AI Adoption in Marketing - Friend or Foe?

I’ve decided to start leaning into the world of artificial intelligence (AI), so I’m undertaking an AI in Marketing course. Here are some of my insights and watch-outs - ?

The landscape of marketing and business is on the cusp of a rapid transformation. While various forms of AI have been around for some time, the widespread adoption of new technologies is fundamentally altering the rules of the game.

AI is poised to revolutionise a lot of areas of marketing. Initially, AI will significantly impact data utilisation, particularly in terms of insights and segmentation. It will enhance real-time campaign optimisation, streamline campaign integration, and will continue to improve media optimisation. Additionally, AI will boost content output, especially through iterative processes (without replacing human creativity!). Furthermore, AI can deepen customer connections by enabling personalised experiences. Lastly, it will contribute to general process improvements in everyday tasks and team management.

I’ve been fascinated by the rapid adoption of technologies and the enthusiasm shown by users already (even just the last couple of months). I believe the timing of implementation of AI technologies will be unlike anything we’ve seen before. On a personal level, I’m amazed at how frequently I’ve been using Copilot, even in just a couple of weeks.

Key watchouts for me include ensuring that our teams accurately identify the pain points or opportunities that an AI solution can address. Additionally, we need to provide support through potential change management and be prepared for how it will impact our team’s ways of working. While focusing on new efficiencies, we must also maintain a strong commitment to privacy – making sure the guardrails are on before we get lost in the excitement of new shiny toys.

It is also crucial that we comprehend how these tools function and recognise their limitations before integrating them. Remember that large language models like ChatGPT-4 strive to convince the audience that they know what they are discussing, but they are also constrained by the information they provide, which may be flawed. Therefore, we must be mindful of AI’s boundaries - AI can’t create charisma!

On a macro level, I do worry about the impact to different industries – almost every industry could see widescale implementation and whilst there’s incredible benefits I do wonder about the impacts to a changing workforce. Are enough conversations being had about the societal impacts and how much of different workforces, like ours, may need to reskill? I also worry that there might not be enough ethicists in this space to ensure societal guard rails (we’ve already seen this play out in the IP space).

Even though I only have enough knowledge to be dangerous, I’m genuinely excited about the opportunities that AI presents, particularly in the realm of marketing solutions. However, we must remain vigilant during this journey and continue engaging in conversations to ensure we establish the right guardrails.

For those that aren’t on the journey I encourage you to take the first step to explore more (even just start using Copilot or ChatGPT as a test)– it’s an exciting space.

Ok…back to study!