In marketing, AI is only intelligent in name

AI is a hot topic in marketing, as evidenced by the popularity of the search term "ChatGPT" on Google Trends. On LinkedIn, it seems like every day there is a new "smart list" of all the things you can do with AI. However, despite its name, AI still has a lot to prove when it comes to true intelligence.

I get it. It's easy to get carried away when we have something at our disposal that was once only found in science fiction movies and books, especially in the field of digital marketing. After all, anyone can do marketing, right?

However, digital marketing is a complex and ever-changing field that requires a deep understanding of technology, consumer behavior, and data analytics. It is not something that should be taken lightly, and anyone who wants to be successful in this field should be prepared to put in the time and effort to learn the ropes.

Before we delve deeper, let's clarify a few concepts.

AI refers to a machine’s ability to solve tasks that would typically require human thinking or understanding. Unlike how humans process information, AI relies on algorithms and statistical models. This is not entirely new. In fact, elements of AI have been used in marketing applications for some time now, such as optimizing digital advertising, personalizing websites, identifying trends, creating or responding to customer history-based emails, creating content, recognizing voice prompts, and more.

Remember the last time you called a company and a "robot" asked you questions to direct you to the right place or gave you automated responses? How long did it take you to start frantically pressing 0 or repeating "representative"?

In Marketing, we aim to create close and lasting relationships with our customers in order to make money. The question is, if our relationship with the customer is entirely based on a lie (or a machine output), what can we expect from it? How would you feel if I told you that a robot generated all of the ideas and text that you've read so far? Cheated?

I am convinced that AI tools have a prominent role in marketing in general and digital marketing in particular. In fact, I am one of the first academics at Sacred Heart University Jack Welch College of Business & Technology to incorporate ChatGPT into my Social Media class. In the classroom, I asked ChatGPT to write 20 tweets for a business, and they “magically” appeared. My students were astonished, and I then showed them how to improve these tweets. I asked ChatGPT to rewrite them for a specific market segment with certain user preferences, emphasizing particular offers and highlighting tangible product benefits. When we compared the original 20 tweets to the ones we rewrote, we saw that the results were entirely different, even though the same AI generated both.

The point is that the "intelligence" is not in the generated answers. The "intelligence" is in the questions you ask and your evaluation of the final product.

The point is that the "intelligence" is not in the generated answers. The "intelligence" is in the questions you ask and your evaluation of the final product. A person without marketing experience would have settled for the first 20, confirming Molière's words from about 400 years ago, "A learned fool is more of a fool than an ignorant fool."

AI tools will elevate those who can ask the right marketing questions and can properly judge the results and implications of the answers. That's why every marketing professional is responsible for learning and understanding the capabilities and limitations of this new technology.

The world belongs to the wise, not to the intelligent. In the realm of business, especially in digital marketing, it's crucial to be wise and prepared to leverage intelligent tools like AI.?

AI is not a magical solution to all marketing problems. While it can be helpful in numerous areas, it cannot completely replace empathetic human intelligence and creativity. Instead of relying solely on AI, marketing specialists should use it as a tool to improve their work and make more informed decisions.

AI will inevitably replace those whose sole expertise is limited to using AI-generated chat outputs without fully understanding the responsibilities and consequences of their actions.

What is your take?

Dr. Claudio Schapsis

P.S. Full disclosure: The ideas are my own, but Grammarly and ChatGPT assisted me in enhancing the language.

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