Will AI replace marketers or make them more strategic?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making inroads into every sector, with marketers recognizing the significant value this dynamic technology can bring to their roles. In fact, a global survey in 2022 revealed that 90% of marketers across 35 nations were already using AI tools in order to automate customer interactions. In addition, 88% of marketers were exploring ways to use AI to personalize customer journeys. Artificial intelligence has undoubtedly established strong roots in the marketing domain. But what does this mean for marketing professionals?  

AI is likely to displace some marketing roles, especially those that have become routine, such as simple customer service and analytics. But AI is unlikely to completely replace marketing professionals because marketing goes beyond just driving a prospect to take action. We might see ChatGPT create amazing, almost human-like content, but even generative AI lacks critical thinking. This means the technology cannot ideate or plan, although it can help marketers make informed decisions.

AGI in Marketing 

Having said that, there are some areas where AI can prove invaluable for marketers. One of the most exciting developments in AI is the work being done on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). The aim of AGI is to replicate human-like intelligence, broadening the currently narrow AI applications to a wide spectrum of activities, including understanding natural language, reasoning and problem-solving, and even creativity. This means that if faced with an unfamiliar task, AGI systems will be able to analyse vast datasets in record time to find a solution. 

AGI could reinforce marketing efforts by providing deeper insights into customer interests, needs and behaviours. This could allow marketers to optimise marketing strategies in real-time to deliver hyper-personalised experiences. The technology could also increase efficiency by analysing massive data volumes in real-time to drive agile, data-driven decision-making, while automating repetitive tasks and streamlining marketing process. This would free marketers to spend more time on strategic activities. 

AGI also has huge potential in terms of SEO, delivering deep insights into content relevance, user intent and search engine ranking factors. The technology could be used to collate data from diverse sources, including social media, to identify trends and patterns, which in turn can help marketers understand which keywords and topics will work best. The end result will be significantly improved customer experience, which will translate into customer loyalty.  

Smart Customer Segmentation

70% of marketers use segmentation and that 80% of businesses that do so witness increased sales. Customer segmentation is an effective way to learn more about your target audience. When you understand your audience, you know what will work with them. After all, your job as a marketer is to convince the customer base that your products/services are the best solutions to their needs or wants.  

But AI can take you a step further. With predictive analytics, it can identify which target group will be best suited for your marketing campaign. It can also help you discover new segments within your audience, so that you can create better targeted content for them. For example, facilitated by AI, your company’s CEO could address each customer personally, augmenting the experience and driving unprecedented customization. This brings us to the next benefit of AI. 

Personalization at Scale

Personalizing marketing goes beyond simply sending out special offers and discounts. With AI, you can tailor dynamic content for specific groups, offer product recommendations, cross-sell and upsell, and much more. For example, personalized banner ads could encourage the customer to take specific action. AI-powered analytics look at multiple data sources, including customers’ web browsing history. This aids in building near-accurate customer personae to align marketing outreach accordingly to achieve better results.

Marketers can use AI to:

• Create offers specifically for different audience segments.
• Use different metadata or tags to identify which content should be used for which groups.
• Use AI-powered automated recommendation engines.

Some of the other applications of AI for marketing include:  

• Content Generation
• Chatbots and Customer Support
• Predictive Analytics
• Programmatic Advertising
• Email Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Social Media Management
• Customer Journey Mapping

Leveraging AI for Marketing 

The first step is to determine your marketing goals and understand how AI can help you achieve these goals. However, a little investment of time and effort might be required to expand your technical skills to make the most of AI while ensuring ethical use of the technology. AI has made a lot of tasks better or easier. For instance, customer service bots have resulted in better customer experiences while generating creatives at scale using AI has become effortless, driving marketing efficiencies. 

It's important to note, however, that AI-driven strategies will need to be regularly monitored and modified to adapt to the ever-changing customer needs and market dynamics. Over a 10-year timeline, AI will make marketing better, powered by data. However, what appears to be game-changing through AI today will become table stakes in the future due to standardization. There will eventually be a plateauing of AI and the value it offers. With time, consumers will begin to crave human intervention. This will bring us to a full circle. Human intervention would be necessary, as humans are dynamic, can offer unique responses, and do not operate within preset templates. 

In the words of Dan Shapero, Chief Operating Officer, LinkedIn, “Some people are concerned that AI is going to reduce jobs in sales. But, imagine every seller on your team is 30% more effective. Are you going to want more sellers, or less sellers? If you have an opportunity in front of you, you’re going to want to double down.” 

The bottom line, therefore, is finding the right balance between technology and the human touch to initiate and sustain meaningful interactions and long-lasting relationships with your prospects and existing customers.