Without a doubt, artificial intelligence is on a path to revolutionise operations, businesses and even industries, laying the groundwork for a world that is more productive and efficient. And now AI is ready to rewrite how we are reaching, engaging, and communicating with customers in today's ever-evolving world of digital marketing. 

Developing a successful digital marketing campaign requires a combination of both artistic and scientific thinking. In order to see tangible outcomes, it is important for marketers to collaborate and find the perfect balance between creativity and science in their marketing strategy. While creative marketing aims to draw the attention of consumers, scientific marketing delivers measurable and trackable results. Standing in 2024. the science behind modern marketing lies in integrating new age technologies like automation and AI, to stay abreast of the upcoming trends and competitors move in the marketing industry.

While new strategies and tools are constantly being introduced in the digital marketing space, none have yet to have the same impact as artificial intelligence. Reports suggest an impressive 61.4% of marketers have already incorporated AI into their marketing operations, with 44.4% leveraging its capabilities for content creation. Even more astonishing, 19.2% of marketers have already invested over 40% of their marketing budget towards AI-driven campaigns. The global market revenues of AI in marketing are projected to grow from 27.37 billion USD in 2023 to 107.5 billion in 2028. As AI advances, we can expect to see more innovative applications emerge. However, rather than waiting for the technology to evolve, it is important for marketers to begin determining how they can use the AI to improve their operations. 

Let’s decode the impact of AI in digital marketing and how it’s influencing marketers’ strategies.

Breaking the AI bubble in marketing 

Since AI is still evolving, it is increasingly generating both excitement and concerns around the world. While debate rages around AI replacing humans, it’s clear that the technology is not here to seize any jobs but can be leveraged as an efficient tool to increase productivity. AI can be leveraged as a learning and research tool with the ability to think, learn, and auto correct itself. However, it lacks the creativity to generate fresh and unique ideas that can bring new changes to the world, hence its applications are also limited. In marketing, AI’s current applications range from data collection, analysis, and additional observations of audience or economic trends that may impact marketing efforts. 

Going forward, marketers need to have a clear understanding of the capabilities and limitations of AI. Firstly, AI is not infallible, it functions based on data and inputs received, hence it can make mistakes, especially when dealing with unstructured or ambiguous data. Secondly, AI can help us craft strategies and campaigns, but it lacks true creativity and originality needed to get the job done. If the AI marketing tools aren't fed with high-quality data that is accurate and updated, marketers will tend to make inaccurate decisions that fail to reflect what their consumers want, making their marketing strategy unsuccessful. 

Additionally, AI marketing tools can’t decide by itself what actions need to be taken to achieve certain marketing objectives. The current algorithms need to be trained and put under different situations for different products and services to learn and devise the best possible strategies and decisions. 

Marketers are on the winning side of the AI disruption

By integrating AI tools, marketers can personalise content based on the customer’s  interests, behaviour, demographics, and preferences. This enhances customer experience and helps businesses create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns that increase conversion. 

Here are some ways AI tools are helping marketers win: 

AI can be used to solve questions that previously required human intervention, such as predicting customer demand or product promotions. 
AI-powered tools automate the process of creating compelling headlines and optimising content for better metrics like email open rates and social media shares. 
By analysing big data, AI helps marketers understand each customer on a more personal and deeper level. 
By predicting past interactions and determining patterns, AI helps marketers predict future trends and make decisions.
AI as a game changer

Customers' needs and demands change with time, and marketers must stay on top of these changes to gain maximum benefits. By training AI systems specifically for marketing activities, AI algorithms are able to identify trends and offer reliable solutions to consumer inquiries.  For example, consumers like to view advertisements that are relevant to them and address their concerns. Marketers with advanced AI tools can identify and reach the right audience at the right time and in turn increase chances of conversion. 

When paired with ML (Machine Learning) AI tools help to distinguish between actual buyers by analysing exploratory behaviour and patterns of the consumer and retarget the potential leads with a higher chance of converting them.  

Ways AI can improve customer experiences

AI and customer experience have become deeply intertwined in the modern business environment. As the number of AI-powered tools continue to increase, marketers are exploring a variety of exciting new use cases for AI and machine learning technologies. With the right AI tools,  organisations can collect crucial information including purchase history, browsing habits, and buying trends based on different age groups and geographies, allowing organisations to focus on areas and age groups with the most potential. 

Using AI in marketing can also improve the Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy and  performance, giving marketers the edge, they need to win the early-stage game in the competitive field. One of the advantages of AI is its ability to continuously improve products based on their feedback. This ensures that GTM strategies are not static and can continue to evolve to meet dynamic market needs. Instead of manually tracking your competitors, you should deploy AI to continuously monitor your competitors, analysing their GTM strategies and developing counter strategies accordingly

It’s crucial to use AI in Marketing responsibly

By understanding the importance of responsible utilisation of AI in marketing and adopting similar principles into our strategies, marketers can create a more inclusive and trustworthy digital environment for both businesses and consumers alike. One of the key concerns related to using AI responsibly is the ethical usage of data privacy and security. As AI systems gather vast amounts of personal information about individual customers, it is the prime responsibility as a marketer to handle this data carefully and ensure it remains protected from misuse or unauthorised access. 

While AI can access millions of customers at the same time it is unable to translate a sense of human connection to the customers. Even though artificial intelligence (AI) can provide tailored experiences at scale and expedite procedures, real human interaction cannot be undervalued. Today, marketers should think of maintaining a balance between using automated systems and preserving real connections while devising marketing strategies for their clients. 

Moving ahead: 

To use AI in marketing responsibly and ethically, it is crucial to stay transparent with the consumers. While using AI algorithms to recommend or personalise information, it is critical to convey the same to the client or consumer properly. By giving consumers access to this information up front, marketers can gain their credibility and give them the power to make wise decisions.