Using AI for content is a little like using a crowbar for a hammer. Yes, it can get the job done, but it’s going to be a messy process with uneven results. AI is a great tool for researching content, even generating outlines and rough drafts, but it should be used sparingly on the content drafting side of things.
Where AI really shines in marketing is in data analysis. AI and machine learning algorithms are very good at spotting trends in large data sets. As we marketers lose some of our most useful data tools, AI and machine learning can help us pick up the pieces.
Here’s the current state of generative AI for marketing data, and how it looks to evolve in the near future.
How generative AI unlocks the potential of marketing data
Marketers have no shortage of customer data on hand — quite the opposite. The challenge is to:
- Analyze massive amounts of data for meaningful insights.
- Put these insights to work in a timely fashion.
Fortunately, generative AI can help with multiple aspects of these challenges.
Insight generation
AI algorithms can generate insight from data more efficiently and thoroughly than people can. AI can analyze massive data sets to uncover hidden patterns that might not show up in traditional analytics tools. As AI grows more sophisticated, it is also able to take on unstructured data that historically would have required human analysis. Text, images, and behavioral markers can all be a quantifiable part of your customer data set.
Advanced behavior-based segmentation
Traditionally, marketers have relied on demographic attributes to create segments, with a reliance on third-party data. Generative AI algorithms can take a more nuanced approach by analyzing customer behavior to identify segments that are likely to convert given a specific intervention. Behavior-based segmentation gives marketers more insight into the who and why of their customers that goes far beyond age, gender, or job title.
Personalization in real-time at scale
Personalization is the cost of entry for marketers now. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI algorithms can identify patterns and preferences unique to each individual or persona and identify trigger points. Whether it’s hyper-relevant personalized product recommendations, dynamic email content, or targeted ad campaigns, generative AI makes the superhuman super possible.
Predictive analytics
Generative AI uses machine learning algorithms to analyze historical data and generate predictive models. These models help reduce our overhead in a variety of ways, including forecasting customer lifetime value, developing an ideal customer profile, identifying customers at risk before they churn, and ranking leads by their potential lifetime value.
Automation
Generative AI plays a pivotal role in the automation revolution, powering chatbots, virtual assistants, and other AI-driven tools that handle routine tasks with speed and efficiency. By automating repetitive processes such as customer support inquiries, lead scoring, and content generation, businesses can focus their human resources on more strategic initiatives, driving innovation and growth.
What’s next for AI in marketing
The capabilities of AI are evolving fast. Marketers will find a bumper crop of new ways to know their audience, understand their journeys, and deliver the right messaging at the right time. Here’s a look at what’s next.
Enhanced customer experience
Many brands are already experimenting with AI-powered customer experience, from personalized chatbots to virtual shopping assistants. Expect to see these experiences become more immersive on the customer side, and easier to orchestrate and deliver on the marketing side.
Hyper-personalization (without cookies!)
As AI combs data from various sources, you’ll be able to deliver highly resonant and specific content, one-to-one, at scale.
Voice and visual search
Voice search and visual search are growing trends that marketers need to incorporate into their strategies to stay ahead.
Augmented analytics
AI will help marketers quantify their results in a more understandable way, providing deeper insight into customer journeys, implementing more accurate attribution, and helping create a narrative for the data.
More flexible and adaptable marketing
Increased efficiency and automation of manual tasks will help marketers become more adaptable and agile, responding to changing market dynamics with greater speed and precision.
For more about AI and marketing, read Age of SGE: How Will AI Affect Search Traffic in the Next Decade?
About the author
Joshua Nite is dedicated to bringing humanity, empathy, and humor to content marketing. His two ironclad rules: Never settle for commodity content, and never write anything you wouldn’t want to read. Great writing takes heart, soul, guts and rhythm. Josh is also the once and future Pundamonium Pun Slam champion, a stand-up comedian and storyteller, and is getting pretty good at electric guitar. His only weakness: Extreme self-consciousness when writing about himself in the third person.