For those active in the marketing industry, the era of AI is officially arrived. Conferences and panels all over the nation are dominated by the topic. Though this trend has been on the upswing for years, it seems to have finally reached a point of mainstream discussion. Integrating AI into the marketer’s toolkit demands change across the board, from trendsetters to customers. Let’s explore the effects of marketing’s AI revolution.
More widely available data sets and more affordable analytical tools have made AI a universally accessible tool for marketers. Yet one step in the process that’s still prone to error is when marketers look to interpret data patterns that their AI systems output. To combat this, some have suggested a second layer of “analytics on analytics,” wherein AI systems are utilized to analyze the output of other tools for a bird’s eye view that’s less prone to bias. Known as “meta analysis,” this concept can aid marketers and boost confidence in the soundness of their conclusions.
While it may seem that data analytics is taking over marketing and turning it into a purely scientific industry, the freedom and efficiency of AI tools means more time for executives to discuss, review, and consider important decisions. Marketing is becoming less about deducing patterns and more about creative, contextual solutions that humans excel in. At the end of the day, automated decision making is an optional tool, and no executive is required to automate their entire process.
Marketing is change for customers as well as marketers. AI “profiles” can make automated, personalized decisions for consumers. Though consumers hesitate to give up their agency, their decisions are becoming more and more powered by AI. As purchasing inevitably becomes more automated, marketers face challenging questions about the purpose and shape of their advertising in an age where every consumer has two or three layers of software between them and the product. Change in some way is unavoidable, but since AI is still such a young technology, the answers aren’t obvious quite yet.
For leaders and visionaries at all levels of marketing, what matters most is engagement with this burgeoning aspect of the industry. In the same way, it’s important for leaders to utilize critical thinking skills, not putting innovations in technology ahead of purposeful and customer-driven demands. There’s a harmony between AI and human, and those most sensitive to this balance will find massive success with this powerful new marketing tool.