Artificial Intelligence, a Brief Users Guide for the CMO

The discussion about what artificial intelligence (AI) means for business isn't going away. It is deepening and intensifying as the full implications of this technology come into view.

What will AI transform? In a word: everything

What we're looking at is a systemic change on par with the effects of electricity or the automobile. AI isn't a gadget. It's a technological system that's going to change how we interact with everything—including each other. 

For CMOs, that means we have to come to a new understanding of how our customers experience our brands and how work gets done within our companies. And the AI market is growing fast. The number of AI-related mergers and acquisitions increased by six-fold during the period from 2010 to 2017, going from $20 billion to over $120 billion.[1] Now is the time to make a plan about how to adapt and stay ahead of the curve.

AI ISN'T THE FUTURE, IT'S THE PRESENT

AI is no longer limited to the realm of science fiction, like the computer in 2001 or the sentient robots in movies Ex Machina. If you've got a smartphone or have shopped on online, you've already experienced AI. Two-thirds of what people watch on Netflix and more than a third of what people buy on Amazon are because an AI-empowered algorithm recommended it.[2] When Facebook suggests people to tag in your photos or recognizes your friends and family, that's AI at work. When your navigation app selects a new commute based on traffic predictions? That's also AI.

As we interact with the technology in these and new ways, we're actively shaping the way AI impacts our lives, both on our own devices and in the big picture. Like a child or a pet, AI learns from patterns it sees in our behavior, both what we say and what we do. Just as an airline website learns to predict our travel needs, whole cities with smart infrastructure may someday learn to predict the needs of their citizens.

As marketers and brand guardians, this means we already have opportunities to use AI to understand our customers better. If you work for a company that uses chatbots, as many banks, airlines, and even some media outlets do, you've already got a wealth of data from which you should be squeezing every possible insight.

As we all internalize the expectation to receive ever more customized experiences, brands that do this will have a distinct advantage. By 2021, 15% of all customer service interactions will be completely handled by AI, an increase of 400% from 2017.[3] And by 2020, 25 percent[4] of customer service operations will use virtual customer assistants.

AI CAN HELP YOU TIE MARKETING AND REPUTATION MORE CLOSELY TO YOUR COMPANY'S STRATEGY

What would any marketer give to be able to predict the future? With the insights about customer behavior that AI offers, CMOs are now in a better position than ever to help their company's strategists, from the CEO on down, do just that.

By linking data to every customer touch point, and by using AI to find patterns in that data, CMOs can take the marketing and reputation efforts that are already essential for any company and extract new value from them.

Every sales call, every piece of social content, every blog post, every ad, and even every company event can now do double duty. Of course, they help enhance a company's reputation and sell products, but they also gather data, test out new ideas, and find new efficiencies.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?

• LOOK. Look at the ways AI is impacting different parts of your company and your customers. Much like information technology in, say, the 1980s or 1990s, AI isn't going to impact every vertical in your company or every customer touch point at the same time or in the same way. So, look for the verticals it's impacting first and the highest areas of customer impact, and take the time to learn from them. And for the verticals it's likely to impact last, take the time to help them prepare.
• LEAD. Be an AI advocate, and steward. Like big data, artificial intelligence isn't smart on its own. It's only as smart as the direction we give it. So, get ready to train it to learn your company's goals, values, brand positioning and customer strategies. Like any smart employee who's learning the ropes, you'll need to tap into your reserves of patience and even creativity to get this right.
• LEARN. AI is the most robust technological tool marketers have (perhaps have ever had). If any problem involves data, then an AI can likely be trained to help. Take the time to learn how AI can truly enhance what your teams are already doing. If there's a data stream out there that's untapped, hooking it up to an artificial intelligence and giving it a goal might produce some unexpected efficiencies or a new direction for your creatives to follow. Have a process that everybody has to do but hates doing? That's another possibility for AI to step in and help. Build AI into the way you manage now, and you'll likely be managing differently, and better, in the future.

 How is AI affecting your company? How is it affecting the way you do your job or the way your colleagues do theirs? If you had the ability to apply it to any aspect of what you or your company does, what would it be?

sources:

[1] "Artificial Intelligence: Battle of the Brains" The Economist, December 9th, 2017

[2] Ibid.

[3] Gartner

[4] Gartner

Paul Suchman has built his career understanding, building, and rebuilding iconic global brands, making them resilient and relevant in the face of cultural and technological change. He has held senior positions with CBRE, BBDO and Ogilvy, and serves on the advisory board of USC's Marshall School of Business. He also currently serves as CMO-in-residence with WPP and as an executive advisor for Oceana.