AI in Marketing – Benefits and Limitations

There is no way around artificial intelligence in marketing. Everyone is talking about the great new possibilities offered by AI or the threat it poses.

Such a polarized discussion inevitably leads to many articles on the subject either taking a one-sided view of the advantages or a one-sided view of the disadvantages. The other side has little or no say.

Yet it is precisely the objective consideration of all the arguments that allows a well-founded and reliable decision to be made. In this case: Will AI help me in marketing, or not?

To make this decision easier and to look at the extensive topic from a marketing perspective, I threw myself into the research, tried it out and tested it. The result is this article, in which I will try to shed light on the most important aspects from both sides and give an outlook on how AI will develop in marketing in the future.

Artificial intelligence (AI) suggests a human-like way of thinking. In reality, it’s about the ability of computers and machines to perform complex tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning and understanding language.

This technology simulates human intelligence using algorithms and large amounts of data to solve problems and make decisions. However, true intelligence, i.e. consciousness, and emotional intelligence remain outside the capabilities of AI and their achievability is questioned by many scientists.

In the marketing context, AI integrates various techniques. Currently, language models such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, which can partially or even fully automate many marketing processes, are particularly popular.

These innovations build on older technologies that have long been used for the automated processing and analysis of data, which is essential in science for handling large volumes of data. They also support the automation of various processes in marketing:

• To recognize interesting recognize interesting developments quickly
• To automated performance reports to create
• In order to overview of parallel projects to keep
• To support the creation of content
• And many more.

In order to be able to talk seriously about the topic, it is necessary to clarify the terminology fundamentally before we talk about the advantages and limitations of AI in marketing.

Machine learning refers to computer programs that learn from data and improve themselves as a result. This technology uses “training data” to train algorithms so that programs such as ChatGPT can perform complex tasks and learn from experience.

Deep learning, a specific area of machine learning, uses deep neural networks to recognize complex patterns in large amounts of data. Inspired by the structure of the human brain, deep learning enables machines to process abstract data and learn from it, making them particularly suitable for demanding tasks such as image and speech recognition.

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an AI application that processes and understands language. NLP enables chatbots like ChatGPT to understand natural language and generate human-like responses, making them effective and impressive when interacting with users.

By using AI, marketing experts can not only access huge amounts of data faster and more efficiently, but also gain deeper and more precise insights into customer behavior and market trends.

AI algorithms are able to recognize patterns and correlations in data that would be too complex or subtle for human analysts. This capability enables marketers to develop personalized marketing strategies based on detailed customer profiles.

For example, customer preferences and purchasing behavior can be predicted, leading to more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.

In addition, AI helps to optimize marketing budgets by identifying the most likely paths to success and minimizing inefficient approaches.

The analysis of large amounts of data by AI enables data-driven decision-making that makes marketing more efficient, effective and responsive.

So let’s take another look at the many benefits of using artificial intelligence in a marketing context. The main aim here is to significantly increase both the efficiency and the accuracy of marketing activities.

Artificial intelligence therefore helps to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing measures. In addition to the obvious factor of saving time and processing large amounts of data, personalization is a particularly important argument.

We have highlighted the many benefits and applications of AI, but we also need to understand its limitations in order to fully exploit its potential. One of the main limitations is the dependence on data quality: AI is only as good as the data available to it.

ChatGPT, for example, trained with huge amounts of data, delivers wide-ranging but not always targeted answers. The solution could be a subject-specific, smaller data set, but this limits the flexibility of the AI.

AI is not a panacea, but a tool that works in combination with human guidance. It delivers optimum results when it receives precise instructions – a process known as “prompt engineering”. This requires specialist knowledge and sometimes programming skills, which increases the complexity of customization to specific company needs.

The problem of data quality leads to another challenge: the ethical responsibility of collecting large amounts of customer data. It is crucial both to gain customer trust and to observe legal and ethical standards when collecting data. A balance must be struck between extensive and legally compliant data.

The issue of job security also falls under ethical concerns. There is a lot of discussion about this and there are many different opinions. My personal assessment is that AI as a tool is an opportunity to achieve more with less effort.

I don’t expect AI to be able to completely replace human labor. In many areas, algorithms lack a human factor – be it intuition, creativity or simply a better feel for other people. AI always needs human guidance to ensure the quality of the results.

But I expect many professions and industries to be permanently changed by AI. And greater efficiency always means that some jobs are lost.

However, I suspect that this impact will be less than many fear. This is also because completely new tasks and jobs are emerging as a result of the changes in the industry.

Although it is difficult to predict specific developments, some trends are emerging.

AI will become increasingly important, especially as a brainstorming tool. In dialog with chatbots and through the analysis of large amounts of data, marketing professionals receive new ideas and become aware of current trends even faster than before.

Creating ad texts, subheadings and graphics is much easier and faster with the support of artificial intelligence, which leaves more time for other aspects of marketing work. AI also helps to increase relevance and target group orientation, meaning that content marketing in particular is benefiting more and more from AI tools.

At the same time, the quality factor is becoming increasingly important. As more content lands on the web thanks to artificial intelligence, the demand for content quality will continue to rise. Google, Bing and other search engines will push even harder to ensure that only high-quality content ends up in the top positions.

This also makes the symbiosis between humans and AI increasingly important, as AI can only generate truly valuable content in collaboration with a human.

Other trends that are already becoming apparent are the increasing importance of social media and, in this context, short videos. In this area, AI can help with both the creation and target-group-specific display of social media content.

Social media also allow a direct line between customers and companies. Artificial intelligence can provide support here by answering simple questions independently and carrying out automated pre-qualification of inquiries before they are passed on to human employees.

We have thus briefly examined the topic of AI in marketing and established that AI has many advantages in the marketing context, but also limitations. A look into the future indicates that AI will become increasingly important. Companies risk being left behind if they do not address the issue in good time.

AI in marketing is not about replacing people, but about a tool that simplifies and speeds up tasks, allowing employees to focus on other important tasks. The combination of machine efficiency and human intuition offers opportunities. It is important to find a good balance here.

In addition to the advantages, it is also important to recognize the problems of AI: An AI is only as good as the person operating it and the quality of the data used. This data must be collected in compliance with data protection regulations so as not to cause any problems or jeopardize user trust.

And the most important point, also with a view to the expected development in the future: companies and marketers need to get to grips with the topic and try it out. This is the only way to understand the technology and recognize how it can best be used in your company.

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