, "Live For Now."

While waiting, passengers sat looking through what appeared to be a transparent piece of glass.

A series of incredible incidents were brought to life with cameras and cutting-edge AR technology. The campaign went viral, garnering 3 million online views in just five days and receiving global press coverage, reaching over 385 million people.

You can check it out here: Pepsi MAX | Unbelievable Bus Shelter

3. Personalised customer experiences

AI enables digital signs to deliver personalised content to viewers by analysing data such as viewer demographics, time of day, weather conditions, or even objects. This makes it more relevant and engaging to each viewer.

Here is a fun example:

British Airways #lookup digital sign board received worldwide attention for its creativity. By connecting to a live flight report, British Airways was able to show an ad featuring a child pointing to the sky as a plane flew above him.

This was clever in itself. The ad then displayed the flight number and destination of the plane. What an excellent example of combining digital signage design with modern technology to create a great marketing campaign that personalises the experience for the viewers.

Check it out here:British Airways - #lookup in Piccadilly Circus #DiscoverBA

4. Stand out in a large pool of advertisements

AI-enhanced digital signage can help your business stand out from a large pool of advertisements.

Consider yourself a passerby who sees hundreds of billboards and marketing banners daily, each displaying a different product promotion, deal, or something in between. At some point, people will cease caring. What is the workaround for that?

People are visual learners with short attention spans. Thus, bright screens with HD or 4K images will always have a tenfold higher recall rate than a traditional ad poster.

Video content’s potential is exploited in every business, big or small, nowadays, as it immediately commands people’s attention.

Here is an example with Apolosophy Shampoo Digital Kiosk:

This clever advertisement for a shampoo business startled travellers by transforming an apparently ordinary subway poster of a model to life.

Using ultrasonic sensors, the digital billboard detected arriving trains, triggering the commencement of digital signage content.

As a train speeds by, the model in the poster’s hair flies up as if struck by a burst of wind. The girl in the advertisement then runs her fingers through her hair, grins, and resumes her original straight-faced posture.

Check it out: Apolosophy by Apotek

5. Improved customer insights

AI systems in digital signage can collect and analyse data on viewer interactions. This data provides priceless insights into customer preferences and behaviours, allowing businesses to tailor their services and offerings more effectively.

6. Dynamic content adjustment

AI, being an adaptive system, allows for the real-time adaptation of content when integrated into digital signs.

Based on immediate data inputs, such as changes in audience size or composition, the signage can alter its display to better suit the current viewers.

7. Digital signage speaks powerfully

Our inherent decision-making abilities are heavily influenced by the visuals we’re presented with, and when your digital signage is AI-powered, your influence is enhanced.

The first interaction a customer has with your business can have a lasting impact, and it is often hard to change. Digital content can be an effective approach to communicating your value and brand to your target audience.

Before you can offer anything to your customers, you must capture their attention; digital signage is an effective way to do so.

In fact, a 2012 study commissioned by FedEx found that eight in 10 American consumers would enter a store they’ve never visited solely based on the appeal of its signage.

Here is an example of how Microsoft’s grabbed attention for their new store on Fifth Avenue:

Microsoft's flagship street-front store in New York houses an outstanding digital signage video wall that looks like an extension of the building's facade. The video wall employs optical illusions to establish an interactive connection with the world outside via digital signage information. You can take a look: Microsoft Flagship Store | Digital Space on Fifth Avenue in NYC

8. Feedback loop for continuous improvement

The interactive nature of AI-powered signage creates a feedback loop. Customer interactions with the sign provide data that AI uses to continuously improve the content and interactivity, leading to a constantly evolving and improving customer experience.

9. Automated content management

AI automates the content management process, reducing the need for manual updates and oversight. This automation saves time and labour costs, making digital signage more efficient and cost-effective.

10. Accurate audience measurement

AI in digital signage can accurately measure audience size, demographics, and engagement levels. This precision helps businesses understand who is viewing their content and how effectively it’s engaging them.

11. Cross-platform content synchronisation

AI-enhanced digital signage is, in fact, a one-size-fits-all solution. It can synchronise content across multiple platforms, ensuring consistency in messaging.

Other businesses that stick to traditional signage models may think they are more affordable than investing in AI models. But that is nothing short of a delusion.

AI-enhanced digital signage allows you to create your media on the fly or with design applications like Canva. These simple design tools offer many customisable templates that anyone with zero design expertise can master.

Modern digital signage solutions, like Luna Screens, also provide editable digital signage templates so you can quickly launch your promotions.

Takeaway: The future of digital signage is smart

AI encompasses technologies like machine learning, deep learning and computer vision that enable machines to interpret and respond to data, make decisions, and improve their performance over time.

Adaptive AI systems integration with digital signage is not a thing of the future; it is here already, and smart-thinking businesses are already using it to transform their marketing efforts.

Unlike traditional AI systems, adaptive AI systems offer many benefits, including improved campaign planning, enhanced interactions, personalised customer experiences, and more.

AI is revolutionising the technology and marketing industry. AI will make your digital signage create super smart, adaptive displays that capture attention and deliver a personalised experience.

Businesses that don't adapt are at risk of producing displays that are static, irrelevant, and boring, which can negatively impact their expectations.

Ready to transform your promotional efforts?

Luna Screens, a leading provider of smart digital signage solutions, can help you take your marketing efforts to a whole new level. With our intelligent signage solution, you can create dynamic content and display it from anywhere using our predefined rules scheduling system.

Explore our powerful scheduling rule-based system, which allows businesses to transform any screen into digital signs.

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