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I've always been curious about the latest technology, now, readily available to us in various uses - AI (artificial intelligence). Actually, I feared it at first, afraid that it would diminish my role as a "digital marketer" creating content and building strategies based on data for me. I wasn't the only one feeling this way as many others in various roles even outside of marketing feared the worst. You know, when Robot Sophia was first released on North America's most loving day, February 14, 2016, we all started to think all sorts of, "How will this affect my job in the future?"
What AI means today
Fast forward to 2024 and my outlook on AI has shifted to a more positive light seeing the opportunities and advantages it has allowed marketers like me to be creative and drive strategic decisions. We, as digital marketers, should be familiar with existing forms of AI such as machine learning which is used in marketing tools that determine the intent of a specific audience. Another form of AI you are familiar with, or at least heard of the term, is Natural Language Processing (NLP) used commonly in chatbots like Drift which I discovered back in 2019 when the company I, formerly, worked for wanted to explore it.
2019 was the rise of AI in marketing tools and those tools saw the opportunity in implementing it. We learned that marketing is all about understanding your audience. Without it, how would you decide on content, channels, go-to-market messaging, and literally, everything that comes with building a campaign? You don't, or you shouldn't because your boss won't be too happy about your poor decisions. Sure, let's learn about our audiences. Do you ever wonder how it's done?
AI thrives with Data
The answer is: DATA. Now back in 2019 when we used Drift's chatbot, the concept was exciting. A new tool that just made sense. But at the time, we started to learn that it had its limits. Limits that Drift could not help because it relied heavily on the web's data. By 2019, you'd think there was enough data to optimize such tools and call out "that most of your users visit your website on Thursdays and Tuesdays, so you should post a blog only on those days". Unfortunately, data was not in its prime then, and it will never be. As time passes, data will more and more, get better. It's just the nature of it.
AI needs a Human
As of 2023, I was a part of the cybersecurity family creating campaigns for those protective folks. It was the year of AI for the community and we started to see AI-supported solutions emerge, even within the organization that I was working for. Even then, AI was purely a concept and the engineers behind the project weren't confident about the announcement as there was no clarity from a technical, and possibly, "code-level" perspective of how they would execute the exciting new feature.
I, myself, am not technical by any means but someone still needs to write the script for AI (am I wrong my developer friends?) This isn't impossible but like every new unfathomable made fathomable idea comes with hurdles and challenges. We have the data to support new prompts to automate tedious tasks which is what we hope AI will do for marketers. But it's the engineers who we rely on to define the data for however way we want to use them to action a task. Still a "human" is needed to build our AI.
Once that's built, we can only imagine the amazing things we can do with AI.
As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, it's evident that AI is not just a trend but a fundamental shift in how businesses connect with their audiences. With its ability to turn data into actionable insights, deliver personalized experiences, and automate routine tasks, AI is at the forefront of marketing innovation. As Forbes rightly notes, businesses that embrace AI in their marketing strategies are better positioned to thrive in the dynamic and competitive digital landscape.
According to Forbes, "AI in marketing is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity for those who want to remain competitive in today's fast-paced digital landscape" (source). The transformative impact of AI on marketing is undeniable, and businesses that strategically integrate AI into their marketing efforts are poised for success in the future.
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