The opinions expressed by entrepreneurial contributors are their own.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to transform every aspect of our professional and personal lives. The marketing industry has also been affected by this digital transformation, with leading brands beginning to embrace the opportunities that technology presents. A better understanding of customer behavior is one of the main benefits of AI in marketing.
For years, marketers have collected and analyzed data on customer behavior. Their goals haven’t changed much. Inferring patterns and predicting the most popular products and services for a given audience. Based on that, marketers identify channels to reach their target customers.
AI offers essential advantages for marketing professionals in this quest. This rapidly evolving digital technology can analyze more data and more accurately than humans can. AI and its subfields such as machine learning (ML) also identify existing behavioral patterns and predict future behavior based on them.
RELATED: Artificial intelligence could add more value to marketing than the human brain
The Growing Role of AI in Marketing
In 2020, the market for artificial intelligence technology in marketing was valued at just over $12 billion. As impressive as this may seem, it pales in comparison to the global AI market, where in 2021 he was worth over $325. However, the current market size does not reveal the true potential of marketing-related AI. It becomes clear only by looking at growth projections.
Experts predict that the market for AI in marketing will exceed $35 billion next year, nearly tripling in size in just four years. Moreover, four years later, in 2028, industry insiders believe that this segment of the marketing industry will triple his size again. Statisticians expect marketers to use AI to make him worth nearly $108 million over the next decade.
How Marketers Are Using AI Today
How realistic are those expectations? please think about it. As of last year, four of his five marketing industry professionals said they had already incorporated some form of AI technology into their work. When asked to identify areas where AI and ML are already enhancing campaigns, marketing experts cited advantages in several areas.
- Automate repetitive tasks
- Analysis of large amounts of data
- Campaign personalization
- Conversion rate prediction
- Email marketing timing optimization
Most of these areas benefit from the current major application of AI technology in marketing: programmatic advertising. A recent survey found that 50% of participating marketing professionals cite more targeted advertising as one of the main benefits of integrating AI and ML into their approach.
How AI can power programmatic advertising
Placing the right ad in front of the right customer was a painstaking process as the customer was accepting of this content. Machine learning algorithms have enabled marketers to automate the buying and selling of digital advertising space.
A programmed ML algorithm is not static. They mimic human behavior, including learning. In effect, the algorithm “understands” whether the ad underperformed or exceeded expectations and learns from this outcome. No additional human intervention is required. An algorithm or machine learns without additional input by simply analyzing the results and repeating its approach.
Marketers and the brands they represent can benefit from targeting specific audiences with customized messages. The result is increased conversions and more efficient ad spend. Programmatic advertising platforms work by analyzing an overwhelming amount of data.
These platforms are only able to calculate data about user behavior, website analytics and demographic information. They also see trends and patterns before humans do. Marketing professionals can use these insights to make content more relevant and increase the likelihood of customer engagement. Additionally, marketing algorithms can optimize ad placement and bid prices.
Related: Should You Trust Artificial Intelligence in Marketing?
Understanding AI-related concerns in marketing
Like most powerful technological developments, AI has raised some concerns in the industry. Moreover, marketers who are starting to invest in AI technology are grappling with unanswered questions as the technology continues to evolve rapidly. Two of the main concerns concern the customers and the marketers themselves. These concerns are privacy, data protection and job security in the industry.
Protect your privacy — AI and ML rely on access to large amounts of customer data to recognize patterns and predict potential behavior. These technologies have extensive capabilities, but cannot self-monitor. They analyze the data given to them. Marketers need to ensure that data collection and usage is not only ethical. We must also comply with current privacy and data protection laws, such as the European Union’s GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Job security for marketers — Job security for marketers is another concern with the growth of AI-based applications. Most recently, these concerns were discussed in relation to OpenAI’s ChatGPT software. Indeed, it is impossible to fully predict where the marketing industry is headed, but most experts believe that AI and ML will change existing jobs rather than replace them. increase. Marketers can work more efficiently and effectively to benefit the brands they represent. Their day-to-day operations may change, but robots are unlikely to replace human marketers anytime soon.
RELATED: Will Robots Replace Us? 4 Jobs Artificial Intelligence Can’t Beat (Yet!)
final thoughts
AI has the potential to transform the marketing industry, but AI will not replace human marketers. Instead, AI and ML can optimize and streamline current marketing approaches.
Both technologies can handle repetitive tasks, allowing human team members to focus on what they do best and develop creative campaigns that attract more customers than ever before.
