The Latest Research into AI in Marketing

AI is becoming increasingly important for marketers.

But are you an embracer or a delayer when it comes to adopting this tech?

How’s your approach to AI going? Are you among the 64% of marketers using AI tools in their work, or are you still figuring out how best to harness the power of this technology? Perhaps you’re simply hanging in there, trying to continue with business as usual in a changing world?

Regardless of whether you’re an AI embracer or a delayer, there’s an undeniable sense that the technology is yet to have the impact many predicted it would during those heady days in early 2023, when we were warned that the end was nigh for content creators.

As with almost everything in the world of business and marketing, what came to pass was a bit more nuanced. Yet while the hype has subsided, innovation is continuing apace. And in fact, we should expect disruption to accelerate in the coming years as more businesses experiment with AI.

Big tech invests billions of dollars to deliver new benefits in AI

Many companies are using AI to analyse customer preferences to create more personalised experiences based on predictions about behaviour. However, personalisation has been a much-heralded objective for many years and it’s questionable that it’s really been achieved. Is AI genuinely capable of this?

AI tools are also helping to create visual content and support writers with idea generation and text editing.

The world’s biggest tech brands are acutely aware of these benefits – and the opportunity, and are ploughing billions of dollars into development. Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft are all investing heavily in the race to become next-generation AI leaders.

In 2023, funders channelled $29.1 billion into nearly 700 generative AI deals in what commentators say is driven by a fear of missing out.

Apple is a fascinating case study in this battle. The Financial Times recently reported how the personal computing behemoth had been headhunting Google staff for a new Swiss-based venture that could turbocharge AI powered smartphones.

As far as marketers are concerned, it’s essential to stay on top of trends and understand their implications – which range from considerations around upskilling to evolving business strategies.

This is precisely what our team of tech marketing specialists does. We’re continually consuming the latest research and news to ensure our customers receive the best advice. If you would like to receive our thoughts and perspectives on AI, please subscribe by downloading our eBook on the Tech Partnership site here.

How AI could shape marketing in the coming years

Among the tremendous wealth of insights and predictions available online, we recently came across this superb paper by consultants Gartner. It outlines five predictions for how AI is going to change the way we marketers do things. It’s well worth reading in full but here’s our summary.

• Prediction number one addresses fears that AI tools will replace or shrink marketing teams. In fact, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. That’s because businesses, whether agency or client side, will need to invest in talent needed to get the most out of the technology. By 2026, 80% of advanced creatives will harness generative AI to support their work.

• Prediction number two holds that by 2026, 60% of CMOs will need to adopt content authenticity technology and brand-endorsed user-generated content (UGC) to protect against deception caused by generative AI.

• Prediction number three expects that by 2025, a huge number of consumers (50%) will significantly limit social media usage. The reason being that users are being turned off by declining site quality. This means that CMOs will have to devise new approaches to customer acquisition and retention and reach people in different ways.

• The fourth prediction is that by 2027 a fifth of businesses will position themselves as “acoustic brands” – i.e. brands that avoid AI. We’re likely to see this in premium and safety-oriented markets and it could become a key point of differentiation.

• Finally, the marketing holy grail of ‘organic search traffic’ is forecast to fall by some 50% by 2028. This is because consumers are predicted to adopt generative AI-powered search, which will result in a need for unique branded content and channel diversification in order to maintain customer acquisition.

Staying informed about the AI revolution

It’s clear that as we look beyond the current crop of applications and use cases, the future of marketing will be very much intertwined with AI.

Innovation will accelerate in all verticals and even if you haven’t found a use for data-powered machine learning in your business, there’s a good chance that customers are being engaged by brands that do. You will be impacted.

That’s why now is the time to invest in learning about the opportunities afforded by AI and aligning with teams who see this as a major strategic priority.

So, whether you’re an AI embracer or an AI delayer, it is essential to stay attuned to developments in this vital area of tech innovation. To find out how Tech Partnership can help email us at hello@tech-agency.co.uk or subscribe to us by downloading our eBook here.

ENDS

Sources:

5 Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2024 and Beyond

Apple boosts plans to bring generative AI to iPhones

Apple targets Google staff to build artificial intelligence team

AI in Digital Marketing — The Complete Guide

Generative AI ‘FOMO’ is driving tech heavyweights to invest billions of dollars in startups