Artificial Intelligence: The Future for Digital Marketing?
With artificial intelligence being one of the biggest opportunities in business for the next decade it’s no surprise many businesses and organizations have started using utilizing it. But what is artificial intelligence?
AI is the ability of a robot controlled by a computer to complete tasks that are usually done by humans. Everyday people use AI through modern conveniences with suggestions or recommended posts/video. According to Small Business Marketing Studio “40% of digital marketing and sales teams prioritize AI and machine learning and consider it a critical component to their success.” But why only 40%? What is keeping the rest from joining in on AI? To start, I will cover the pros and cons to using AI in digital marketing.
Pros: AI in digital marketing cuts down costs in the long run, at first to invest in the systems it may be costly, but after not having to pay an employee, it pays off and saves money. AI has been shown to help improve the efficiency in the digital marketing industry by allowing a marketing team to focus on more important tasks leading to a more successful digital marketing plan by eliminating the time-consuming tasks the worker is able to complete. With an AI unit being designed through lines of coding and instructions, having an AI unit do a company’s digital marketing eliminates the problem of human error. Consumers are more inclined to interact with personalized digital marketing messages, such as websites using a recommended for you section; “79% of consumers are likely to use brand promotions if there’re specifically tailored to past interactions.”
Cons: Whereas artificial intelligence may sound good with regard to all the benefits there’s still a downside. Many companies are still using to fight from utilizing AI in their digital marketing. AI systems can only make logic-based decisions not being able to include empathy for the consumers. For example: Uber’s AI system determines the costs of rides based upon supply and demand. But a while back a shooting in a large city occurred in which many individuals attempted to use uber to get away from the situation and as the demand went up, the rate for those rides also went up. This made uber seem selfish and only caring about money instead of the welfare of their consumers. With many people in the world afraid that AI is going to pose a threat to humanity, as a species take over the world and rule us, it also brings the dilemma of eliminating jobs, which is not a great ideal for a company’s PR team. A major con in the digital marketing world is how the algorithms are not always reliable. The digital marketing industry changes and grows every day and with that an algorithm would have to be changed as well, having an outdated algorithm could actually hurt more than help. A main tool of AI is so-called chatbots which have a very neutral opinion about AI, they may only interpret basic functions. And meaning if someone has a complex problem or issue, it could be very frustrating for them to resolve.
With Artificial intelligence being used everywhere in our day-to-day lives, digital marketers should be aware of the power given to systems and how much the systems may acknowledge. The digital marketing industry grows every day along with the need for jobs within it. Companies will be forced to confront the question of whether those jobs should be filled with artificial intelligence systems, or a human hand?
Sources:
Artificial Intelligence: The Pros and Cons in Marketing. Small Business Marketing Studio. (2020, October 26). https://smallbusinessmarketingstudio.com/artificial-intelligence-pros-and-cons-marketing/.
Beebe, M. (2019, July 8). Considering The Pros and Cons of Using Artificial Intelligence In Marketing. Stevens & Tate Marketing. https://stevens-tate.com/directors/considering-the-pros-and-cons-of-using-artificial-intelligence-in-marketing/.