夜雨聆风
Chatbots areemployed every day as teachers, counsellors, coders and escorts. Now they aretakingon another role: salesmen. Advertisements are poppingup ever more frequently in users’ conversations with large language models, punctuatingchatswith promotions. Consumers’ search queries, editing sessions and even intimate moments are increasingly at risk of interruption by sponsored messages.
①Chatbots are employed every day as teachers, counsellors, coders and escorts.
这是文章开篇第一句话，先告诉我们——AI 聊天机器人早就深度融入普通人生活，不是小众工具，而是多角色、全天候在用。
②Now they are taking on another role: salesmen.
承接上一句列举的一些工作，now自然引出如今的情况：聊天机器人正在变成广告推销员。
③Advertisements are popping up ever more frequently in users' conversations with large language models, punctuating chats with promotions.
pop up 本义是 “突然蹦出来、冒出来”，在外刊语境里专指事物毫无预兆地频繁涌现、莫名出现；文中 Advertisements are popping up ever more frequently 不用普通的 appear /show up，而是用 pop up，生动刻画出广告毫无征兆、突兀冒出来、防不胜防的感觉。
punctuate 本义是 “给文字加标点”，在外刊高频引申为“不时打断、穿插其间”，常用固定搭配punctuate A with B，表示 “用 B 穿插、打断 A”。文中 punctuating chats with promotions 用得极妙：把生硬植入的广告比作强行插入句子的标点，是经济学人典型的高级拟人比喻写法，阅读和写作都值得积累套用。这里还能引出另一个搭配：be punctuated by sth，被动表示“被某事不时打断、穿插”，例如：His speech was punctuated by applause.
④Consumers' search queries, editing sessions and even intimate moments are increasingly at risk of interruption by sponsored messages.
前面刚说广告在聊天里频繁冒出来、穿插对话，这句拔高危害，不只聊天会被打扰，这里收尾第一段，同时又抛出了问题隐患，自然引出下文：AI 广告为什么兴起、行业怎么变化、有什么利弊。
Words to know
counsellor n. 顾问；心理咨询师
escort n. 陪伴者
query n. 查询；检索
intimate adj. 私密的；私人的
interruption n. 打扰；中断
sponsored adj. 赞助的；商业植入的
pop up 突然冒出；频繁出现
punctuate A with B用 B 穿插 / 打断 A
译文（供参考）
聊天机器人如今每天都扮演着教师、心理咨询师、程序员和陪伴者的角色。而现在，它们又多了一重身份：推销员。大型语言模型与用户的对话中，广告出现得愈发频繁，各类推广信息穿插在聊天过程里。用户的搜索查询、文档编辑过程，甚至私人日常交流，都越来越容易被商业推广信息打断。
As chatbots become adbots, the future of two industries is atstake. For the artificial-intelligence business, ads represent a way to monetise a wildly expensive invention that most people currently usefreeofcharge. For the ad industry, adbots are a possible answer to the existentialquestion of how advertising will work if users move away from conventional search engines. Although it is early days, the outlines of a new kind of marketing are emerging.
①As chatbots become adbots, the future of two industries is at stake.
这是第二段总起句，承接上文 “聊天机器人变身推销员”，顺势提出核心观点，注意这一句中的两个词chatbots、adbots总结地非常好，当聊天机器人演变为广告机器人后，人工智能、广告两大行业的未来都岌岌可危。
at stake 是外刊超级好词：不是简单的 “有风险”，而是利害攸关、前途未卜，一下子把文章严肃感和格局拉起来，开门定调，引出后文两大行业的深层变局。
②For the artificial-intelligence business, ads represent a way to monetise a wildly expensive invention that most people currently use free of charge.
视角切到 AI 行业，解释为什么非要做广告：AI 是wildly expensive 耗资极其巨大的研发成果，却长期被大众free of charge 免费使用，无法回本盈利。
monetise 是一个外刊高频好词：指“把产品 / 技术商业化、变现”；
这一整句用定语从句嵌套，逻辑是：高成本发明 + 全民免费 → 只能靠广告monetise 变现。
wildly expensive和use free of charge形成鲜明的对比，直接告诉我们背后的动机：为了赚更多钱回本。
③For the ad industry, adbots are a possible answer to the existential question of how advertising will work if users move away from conventional search engines.
