Artificial intelligence is shaking up every industry, and marketing communications is no exception. AI is increasingly at the center of internal and external communication conversations, as communication permeates every company and impacts the way we all do business on many levels.
While AI may now seem like an exciting new technology thanks to the advent of generative tools like ChatGPT, the reality is that we've been living with it for some time. Once the product of her science fiction writing and Hollywood blockbusters, her AIs are like the futuristic Los Angeles in Her or Tony Stark's computer JARIS in the Marvel films. It is now firmly and productively integrated as part of the real world.
In fact, for many of us, AI is already part of our daily lives. Machine learning algorithms, the way AI systems perform tasks in response to user input, are the basis of smart home technologies such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's voice assistant Siri. The Face ID feature you use to unlock your phone is powered by AI, as is the Netflix recommendation engine that recommends the next series.
Here are some examples of how AI can benefit your marketing and communications efforts and outcomes.
∎ AI can create real-time marketing strategies and outreach by analyzing data at a much faster rate than humans.
∎ Make your ad placements more accurate based on human behavior by identifying the best channels for media buying in real time.
∎ AI-enhanced dashboards allow marketers to more accurately measure key performance indicators.
∎ AI can perform automated tasks, such as collecting and preparing consumer data and patterns, with little to no human intervention.
∎ Artificial intelligence can perform predictive analysis based on consumer data.
∎ AI algorithms can tailor messages to individual customers and create highly personalized content.
∎ AI can segment your audience based on similarities and target each distinctive group accordingly.
∎ When it comes to content creation, AI has the ability to create unique email marketing campaigns, generate product recommendations, and create social media posts and actual articles.
Artificial intelligence is here to stay and should be embraced, not feared. This needs to be part of a smart marketer's strategy to make their job easier and make decisions more accurate (and potentially cost-effective). It's not a question of if, but when AI will be fully integrated into most marketing decisions and communication efforts. Now, let's board the ship.
Contact Cathy Ackermann, founder and president of Ackermann Marketing and PR, at cackermann@thinkackermann.com. For the online version of this column, visit thinkackermann.com..
