AI, audio and the moment: Why creative has to catch up 

The Future of Audio: In Focus

Audio has improved at identifying moments of responsiveness, making creative weakness much harder to hide, says Trisonic’s CEO.

There’s a lot of buzz in the UK audio industry about how AI is changing media buying. There’s no doubt it is. But here’s the truth: AI hasn’t changed what makes audio effective. It has just made it harder to hide from doing creative properly.

The UK audio landscape is more complex than ever. Linear radio remains strong and offers advertisers the scale and broad reach that other audio media don’t. But now it’s competing with streaming platforms, podcasts, smart speakers, and in-car audio.

Agencies and advertisers have more choices about where to allocate budgets and which formats drive results. AI tools can now analyse vast amounts of listening data to answer those questions almost instantly.  

Moments that matter

You could say this moves us from buying space to buying moments. But let’s not kid ourselves. Great audio advertising has always been about moments. Or at least it should have been. The commute. The school run. The calmer late evening, when attention softens, and the mind opens up. 

Context has always mattered. Great radio ads succeed not just because they’re clever, but because they connect with listeners in the right way, at the right time.

The problem is that agencies and advertisers haven’t always acted on this.

For years, audio creative has relied on a compromise: one script, one message, used everywhere.

On a very basic level, retail ads might say that a sale “ends on Friday”, running unchanged through the week. No “tomorrow.” No “today.” No sense of urgency. Or of the moment. Production cost savings are a poor excuse, and in my book, there’s nothing worse than hearing “ends on Friday” …on a Friday.  

We can’t afford to compromise on creative any longer. Today’s AI-driven systems analyse how people listen to live radio, streaming and podcasts. They optimise delivery in real time, allowing budgets to shift mid-campaign. In other words, we’ve got better at identifying moments of responsiveness.

When buying becomes this precise, creative weakness is much harder to hide. A generic message in a specific context feels wrong. Never clearer than when running the same radio ad across linear radio, digital audio and podcast platforms.

Even now, when it’s easier than ever to adapt an ad, it’s still common for advertisers to use a 30-second radio ad, made for live broadcasts, unchanged in on-demand settings, where listeners are often alone and focused.

This isn’t platform neutrality. It’s creative laziness

A podcast listener actively choosing an episode isn’t in the same mindset as a radio listener who happens upon an ad or hears it in the background. Their tolerance for interruption is different. The level of intimacy, pacing and tone should vary.

Seeing these moments as the same misses audio’s key strength: its ability to adapt emotionally to how and why someone listens. When an algorithm plays an ad at the right moment, the creative can either seize it or waste the chance.

AI is simplifying optimisation, enabling easy shifts in spending and frequency across live radio, streaming and podcasts.

The old model, which produced a single audio execution and let media do the heavy lifting, no longer fits how audio is bought.

Different moments need different creative approaches. They always have. A quick, clear message works well during a busy commute. A slower, chatty style suits podcasts. Brand-building and activation now blend together across environments.

AI tools now make creative variation viable at scale

There’s nothing particularly new here – A Million Ads has been delivering dynamic audio in the UK for over a decade. Now, multiple versions of ads can be rotated, tested and refined against real listening behaviour. Not just “was it served?” but “did it hold attention?”, “Did it drive response?”

Audio is finally gaining the kind of feedback long associated with digital advertising, without losing the emotional power that makes it special.

Getting creative right still takes time, effort and human judgement. But there’s a growing temptation to believe that as long as the algorithm is smart enough to optimise media delivery, the creative itself doesn’t have to be strong or tailored.

That’s a mistake. Audio still works because of sound, voice, rhythm and storytelling. Those aren’t optimisation variables; they’re creative choices. 

All too often, media planners and creatives work in isolation. Now is the time we should work together from the start.

AI hasn’t rewritten the rules of audio advertising. It has simply exposed generic, context-blind creative.

As media buying becomes smarter, we should be smarter about how we approach creative. Because only the creative that fits the moment will seize the day.

Matt Hopper is CEO of Trisonic