再切换到广告行业视角：用户渐渐move away from 远离、抛弃conventional 传统的搜索引擎，广告行业遇到了existential question 关乎生死存亡的根本难题。
existential 高级词：不是普通的 “重要问题”，而是关乎行业生死、存续根基的终极拷问；
作者用这个词，凸显传统广告业正在面临被时代淘汰的危机，而广告机器人恰好成了救命解法。
④Although it is early days, the outlines of a new kind of marketing are emerging.
虽说目前还early days 尚处起步阶段，但全新营销模式的outlines 雏形、轮廓已经慢慢emerging 显现、兴起。
outlines / emerging 都是外刊里的高频表达，没有用 “new model appears”，而是用轮廓初现、悄然兴起；同时承上启下，自然引出下一段各大 AI 巨头纷纷入局布局。
Words to know
adbots n. 广告机器人
at stake 利害攸关；岌岌可危
monetise v. 商业化；变现
wildly expensive 耗资巨大的
free of charge 免费
existential adj. 关乎存亡的；根本性的
conventional adj. 传统的
译文（供参考）
随着聊天机器人变身广告机器人，两大行业的未来岌岌可危。对人工智能行业而言，广告为这项耗资巨大、目前多数人免费使用的技术发明，提供了一条商业化变现路径。而对于广告行业，若用户逐渐舍弃传统搜索引擎，广告机器人或许能解答一个关乎行业存续的核心问题：广告未来该以何种形式运作。尽管尚处于起步阶段，但一种全新的营销模式已初具雏形。
Many of the AI giants are piling in. In February OpenAI said it would begin testing ads in ChatGPT, the most widely used chatbot. Google has been trialling them in its search engine’s “AI Mode” since last year, and Microsoft has woven them into its Copilot. Amazon’s shopping assistant, Rufus, allows brands to sponsor its replies. Meta’s chatbot does not yet show ads, but since December it has been passing on insights from chats to its sister companies, Facebook and Instagram, to help them serve better-targeted plugs.
①Many of the AI giants are piling in.
pile in 是外刊地道短语，字面意思是 “扎堆涌入”，用在这里实在是太形象了，写出了大厂争先恐后、集体扎堆进场的态势，比 join in /take part in 生动得多。
②In February OpenAI said it would begin testing ads in ChatGPT, the most widely used chatbot.
以行业龙头 OpenAI 为首个实例，用widely used精准定位 ChatGPT“用户体量最大、普及度最高” 的行业地位；
③Google has been trialling them in its search engine’s “AI Mode” since last year, and Microsoft has woven them into its Copilot.
接连列举谷歌、微软两大巨头。Open AI用了test 一词，这里Google的例子用了trial一词，后面Microsoft更是用了weave…into…来替换。这个表达强烈建议收入生词本， 它的本义是 “编织进去”，这里比喻把广告巧妙嵌入、融入智能助手功能里，用词细腻高级，写出广告不再是生硬添加，而是深度融合进产品生态。
④Amazon’s shopping assistant, Rufus, allows brands to sponsor its replies.
再举亚马逊案例，聚焦电商赛道：品牌可以sponsor its replies 赞助 AI 回复内容，点明 AI 广告的一种商业模式 —— 品牌直接冠名、赞助机器人作答，丰富了广告变现形式。
⑤Meta’s chatbot does not yet show ads, but since December it has been passing on insights from chats to its sister companies, Facebook and Instagram, to help them serve better-targeted plugs.
