There has been some exploration around the use of AI in digital marketing. For example, AI can be used to analyse what type of advertising content or copy would be appropriate to ‘speak’ to a specific target customer group by revealing information about trends and preferences through the analysis of big data. (46) AI can also be used to identify the lifestyle choices of customers regarding their hobbies, favourite celebrities and fashions to provide unique content in marketing messages put out through social media. At the same time AI can also be used to generate content for social media posts and chat sites. AI can also provide a bridge between the need of the brand to communicate emotionally with the customer and identifying their rapidly changing needs.
The main disadvantage of using AI to respond to customers is that there are concerns about trusting personal interactions to machines, which could lead not only to the subsequent loss of interpersonal connections, but also to a decrease in marketing personnel. (47) Some believe that AI is negatively impacting on the marketer’s role by reducing creativity and removing jobs, but they are aware that it is a way of reducing costs and creating new information. By allowing AI to develop content some brand marketers may find that they are losing control over the brand narrative. (48) Algorithms that are used to simulate human interactions are creating many of these concerns, especially as no-one is quite sure what the outcomes of using AI to interact with customers will be.
For AI to be successful, data needs to be accessible, but the use of personal data is becoming more regulated and the automated sharing of data is becoming more difficult. (49) If customers are not willing to share data, AI will be starved of essential information and will not be able to function effectively or employ machine learning to improve its marketing content and communication. Therefore, unless customers are prepared to sign release agreements, the use of AI may become somewhat restricted in the future. Not only can AI help to create the marketing content, but it can also provide a non-intrusive way of delivering the content to the target customers. Data can be gathered on where the customer can be engaged, such as location, devices used, website interactions, and sites visited, to display marketing messages inappropriate forms, including emails, social media posts, pop-up advertisements, and banners at an appropriate frequency. (50) The non-intrusive delivery of the marketing messages in a way that is sensitive to the needs of the target customer is one of the critical challenges to the digital marketer.
(46) AI can also be used to identify the lifestyles choices of customers regarding their hobbies, favuorite celebrities, and fashions to provide unique content in marketing messages put out through social media.
