BT is seeking to raise awareness of its new AI offering for the UK’s small businesses, with a nationwide advertising campaign highlighting how the technology can help them tap into resources normally only available to bigger corporations.
The activity, “AI from BT”, was developed with Uncommon Creative Studio and sees a phone ringing in a busy pub while the stretched barman carries on serving pints. Instead of missing the call, BT’s AI Receptionist picks up, answers the customer, and books their table.
The ad highlights a problem felt by millions of SMEs across the UK, the cost of a missed call. It comes alongside BT research finding that the SMEs could be losing up to £3.7bn per year in revenue to missed calls.
AI from BT is the division’s biggest campaign since BT’s rebrand in May, highlighting its role Behind Brilliant Things.
The new campaign brings BT’s focus on British communities into its business advertising, with BT Business building its product ads around real businesses, so customers can see the technology doing jobs they recognise.
BT brand and marketing director Helen Whetton said: “SME owners wear multiple hats, and they can’t always get to the phone when they’re busy growing the business. They don’t have the resources that larger companies can call on, and many don’t know where to start with AI. AI from BT is about giving them the big business advantage.”
“With this campaign, we’re taking AI out of the abstract to show it working in the real world, for real British businesses, doing the everyday jobs that make a difference. And what better place to start with that than the great British pub, where staff are pouring pints and clearing tables while the phone rings, and a missed call can mean a lost booking.”
A 30-second spot runs on TV and BVOD, with 20-second cuts for online video and paid social. Creator-generated social content follows a car salesman, a property expert, a restaurant owner and a graphic designer.
Out-of-home and print ads switch “missed calls” to “sales secured” and “hands full” to “booking handled”, under BT Business’s sign-off, “Behind Brilliant Things”.
The campaign also runs across radio and digital audio, Spotify, and podcasts including The Times’ Off Air with Jane & Fi, High Performance, and Intelligence Squared. Demand generation across Meta, LinkedIn, YouTube, and paid search invites business owners to book a tailored demo.
Uncommon Creative Studio executive creative director Josh Tenser added: “It’s been a great challenge to take such an innovative, product-led launch and bring it to life in a world that’s cinematic and soulful, born out of the communities that make Britain tick.”
The product at the heart of the campaign is AI Receptionist. It answers calls around the clock, handles routine enquiries and schedules appointments, so customers, suppliers and partners get answers even when the owner is busy or off the clock. It is trained on each business’s website and preferred information sharing routes, can be up and running in minutes, and keeps customer data protected. Use cases range from estate agents, law firms and logistics companies to retailers, restaurants and pubs.
Alongside the campaign, BT Business has launched the AI Adoption Hub, a free service giving business owners practical advice to adopt AI confidently and safely.
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