Marketers Must Demystify AI to Reap Its Benefits

There is not a single industry that has not been touched by artificial intelligence. One of the fields that has been most affected is the marketing profession.

Most marketers appreciate the benefits that AI offers. A 2017 report by Salesforce found that 51% of marketers are using AI in some capacity. My own anecdotal experiences suggest that figure has increased to around 80% this year.

However, many marketers are still unclear about the capabilities of AI. They also aren’t entirely sure what technology should be classified as artificial intelligence.

The most competent marketing companies are seeking greater clarity from vendors that use technology based on machine learning algorithms. Companies that use AI to facilitate marketers should provide better explanations. Marketers must also familiarize themselves with the opportunities and constraints of artificial intelligence. Otherwise, they risk overpaying for solutions, getting duped by AI snake oil salesman or setting unrealistic expectations for their campaigns.

Knowledge gaps limit the effectiveness of AI in marketing

The Content Marketing Institute did a small meta-study of various surveys on the use of artificial intelligence in marketing. They discovered some major inconsistencies across surveys. This seems to suggest that marketers are not highly knowledgeable about the nature of this new technology.

This raises a serious concern about their ability to utilize AI effectively. You can gauge some insights from observations made by MIT research scientist Luis Perez-Breva. Breva found that many marketers confuse data analysis with artificial intelligence. This misunderstanding is especially common in the retail sector, where marketers aren’t particularly technologically savvy.

Marketers need to seek greater clarification from vendors purporting to use AI

Jennifer Cannon, an author with Marketing Land, wrote an article on the need for a better understanding of AI in the marketing profession. She pointed out that businesses are spending more on AI in machine learning than ever. They are expected to invest $98 billion in this technology within the next three years.

Unfortunately, knowledge about AI has not grown proportionately with the market. As a result, many marketers are at risk of making investments that won’t deliver the expectations they expect.

Marketers should be careful not to get caught up in buzzwords without understanding exactly what they’re investing in, Matt Nolan, senior director of product marketing, decision sciences at Pegasystems, told Marketing Land in their article. AI is really an umbrella term for a broad scope of intelligent technologies that include natural language processing (NLP), image recognition, speech recognition, biometrics, automation, deep learning, etc.

This quote is right on point. Marketers that erroneously believe they are investing in AI technology might be tempted to overpay for the services. They might also believe the solutions they are investing in offer certain features that are not actually available, even when those features are not advertised.

It is easy to blame the problem on unscrupulous vendors. Some vendors might dishonestly claim their solutions incorporate AI technology to take advantage of uninformed companies. Other vendors might inadvertently misrepresent their technology based on their own misunderstandings about AI.

However, the blame doesn’t all lie with the vendors. Sometimes the vendors are completely transparent, but marketing firms are misled by miscommunications within their own department. The head of one department might incorrectly label a product they are considering investing in as an AI solution. Other members of the company might accept the definition unconditionally, which could create some serious misunderstandings with the rest of the team.

Marketers should understand some of the most common uses of AI, so they don’t fall victim to these misunderstandings. Common AI applications include:

• Using AI to automate email marketing. Some email marketing platforms use machine learning to optimize delivery and recommend content structures to boost engagement.
• AI could be used to streamline the delivery of advertisements. Advertising platforms like Propel Media are using machine learning to better understand the behavior of customers, so they can get ads in front of people that are most likely to convert.
• Some AI tools are able to recommend changes to content to boost engagement and optimize it for SEO.

There are a number of applications of AI in marketing. Marketers need to understand the relevance of this new technology to make the most of it.