AI Will Be a Huge Disrupting Force in Marketing

Artificial intelligence is on the verge of having a quantum impact on the marketing industry. By quantum, I mean to say that the speed, scale, and impact of the disruption AI causes will be truly unprecedented. 

 While AI is in its infancy, it is here now and is gaining momentum by the day, at an extraordinary pace. Both machine learning—training computers to perform tasks by learning from previous data & examples—and deep learning—using neural networks to recognize previously imperceptible correlations and patterns—are driving this transformation. 

 The results are breathtaking and will only continue to get more sophisticated. Already, AI can comb through endless troves of data from a vast multitude of sources and make sense out of the chaos, generating powerful, actionable insights. This is an incredible boon for marketers’ effectiveness and efficiency. Right now, more data is produced and gathered than can be readily understood. With AI, marketers will be able to deeply learn about consumer behavior, enabling actions that are highly relevant and appropriate in any given context, and have the ability to create highly optimized, personalized programs on the fly.

 Even with robust data science and data analytics programs, marketers have never had access to these kinds of actionable insights. As a result, we will be able to get much closer to consumers; we can have our finger on the pulse of everything that is happening at every stage of the marketing value chain. And this can be acted on in real-time, at the most opportune moments, in seamless and nonintrusive ways! This will have a profound impact on the connections between consumers and brands. 

 While AI will help save a significant amount of time and energy by finding the right, relevant insights, that is only one of the many advantages it brings. It enables us to measure effectiveness, build precise prediction models, power chatbots and virtual assistants….AI is creating paintings in the style of classical masters that are convincing enough to fool the experts. AI is composing music—the first album contract between an AI engine and a record label has already been inked.  AI is writing articles in specific journalistic styles, in a manner and substance that looks very authentic and makes total sense. And, of course, it is creating deep fake videos, as well. Given this reality, how far is AI from creating ads? Well, digital banner ads are currently being produced by AI and I predict it will create full-fledged videos in the not-too-distant future. While AI will not be capable of original creativity, it can do a fine job of compiling and composing various previously createdelements/components, creating an entirely new genre of ads.

I understand this all might seem a bit daunting. The good news is that marketers will be enormously empowered by AI, if only they know how to leverage it. Education is the first key to a marketer’s success on this path.

 If you are interested in learning more about AI and its implications for marketers, I wrote a full chapter on the topic in my WSJ best-selling book, “Q?uantum Marketing”