AskMaud: the AI that knows what we do

Usually when I post something like this, I add a line saying I have no vested interest. Not this time.

AskMaud is out in the world. It’s AdForum’s AI, sitting on top of the library they’ve been keeping since 1999. 200,000 campaigns, 50,000 agencies, 100+ award shows, 25 years of human curation. All of it now answers questions in plain language.

I’ve been involved since the early days. Not as a client, as one of the people poking at it. I tested it, argued with it, told the team when the answers were thin, and helped shape how it reads creative work rather than just data. Watching something go from rough demo to a product that actual advertising people want to use has been one of the most instructive things I’ve done this year.

The moment it clicked for me: I “asked Maud” to build a timeline of how mobile has been used in retail to drive sales. It came back with the evolution, the campaigns, the shift behind each one. Days of research, done in minutes. And it shows the work. Every opinionated answer links back to real campaigns, real agencies, real credits.

It’s good for pitches (find the perfect example that proves your point), competitive audits (see what the other brands in the category have actually made), and briefs (stop guessing, start from tangible references). It won’t have your idea for you. It ain’t a generation engine, we know how those tools go. But it gets you to the starting line faster and much better informed.

This year keeps doing this to me, pulling me from writing about the work into building the tools around it.

Which is why working on AskMaud made me look at this site differently. 1,500+ case studies sit in here, tagged, curated, written up one by one. The catch with any library is that you have to know what you’re looking for. I keep wondering what happens if this one could meet you halfway. I don’t have an answer yet and I’m in no rush to bolt AI onto something that finally works. But I’m thinking about it. If you have a view, use the Feedback link in the footer. I’d appreciate it.

Meanwhile, AskMaud is free to try. Log in with LinkedIn and ask her something hard. Worth a look.

PS: For the record, I’m quoted on their site. Make of that what you will.