以 Meta 收尾，形成差异化举例：它暂时不直接插广告，而是走数据导流路线。plugs是口语化外刊用词，用来替代 boring ads，指软性推广、植入广告。
Words to know
pile in 扎堆涌入；纷纷入局
trial v. 试点；试运行
weave…into… 把…… 融入 / 嵌入
sponsor v. 赞助；投放冠名
pass on insights 传递用户洞察
sister companies 姊妹公司；旗下关联企业
better-targeted adj. 精准定向的
plugs n. 软性推广；植入广告
译文（供参考）
各大人工智能巨头正纷纷入局。今年 2 月，OpenAI 宣布将开始在全球用户量最大的聊天机器人 ChatGPT 中测试广告功能。谷歌从去年起就在搜索引擎的“人工智能模式”中试运行广告，微软也已将广告植入自家智能助手 Copilot。亚马逊的购物智能助手鲁弗斯，允许品牌商家为其回复内容投放赞助广告。元宇宙平台 Meta 的聊天机器人目前尚未上线广告，但自去年 12 月起，它已将用户聊天中的信息洞察同步给旗下脸书和照片墙平台，助力其投放更精准的推广内容。
For OpenAI, which reportedly expects to burn $25bn of cash this year and twice as much in 2027, the need for more revenue is acute. Although it sells subscriptions, most of ChatGPT’s more than 900m weekly users are on its free tier. Ads are a way to make money from them. And they may let the company make its best models available to users who do not pay, deepening their engagement, says Benedict Evans, a tech analyst. Even Google, with no immediate cashflow worries, has reason to bring ads to AI chats if these interactions are to replace search for some users. Already it is set to lose its crown as the biggest seller of digital ads: this year Meta will overtake it with ad revenue of $243bn, according to eMarketer, a research firm.
①For OpenAI, which reportedly expects to burn $25bn of cash this year and twice as much in 2027, the need for more revenue is acute.
承接上文各大巨头入局 AI 广告，这句先深挖OpenAI 非要做广告的底层原因：烧钱巨多、增收压力极大。burn cash不是普通的 spend money，而是疯狂烧钱、巨额耗损现金流，读着有一种投入无底洞、投资巨大的意味。acute 高级形容词，表迫切的、严峻的，比 urgent 更书面，用来形容资金缺口、营收需求迫在眉睫，一下子把 OpenAI 的财务困境写得很有张力。
②Although it sells subscriptions, most of ChatGPT’s more than 900m weekly users are on its free tier.
先让步：OpenAI 虽然有会员订阅业务，但撑不起大局。作者用数据摆出了事实，说明绝大多数用户都是免费白嫖，订阅收入杯水车薪，为 “必须靠广告变现” 做足铺垫。
③Ads are a way to make money from them.
广告就是从海量免费用户身上赚钱的唯一出路，把前面的财务压力和用户结构落到 “做广告” 这个结论上。
④And they may let the company make its best models available to users who do not pay, deepening their engagement, says Benedict Evans, a tech analyst.
引用行业分析师观点，补充广告的另一重好处。deepen engagement 是外刊里互联网领域的高频表达，表示“加深用户粘性、提升用户活跃度”；说明广告不只是赚钱，还能让免费用户用上顶级模型，进一步留住用户。
⑤Even Google, with no immediate cashflow worries, has reason to bring ads to AI chats if these interactions are to replace search for some users.
视角从 OpenAI 转到谷歌，就连暂时不差钱的谷歌，也不得不布局 AI 广告。
⑥Already it is set to lose its crown as the biggest seller of digital ads: this year Meta will overtake it with ad revenue of $243bn, according to eMarketer, a research firm.
