Mason Muir October 8, 2023

by Digital Marketing Institute

What is AI in Digital Marketing?

AI in digital marketing uses artificial intelligence capabilities such as data collection, natural language processing, machine learning, and data analysis to get customer insights and automate marketing tasks and decisions.

The advantage of AI is that it will help you gain insights into customer behaviors at speed by harvesting vast amounts of data. These can be used to respond to and tailor a customer’s needs depending on their actions and preferences. AI is also able to adapt and improve over time using feedback and new data.

Artificial intelligence offers great opportunities for marketers to be more effective and personalized. This means customers get relevant content that can be triggered by actions on a site, an ad, or a branded message.

But AI doesn’t replace the roles and efforts of humans! It is a technology that complements and enhances those but it requires human skills to use it effectively.

AI Digital Marketing Tools

While ChatGPT may be the most talked-about generative AI tool, there are so many more out there that are helping marketers in their daily roles. They can help marketers in a variety of functions from content generation to automation to SEO and design.

Here are some of the most effective AI tools out there:

  • Jasper – A content generation and optimization tool designed for augmenting content production
  • Writer – A highly-rated content generation tool that can repurpose content and includes an AI writing assistant
  • Midjourney – Generative AI that can convert natural language prompts into images
  • Optimove – A customer data platform with AI-based marketing functions
  • Zapier – Helps automate workflows by connecting apps and services that your company uses
  • Manychat – Provides an interactive customer experience using NLP to respond to customers on social platforms including WhatsApp
  • Evolv.ai – Uses AI and machine learning algorithms to improve customer experiences in real-time
  • Surfer SEO – A cloud-based on-page optimization tool that analyzes and compares your pages against what currently ranks on the SERPs
  • Perplexity – Similar to ChatGPT but more suitable for research as it uses web citations in a clearer way.

Examples of AI in Digital Marketing

The power of AI means it can be leveraged across many digital channels. Companies use it for social media campaigns, to automate tasks and processes, and for digital advertising.

It can also be used in any industry. Beauty brands use it to deliver a tailored customer experience such as Sephora’s AI chatbot-powered shopping service, while publishers like The Economist use AI-driven programmatic advertising to target and influence ‘reluctant readers’.

One of the most successful and well-known for using AI effectively is streaming giant Netflix which employs the technology to provide personalized recommendations based on user preferences and behavior.

Check out some amazing examples of AI in marketing to get inspiration.

How to Use AI in Digital Marketing

As AI technologies have become more accessible and easier to use, companies have started to use them in daily tasks such as creating content for PPC ads or setting up triggered email workflows.

When we asked our membership community at the Digital Marketing Institute about AI, over half felt their roles are changing due to the technology while 44% already use it. Of those who use artificial intelligence, 45% believe it has helped increase their productivity.

But what are marketers using AI for?

1. Content and image creation

Marketing teams are often under pressure to create content quickly for many purposes and channels. However, creating good content takes time and effort, and a lot of marketers are time- and resource-poor.

AI software such as ChatGPT and Jasper has exploded because it helps people to generate content: that’s why they’re called generative AI tools!  This could be email subject lines, ad copy, landing pages, blogs, or anything else you need for your content marketing. You can also use AI writing prompts to create catchy headlines and customize content for your audience which drives personalization.

Using these tools saves time and money. However, make sure to read over any content before publishing it live to ensure it has personality and fits in with your brand voice.

“People use AI because it’s lower cost and highly scalable. But if you don’t have a good creative platform and it doesn’t come from creative and data-driven insights, then it’s just spray and pray really,” says Mischa McInerney, CMO at the Digital Marketing Institute

“44% of marketers have used AI for content production” AI Marketing Benchmark Report 2023

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