When many people think about artificial intelligence it’s likely that they’re picturing scenes from the movie iRobot rather than their iPhones. However, we all use AI on a daily basis. We are constantly coming into contact with it during almost every visit to the internet and impulsive checking of our smartphones. In the year 2017, we’re ready and willing to usher in the true age of intelligent machines, especially when it comes to AI marketing.
The pursuit of achieving greater reach and user engagement for a brand is never-ending, even for those well supplanted in the digital ecosystem. As human marketers, we can only really do so much with the data we interpret and extrapolate to drive our strategies. Almost inevitable to the evolution of digital marketing, finding ways to innovate through AI often means adding convenience and value in the same motion. So looking into 2017’s crystal ball, what does AI marketing look like and where might it take us?
5 Ways AI Marketing is Here Now
1. Deep Learning
Generally speaking, the usage of deep learning is what lies behind most forms of marketing AI. What’s happening basically comes down to computers learning how to understand the text, speech, images, and other information in order to generate answers, clarify queries, and even offer suggestions. Through layers of linear and non-linear algorithms, the input received is filtered to produce output that is likely to yield the desired results.
To really drive this point home, Google’s Penguin is now a self-updating AI – and if they’re not leading the charge no one is.
2. New UX Opportunities
Since the internet is still mostly accessed by human users, designing the user experience (UX) of a website often lends itself to recurring visitors, lower bounce rates, more sales, etc. By harnessing the power of AI to interact with users according to their learned preferences, navigating a site or getting acquainted with new functions of a page can be made easier. Some can even dynamically respond to produce a look and feel that is continually updating itself.
3. Speech Recognition
Clearly, voice-assisted search is gaining a foothold in our internet of things with no reason to slow down for quite a bit. The ‘Big Five’ tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft) have already each introduced their take on the virtual assistant, some even rolling physical in-home models like Google Home and Amazon Echo. We all await Apple’s take on the product. Excitingly, AI marketing from here on out is going to mean producing copy, keyword terms, and aligning SEO strategies with ranking for queries in the natural way they’re spoken. Keep in mind it’ll be some time before all the kinks are worked out.
4. Predictive Search and Ad Targeting
Like Google’s RankBrain, algorithms can analyze spoken or written search queries to produce the results you’re most likely looking for. Subsequent searches may also be tailored to past user activity and searches, taking into account how successful they were previously. Logically, this has come to allow ads to specifically target and follow users around the web, tailoring content to move individuals through the sales cycle.
5. Dynamic Pricing
Although it’s already common in the travel industry, we’ll likely see wider use of dynamic pricing models as AI marketing is realized to a fuller extent. Though if you’ve ever left an item in your Amazon shopping cart only to find the price had changed overnight, you’ve likely experienced dynamic pricing at work. Perhaps one day all internet commerce will have streamlined prices based on how people are responding to a product and what AI can learn from their actions and preferences.
There are still many other forms of AI that marketers can utilize, namely chatbots, website designing platforms, and even artificial neural networks. Understanding new ways to integrate this technology will continually drive AI marketing to be the focus of nearly all digital professionals from here on out.
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