lose its crown 是一个带有拟人意味的表达，：丢掉霸主地位、让出王者宝座。
Words to know
burn cash 烧钱；巨额消耗现金
acute adj. 严峻的；十分迫切的
subscription n. 付费订阅
free tier 免费用户层级；免费版
deepen engagement 加深用户粘性
cashflow 现金流
replace search 取代搜索引擎
lose one’s crown 丢掉霸主地位
overtake v. 反超；赶超
译文（供参考）
据报道，OpenAI 今年预计将消耗 250 亿美元现金，2027 年亏损更是将翻倍，因此增收的需求十分迫切。尽管该平台推出了付费订阅服务，但 ChatGPT 每周超 9 亿用户中，绝大多数都使用免费版本。广告成了从免费用户身上盈利的一种方式。科技分析师本尼迪克特·埃文斯表示，广告业务还能让公司向非付费用户开放顶级 AI 模型，进一步增强用户粘性。即便是暂无现金流压力的谷歌，若未来部分用户用 AI 对话替代搜索引擎，也有理由在 AI 聊天中引入广告。研究机构 eMarketer 数据显示，谷歌即将失去数字广告霸主地位：今年 Meta 的广告收入将达到 2430 亿美元，反超谷歌。
So far the experiments are modest. Similarweb, a data provider, estimates that ChatGPT is showing ads in only about 1% of conversations, and Google in an even smaller share of AI Mode queries. But they are due to rise fast. OpenAI is said to have told investors that it expects ChatGPT to generate $2.5bn in ad revenue this year and $11bn in 2027, with a goal of hitting $100bn by 2030.
①So far the experiments are modest.
modest 这里不是 “谦虚的”，而是规模不大的、有限的、保守适度的；作者先用 modest 定调：目前各家的广告试点规模还很小、步子很保守。
②Similarweb, a data provider, estimates that ChatGPT is showing ads in only about 1% of conversations, and Google in an even smaller share of AI Mode queries.
引用权威数据机构，用具体百分比做实上一句 modest 的论据。
③But they are due to rise fast.
But一个强转折，画风立刻反转：现在规模虽小，但注定会快速攀升。
④OpenAI is said to have told investors that it expects ChatGPT to generate $2.5bn in ad revenue this year and $11bn in 2027, with a goal of hitting $100bn by 2030.
hit 在这里不是 “击打”，而是达到、突破（某一个目标数值），通过OpenAI 对投资人的预期，给出未来广告收入的明确数字目标。
译文（供参考）
目前各大平台的广告试点规模尚且有限。数据服务商 Similarweb 估算，ChatGPT 仅在约 1% 的对话中植入广告，谷歌 AI 模式的广告投放比例更低。但广告投放规模势必会快速攀升。有消息称，OpenAI 已向投资者透露，预计 ChatGPT 今年广告收入达 25 亿美元，2027 年增至 110 亿美元，目标在 2030 年突破 1000 亿美元。研究机构 eMarketer 数据显示，谷歌即将失去数字广告霸主地位：今年 Meta 的广告收入将达到 2430 亿美元，反超谷歌。
The early evidence suggests that OpenAI and Google have different approaches to how a chatbot should sell. According to Similarweb, 98.5% of the ads in Google’s AI Mode appear in response to the user’s first query, rather like a conventional search engine. ChatGPT, by contrast,bides its time. Less than half its ads come in the chatbot’s first response, and nearly a third come after the tenth turn in the conversation—like a shop assistant waiting for the customer’s intent to become clear before they make their pitch. “This is not search. This is a new category of advertising,” argues Harel Amir of Similarweb.
①The early evidence suggests that OpenAI and Google have different approaches to how a chatbot should sell.
承接上文 AI 广告规模将要快速扩张，这句开启对比分析：用现有早期数据证明，OpenAI 和谷歌在 AI 广告投放逻辑上思路完全不同。approaches是一个外刊高级词，不只用 way，它更侧重策略、打法、运作思路；
②According to Similarweb, 98.5% of the ads in Google’s AI Mode appear in response to the user’s first query, rather like a conventional search engine.
先讲谷歌的投放模式：用户一提问立刻出广告，完全照搬传统搜索引擎套路。
③ChatGPT, by contrast, bides its time.
bide its time 地道高级短语：耐心等待、伺机而动。把 ChatGPT 写得像有心机的销售，不急于立刻推销。
④Less than half its ads come in the chatbot’s first response, and nearly a third come after the tenth turn in the conversation—like a shop assistant waiting for the customer’s intent to become clear before they make their pitch.
turn 这里指对话轮次；make one’s pitch 是固定的地道表达：主动推销、上门游说带货；作者还用类比修辞，把 ChatGPT 比作懂分寸的店员，等用户需求明确再开口推销，画面感特别强。
⑤“This is not search. This is a new category of advertising,” argues Harel Amir of Similarweb.
