Brands looking for the perfect influencer to share their values now have a way through artificial intelligence and an expanded collaboration between two companies firmly planted in artificial intelligence (AI).

IBM on Friday launched Watson Advertising Social Targeting with Influential, a new platform that uses AI to help brands identify influencers who best align with their brand values. The new solution within the Watson Advertising suite of targeting products marks an expanded collaboration with Influential, an advanced social media technology. 

“Influencer marketing has evolved into a fully trackable channel that leverages suitable voices to speak on behalf of brands,” stated Influential CEO Ryan Detert. “We’ve seen how powerful Watson can be and are thrilled to expand our relationship with IBM Watson Advertising.”

Some 87% consumers surveyed in a Rakuten study from 2019 stated that they were inspired to make a purchase based on an influencer’s recommendation

The tool sits in the Watson Advertising suite of targeting products. The partnership marks an expanded collaboration with Influential.

As brands shift advertising tactics to keep up with changes in consumer behavior, the social targeting tool can help brands communicate with their audience.

The platform leverages IBM Watson Natural Language Understanding on the IBM public cloud to process and analyze social media data, identifies brand-safe influencers by gauging profanity ratings, and links online behavior with offline purchase to help drive ROI based on real-time campaign measurement.