Artificial intelligence and marketing – more symbiotic than you think
We’ve all seen at least one Sci-Fi movie where the machines become self-aware or decide to wrest control from the humans. Although this is an interesting concept to see brought to life on the big screen, artificial intelligence is neither that complex nor dangerous. In fact, it could be most reliable tool that you and your marketing team have at your disposal.
The rise of AI
Some may wonder whether we should be creating machines to take over everyday tasks from humans, but no one seems to have a problem with giving tasks to computers that no human can do—or at least, that very few humans are capable (or desirous) of doing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is generally defined as an automated program designed to simulate human learning patterns. Instead of carrying out a repetitive set of commands or waiting for prompts, like a computer does, an AI receives data, processes it, and calculates outcomes and probable best actions based on the data. It doesn’t simply perform preset actions on command; it modifies and rearranges pre-existing options to elicit the best outcome, learning to adapt to circumstances along the way.
Just tryin’ to be helpful here
But isn’t this what humans do, you ask? Of course it is. There is one key difference, however: the data processing capabilities of computers far exceed that of humans. If we get a computer to behave more like a human, then we can set it to a task with the confidence that it will complete it much like we would, if we had the processing power it possesses.
The power of predictability
In many cases, AI programs predict human behaviors better than other humans do. In the past, humans told machines which data points were relevant in evaluations, making the algorithms inherently susceptible to human bias. Now that we’ve given AI the ability to decide which data to use based on more complex calculations, it tends to choose more accurately—and faster—than its human counterparts.
In one MIT study, in which they tested a newly-created Data Science Machine, the AI consistently outperformed human analyst teams in choosing the most relevant data points to predict events, such as which students would drop out of MIT programs within the next ten days. Not only did the humans lose based on results, they took drastically longer to provide their inferior guesses—months compared to the machine taking 2-10 hours to formulate its algorithms.
What does this mean for marketing with AI?
Marketing demands that many small elements work together in order to be effective. Email marketing campaigns may seem straightforward, but in today’s advertising saturated environment, you have to be better than average to stand out. Setting up digital marketing with AI allows it to process vast amounts of data and choose the statistically probable best outcome. While it may feel like you are relinquishing control, this process will always require human input due to the limitations of computer reasoning.
Umm..yeah thats exactly what I was looking for?
For example, while the design-assisting Dreamcatcher AI works within set parameters such as weight, dimensions, material, and price to generate every possible outcome for those criteria, it can’t distinguish which designs are unfeasible or lack aesthetic principles. The human element is required at every step to fine-tune the limitations, make adjustments, discard options, or springboard into a totally different design. The machine takes only over the computation element; it can’t make the final decision.
What it means for eCommerce and personalization
In a recent study, marketers want more data and analytics to help improve their personalization efforts. Key thing here again is data—the same massive amount of data that they would need to crunch so they can provide quality personalization experience to their customers. In fact, a lot of that personalization still ties into email, which 52% of respondents believe it’s still the most valuable channel for customer retention.
Email marketing is an important aspect of any digital advertising campaign. Success relies on more than a scheduled mass email a few times per week, all saying the same thing to everyone at the same time. Your customers are individuals, and so their shopping habits will likely reflect this.
What if you knew the best time to send your emails to produce the best effect? Does your target demographic generally browse their emails in the morning, on their lunch break, or in the evening after dinner? If you want your email to stay on the top page of a cluttered inbox, it has to be sent at the right time to remain visible. The subject line has to be catchy or relevant (and not constantly flagged as spam). The email itself has to be selling something that the customer is likely to fancy, based on prior browsing or purchase history.
Conclusion
Can you crunch all that data fast enough to send out multiple optimized emails per week? What’s that, you say? You’re not a computer? You can’t do it all, and neither can AI—but together, you can make a great team.
ReSci’s platform runs the numbers and offers optimized email segments, timing suggestions, and helps you manage output for the entire marketing lifecycle. Pair that with our product recommendation engine that matches, if not outperforms, Amazon’s ‘you might be interested in’ suggestions, and your setting yourself up for some serious personalization.
But don’t worry—we’re not selling you a spam bot that sends out a generated keyword soup that will simply be deleted, if not relegated to the spam folder. No, our AI automates emails, but still requires your marketing oversight. You can still control what gets sent and when. You still choose the graphics, design layout, and add polish to the overall result. But now you can do it with hard data to back your decisions.
The processing power of a AI supercomputer paired with the intuition and judgment of human marketing strategists. That’s the power of marketing AI symbiosis, and that’s what we at Retention Science delivers to hundreds of brands.
Contact us for a demo, and see what we (and our friendly machines) can do for you!
Looking for the right solution? Let us know how we can help!
Like what you read? Share the knowledge!
ReSci is a team of marketers and data scientists on a mission to democratize AI. We make powerful recommendations and predictions accessible to brands. Find out how we can help you connect with your customers.