最后一句引用了业内人士观点来收尾升华：AI 聊天广告已经跳出了传统搜索广告范畴。
Words to know
approach n. 策略；打法；思路
in response to 作为对…… 的回应
conventional adj. 传统的
by contrast 相比之下
bide one’s time 伺机而动；耐心等待
turn n. （对话）轮次
intent n. 意图；意向
make one’s pitch 主动推销；进行游说
译文（供参考）
早期数据显示，OpenAI 与谷歌在聊天机器人广告投放策略上截然不同。Similarweb 数据显示，谷歌 AI 模式中 98.5% 的广告都会在用户首次提问时推送，模式和传统搜索引擎如出一辙。而 ChatGPT 则更懂得伺机而动。其广告仅有不到一半出现在首轮回复中，近三分之一会在对话进行十轮之后才出现 —— 就像实体店店员，会等顾客消费意向明确后再主动推销。Similarweb 的哈雷尔·阿米尔直言：“这已不再是搜索引擎广告，而是全新的广告品类。”
So far the results are mixed.ChatGPT’s targeting sometimes seems sophisticated: for instance, advertising job-interview coaching to a user drafting a professional email. At other times it is comically literal. One user asking about cryptographic “private keys” was served an ad for metal safety-boxes from Bed Bath & Beyond. OpenAI’s fledgling ad service so far offers advertisers little in the way of performance data or the ability to target specific demographic groups, says Caelean Barnes of Gauge, which helps brands track how chatbots talk about them.
①So far the results are mixed.
承上一段讲完谷歌和ChatGPT 不同广告投放策略，这句总起本段：目前 AI 广告的实际效果有好有坏、喜忧参半。
mixed是一个外刊万能好词：好坏参半、利弊并存，一句话定下整段客观辩证的分析基调，不吹不黑。
②ChatGPT’s targeting sometimes seems sophisticated: for instance, advertising job-interview coaching to a user drafting a professional email.
先说好的一面：AI 广告精准投放能力有时非常高明。sophisticated高级好词：精密的、老练精准的、智能成熟的；
draft v. 起草、撰写；作者举了生活化的实例，直观说明AI 能读懂用户行为、匹配需求，体现算法智能的一面。
③At other times it is comically literal.
笔锋一转，开始说短板，形成强烈反差。comically literal：吐槽 AI 不懂语义语境，只会机械抠字面单词，非常幽默。
④One user asking about cryptographic “private keys” was served an ad for metal safety-boxes from Bed Bath & Beyond.
用真实奇葩案例佐证上一句的comically literal：用户问加密货币私钥，AI 却推送实体保险箱广告。
⑤OpenAI’s fledgling ad service so far offers advertisers little in the way of performance data or the ability to target specific demographic groups, says Caelean Barnes of Gauge, which helps brands track how chatbots talk about them.
fledgling是一个很好的词，做名词表示“幼鸟”，根据幼鸟“未发育成熟”的状态引申成了“初创的、刚起步的、尚不成熟的”；这里引用业内人士观点，从专业层面点出 OpenAI 广告业务的硬伤。
Words to know
mixed adj. 好坏参半的；喜忧参半
sophisticated adj. 精准成熟的；精密智能的
comically literal 刻板到滑稽；字面机械理解
be served an ad 被推送广告
fledgling adj. 初创的；刚起步尚不成熟的
little in the way of几乎缺乏；鲜有
demographic groups 人群受众；人口统计群体
译文（供参考）
目前 AI 广告的实际效果喜忧参半。ChatGPT 的广告推荐有时十分精准：比如给正在撰写职场邮件的用户推送面试辅导课程广告。但有时又刻板得离谱。有用户询问加密货币 “私钥” 相关问题，平台却推送了家居品牌百思买金属保险箱的广告。品牌舆情监测机构 Gauge 的凯利恩・巴恩斯表示，OpenAI 刚起步的广告业务，目前几乎无法为广告主提供投放效果数据，也不支持精准定向特定人群。
OpenAIand Google also seem to be going after different kinds of advertisers. Google’s Direct Offers allow companies to promote a discount code for a product the user is researching in AI Mode. OpenAI, meanwhile, is focused on brand-building ads designed to burnish a firm’s image rather than trigger a click. So far 81% of its ads fall into that category, by Similarweb’s analysis. OpenAI may reckon that users deep in a coding or editing sessionare unlikely to break off to pursue an offer.
