AI Content Moderation: Securing Online Spaces and Revolutionizing Marketing 

With more than half of the global population using social media, navigating the flood of user-generated content (UGC) can be challenging. The sheer volume of activity—1,700,000 content pieces on Facebook, 66,000 images on Instagram, and 347,200 tweets every minute—gives us some idea of this digital whirlwind. For businesses, the task of moderating content on their brand’s online platforms can be overwhelming and tedious. Enter the silent sentinel: AI-based content moderation. As the number of users creating and sharing content online grows, AI-enabled automated content moderation is necessary to manage, sift through, and curate this ever-expanding sea of content.

Evolution of Content Moderation in Marketing Operations

Content moderation is a key screening practice across social media platforms, enabling the approval or rejection of user-generated content and comments. Its purpose is to ensure that published posts align with community guidelines and terms of service, removing any content that violates these regulations.

The evolution of content moderation in marketing operations mirrors the rapid expansion of digital spaces. From the early days of bulletin boards and chat rooms to the current landscape of online forums and social marketplaces, there has been an influx of information and discussions. Initially, moderation relied on manual oversight, involving teams sorting through content to ensure compliance with guidelines. However, this manual process hindered real-time responses and was subject to the whims of individual moderators.

Today, moderation rules have transformed significantly. With AI-based content moderation solutions, platforms have introduced standardized algorithms and guidelines that shape global conversations. Many organizations now employ a hybrid approach, combining automated screening with human intervention. While automated content moderation scans user-generated content for violations, human-based moderation in marketing operations can reduce potential oversights that could lead to severe repercussions for the organization.

Challenges in Content Moderation

The World Economic Forum projects that by 2025, people will generate approximately 463 exabytes of data daily. This exponential increase in UGC poses a significant challenge for content moderators. The sheer volume of content generated daily, makes manual moderation an impractical endeavor.

Additionally, the evolving user expectations and sensitivities require a delicate balance between safeguarding users from potentially harmful or inappropriate content and freedom of expression. The constant need to update policies and guidelines further complicates the process. Content moderators, regularly exposed to distressing content as part of their role, may grapple with desensitization and mental health concerns, necessitating comprehensive support systems.

Enter artificial intelligence (AI), fortified by natural language processing (NLP), image processing, and machine learning (ML). AI-based content moderation services and solutions offer a potent solution to these challenges.

AI-based Content Moderation

AI can help streamline content moderation and manage it a lot better. AI content moderation algorithms can effectively recognize patterns and moderate abusive, adult, profane, and fake or misleading content.

Some of the benefits of using AI include:

• Enhanced Scalability and Speed: AI can process vast amounts of data in real time, surpassing human capabilities. This scalability ensures efficient handling of UGC across multiple channels.
• Automated Content Filtering: AI-backed content moderation can automatically analyze texts, visuals, and videos for harmful content. Automated systems can then flag the problematic content to human moderators or remove it from the platform altogether.
• Less Exposure to Harmful Content: AI can filter suspicious content for human review, reducing exposure to disturbing material. Using AI for content moderation makes the process more manageable and less psychologically taxing for human moderators.
• Moderation of Live Content: AI plays a crucial role in analyzing live content, ensuring users have a safe experience in real-time interactions.

While AI shows promise, achieving high accuracy in content moderation remains challenging. The need for extensive data and the proprietary nature of data collection present hurdles in developing accurate models. The digital landscape encompasses numerous languages, requiring AI to be proficient in recognizing and moderating content in multiple linguistic contexts.

The Role of Generative AI in Content Moderation

Generative AI is one of the most significant disruptions revolutionizing the UGC landscape. Today’s generative AI systems can produce much better content in terms of the context of a conversation, appearing much more human-like and avoiding keywords that would otherwise flag it for moderation. Moreover, it can do so at extraordinary speed and scale.

Companies are exploring innovative approaches by using ChatGPT to develop text-based UGC moderation models. These models showcase exceptional accuracy and require notably less training data compared to conventional methods. Generative AI can also identify subtleties within UGC that conventional AI-based models might struggle with.

One of its significant advantages lies in expediting the feedback cycle for policy refinement. Traditionally, a process spanning months, with generative AI, it just takes hours to refine content policies and ensure quicker and more consistent content reviews. Consequently, it plays a pivotal role in upholding a safe and positive online environment for users.

Future of Content Moderation

The evolving nature of content, thanks to increased global internet access, rapid user growth on digital platforms, and the development of AI and machine learning tools, are key factors propelling the digital content moderation industry forward. As user-generated content continues its upward trajectory, the integration of AI in content moderation is poised to play an important role. By combining automated approaches with human expertise, brands can effectively regulate harmful content, ensuring a safe online environment for users and companies can navigate the challenges posed by the digital content landscape, protecting both users and brands in the process.

How Hexaware Can Help

Powered by robust technology, Hexaware’s end-to-end content management services support organizations in seamlessly managing their entire content lifecycle. Our emphasis lies in enhancing customer experiences by prioritizing an ‘automation first’ approach. This involves harnessing the potential of AI/ML for content moderation, aimed at cultivating secure and reliable communities while enhancing the speed and accuracy of moderation processes. Through these measures, Hexaware transforms content management, ensuring safer and more trusted digital environments for all users.