How AI can affect digital marketing

Businesses are constantly looking for innovative new ways to connect with their customers, increase engagement, and drive growth. After all, in business, staying ahead of the curve is paramount to success.

It’s for this reason that over the last two decades the use of digital marketing strategies in almost every industry has become second nature. From SEO services and paid media strategies to social media optimisation and digital PR, this marketing revolution has seen businesses build on traditional advertising techniques by incorporating burgeoning forms of new technology into their marketing strategies. However, a new generation of technological advancement is now promising to revolutionise the marketing landscape once again. This game-changer is Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In this article, we will explore the transformative impact of AI on marketing. We will focus specifically on how AI will change the face of digital marketing going forward.

What is AI?

In its simplest form, AI refers to different types of software that can perform various cognitive functions that are traditionally carried out by humans. From programs that can understand and respond to speech and generate written and visual content in a matter of moments to AI algorithms that can write code and problem solve, functional AI technology is already used in many industries. However, recent developments such as the roll out of ChatGPT and Google Bard have made AI more accessible than ever before.

When it comes to content marketing, AI is revolutionising digital marketing campaigns, transforming the way businesses engage with their target audiences. Through its various applications, such as machine learning and natural language processing, these automated programs are reshaping the future of marketing by enabling data-driven decision making, personalised interactions, and enhanced customer experiences.

How does AI work?

Different AI programs work in different ways. However, as a rule, all AI systems rely on large stores of data to learn and improve their performance over time. Typically, so-called ‘machine learning’ algorithms find and analyse patterns in specific groups of relevant datasets which enables the programs to carry out their specific function – be that writing content on a specified topic or understanding language, for example.

With the amount of data held on potential consumers growing all the time, AI has become a valuable tool in the world of digital marketing. Indeed, with the ability to make data-based decisions quickly and accurately, there are a series of ways AI is being implemented in this field.

How AI is changing the future of digital marketing

Although the rapid development of AI is proving useful in many fields, when it comes to digital marketing the automation and efficiency benefits it can bring to customer acquisition and engagement is paramount. Of course, relatively speaking, we are still very much in the early days of commercialised AI use. However, based on what we have seen so far, even the initial phases of AI applications have the power to revolutionise digital marketing.

From the ideation stage all the way to conversion, AI can play an essential role in the success of any digital marketing strategy. Naturally, businesses that are able to adopt AI technology early and integrate it into their procedures as soon as possible can gain an advantage over their competitors.

Below we take a look at a number of ways businesses can use AI to improve their digital marketing strategies:

Efficient customer behaviour analysis

By leveraging machine learning algorithms, AI has the ability to not only spot patterns in customer behaviour, but actually predict it. Aspects of customer behaviour that AI tools can provide insights on include purchase intent, likelihood of repeat custom, and churn risk. Naturally, businesses can then use these insights to tweak their digital marketing strategies in real-time, better optimise campaigns, create personalised content, and make more data-driven decisions.

Personalised content creation

As discussed above, one of AI’s largest advantages is its ability to find useful patterns in vast amounts of data. The more efficiently a business can analyse data, the more quickly it can learn and understand its potential customers. AI algorithms can analyse customer data – including browsing and purchase history, past search queries and bookmarked product pages – and use this information to create custom campaigns that are more relevant. Naturally, by reaching out exclusively to the appropriate audience and using bespoke messaging, this can help businesses to increase the engagement and conversion rates of their marketing campaigns.

Optimised customer support

Through the use of semantic recognition and language processing technology, AI chatbots have made providing 24/7 customer support easier, and more cost-effective, than ever before. These increasingly commonly-used systems allow businesses to replace traditional ‘one-to-one’ customer service methods with ‘one-to-many’ alternatives, meaning customer support can be delivered to an almost infinite number of customers at any one time. Due to the automated nature of AI-driven chatbots, they are also highly efficient. Unlike human customer service agents, chatbots can operate 24/7 and provide consistency across the board. This has the potential to improve customer satisfaction levels and reduce response time, both of which can lead to better customer retention.

Rapid sentiment analysis

Manually collating and analysing feedback data to determine customer sentiment towards your brand (or an individual product/service you offer) can be very time consuming and expensive. AI tools can be used to automate this process. Tools such as Brand24 and OpenText can be used to help businesses better understand the perceptions of customers. This information can then be used to shape future digital marketing campaigns.

Dynamic pricing

Although not appropriate for all businesses, the introduction of dynamic pricing efficiencies can also be enabled through the smart use of AI. AI-driven dynamic pricing tools use algorithms to automatically adjust the prices products and services are listed at depending on changing market forces. This can include everything from changing demand and usage trends to the time of day and the amount of stock available. This is an AI-driven strategy made famous by brands such as Uber and Deliveroo.

Final thoughts

Overall, AI’s integration into digital marketing undoubtably brings unparalleled advantages. Its ability to analyse vast amounts of data, deliver personalised experiences, and optimise various aspects of marketing is already starting to transform the way businesses connect with customers – and this is only the start. Embracing AI-driven technologies is crucial for staying competitive and achieving success in the dynamic digital landscape.