①OpenAI and Google also seem to be going after different kinds of advertisers.
go after外刊商业地道表达：瞄准、争取、主攻，比 aim at 更有竞争感和画面感；这句是本段中心句，引出谷歌和 OpenAI 两种完全不同的广告定位逻辑。
②Google’s Direct Offers allow companies to promote a discount code for a product the user is researching in AI Mode.
先讲谷歌路线：主打即时优惠、促销导流。
贴合用户当下正在搜索的商品，直接推折扣码，走即时转化、带货成交的路线，务实、直接、像传统搜索广告。
③OpenAI, meanwhile, is focused on brand-building ads designed to burnish a firm’s image rather than trigger a click.
转而对比 OpenAI 的思路，谷歌要即时点击成交，OpenAI 不求立刻下单，只求塑造品牌好感。
④So far 81% of its ads fall into that category, by Similarweb’s analysis.
⑤OpenAI may reckon that users deep in a coding or editing session are unlikely to break off to pursue an offer.
Words to know
go after 瞄准；主攻；争取
brand-building 品牌建设的
burnish one’s image 提升 / 美化企业形象
trigger a click 触发点击
fall into that category 归为一类；属于该类型
reckon v. 认为；预估
deep in 沉浸于；忙于
break off 中途停下；中断
pursue an offer 跟进优惠；领取促销福利
译文（供参考）
OpenAI 和谷歌瞄准的广告主类型也存在差异。谷歌的 “直达优惠” 服务，允许企业针对用户正在检索的产品推送优惠码。而 OpenAI 主打品牌形象类广告，重在提升企业口碑，而非引导用户点击购买。Similarweb 分析显示，目前 ChatGPT 81% 的广告都属于品牌宣传类。OpenAI 或许认为，沉浸在编程、文档编辑中的用户，基本不会中途停下，去参与广告优惠活动。
The good news for chatbot-makers is that users do not seem to be repelled by ads. Some competitors have steered clear of sponsoredreplies, fearing these will hurt trust: in February Perplexity stopped showing ads and Anthropic skewered its ad-toting rivals with a series of skits showing therapists and professors suddenly launching into sales pitches. Yet Similarweb finds that 72% of ads shown on ChatGPTare not on the final turn of the conversation—in other words, users keep chatting. Conversations incorporating ads last an average of about 20 turns, the same as those without.
①The good news for chatbot-makers is that users do not seem to be repelled by ads.
承接上文分析完 OpenAI和谷歌的广告策略差异，本段换角度，从用户态度切入，抛出行业利好消息：用户并没有反感、排斥 AI 聊天广告。
repel高级好词：使反感、使排斥、令人抵触；
be repelled by “对…… 感到反感、心生抗拒”，比 hate /dislike 书面正式很多；
②Some competitors have steered clear of sponsored replies, fearing these will hurt trust: in February Perplexity stopped showing ads and Anthropic skewered its ad-toting rivals with a series of skits showing therapists and professors suddenly launching into sales pitches.
先让步反衬：并非所有 AI 公司都敢做广告，不少同行刻意回避。作者举 Perplexity、Anthropic 两大竞品实例，还用拟人化场景：AI 化身咨询师、教授却突然强行带货，生动讽刺同行过度商业化，同时反衬 ChatGPT 敢做广告却没流失用户，形成对比。
③Yet Similarweb finds that 72% of ads shown on ChatGPT are not on the final turn of the conversation—in other words, users keep chatting.
Yet 强转折，用数据证明：广告并没有打断对话、赶走用户。
④Conversations incorporating ads last an average of about 20 turns, the same as those without.
带广告的聊天时长和无广告几乎一样，进一步坐实 ——用户并不排斥 AI 植入广告，体验几乎不受影响。
Words to know
repel v. 使反感；使抵触
steer clear of 刻意避开；远离
skewer v. 讽刺；抨击；挖苦
ad-toting adj. 充斥广告的；自带广告植入的
skit n. 讽刺短剧；小品
launch into 突然开始；立马转入
incorporate v. 包含；嵌入；纳入
译文（供参考）
对聊天机器人厂商而言，好消息是用户似乎并不反感 AI 对话中的广告。部分同行却刻意避开赞助式回复，担心会损害用户信任：今年 2 月，Perplexity 下架了平台全部广告；Anthropic 还发布多组趣味短片，讽刺同行 AI 助手化身心理咨询师、教授后突然强行推销商品。但 Similarweb 研究发现，ChatGPT 中 72% 的广告都不会出现在对话最后一轮 —— 意味着用户并不会因为广告终止聊天。植入广告的对话平均时长约 20 轮，和无广告对话时长基本持平。
For advertisers, AIads present two challenges. The first is measurement. If users keep chatting rather than clicking through,“post-view attribution”—the murky science of determining whether a user eventually buys the product elsewhere—will become the main way to assess a campaign’s effectiveness. The second challenge is brand safety. Mark Zuckerberg has painted a picture of a future where advertisers simply tell Meta their objective and let the AI handle the rest. But letting a chatbot write its own creative copy is a gamble. Personalised ads have proved to be more effective than generic ones. Companies may neverthelessbe wary of a silicon salesman who could hallucinate a deal too good to be true.
①For advertisers, AI ads present two challenges.
前文一直在讲 AI 厂商、平台方怎么做广告、用户接不接受，本段切换视角，落到广告主身上，总起全段：AI 广告给广告商家带来两大难题。
②The first is measurement.
③If users keep chatting rather than clicking through, “post-view attribution”—the murky science of determining whether a user eventually buys the product elsewhere—will become the main way to assess a campaign’s effectiveness.
murky science高级形象表达：模糊难懂的玄学 / 说不清的门道，调侃这套评估方式不精准、很虚；
④The second challenge is brand safety.
⑤Mark Zuckerberg has painted a picture of a future where advertisers simply tell Meta their objective and let the AI handle the rest.
⑥But letting a chatbot write its own creative copy is a gamble.
强转折，理想很美好，现实有风险。
⑦Personalised ads have proved to be more effective than generic ones.
⑧Companies may nevertheless be wary of a silicon salesman who could hallucinate a deal too good to be true.
hallucinate本指 “产生幻觉”，AI 领域专指一本正经地编造虚假信息、瞎编优惠；作者这里写的幽默又犀利：企业再认可 AI 广告，也不敢完全放心 ——AI 容易凭空编造虚假优惠、夸大宣传，反而坑了品牌。
Words to know
click through 点击跳转
murky science 模糊难懂的门道 / 玄学
assess campaign’s effectiveness 评估广告投放效果
paint a picture of 描绘蓝图；勾勒愿景
generic adj. 通用的；千篇一律的
be wary of 警惕；心存顾虑
silicon salesman 人工智能推销员
hallucinate v. （AI）编造不实信息；幻觉生成
译文（供参考）
对广告主来说，AI 广告面临两大难题。第一个难题是效果衡量。如果用户只是继续聊天、不点击广告跳转，“浏览后归因”（一种模糊评估用户是否后续线下或其他渠道完成购买的分析方式）将成为评判广告投放效果的主要手段。第二个难题是品牌安全。马克·扎克伯格曾构想过未来广告模式：广告主只需向 Meta 提出营销目标，其余全部交由 AI 完成。但让聊天机器人自主创作广告文案，本身就是一场冒险。个性化广告本就比通用广告效果更好。可企业仍会心存顾虑：这个人工智能推销员，说不定会凭空编造出虚假优惠、夸大宣传。
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