You’ve probably already heard the words ‘artificial intelligence’ being thrown around. After all, they relate to a growing industry that has the potential to completely change the way that we use technology. Considering this potential, it is a good idea to understand not only the meaning of AI, but also how it could affect digital marketing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to a programme or machine that can complete a task using some form of human-like intelligence. This can sound quite confusing, but that’s because AI is a very broad term. It can relate to any piece of technology that uses problem solving, learning, or even creativity to find solutions. (If you’re wondering, this ability is why so many people associate AI with overpowered robots and computers that can take over the world.)
In reality, though, AI technology is not yet powerful enough to create world-destroying robots. It instead features in less significant parts of our lives, such as in the voice recognition abilities of digital assistants such as Siri, Cortana, Alexa and Google Assistant. It also exists in the vision-recognition software of self-driving cars and, to an extent, in product recommendations, where suggested products are based on previous purchases.
This example of upselling is just one way in which AI can affect digital marketing. Another important example relates to search engine optimisation (SEO); as a computer’s ability to ‘think’ for itself improves, then so will a customer’s search results. In digital marketing terms, this should mean that webpage impressions are more likely to lead to conversions, as customers will be viewing search results that are becoming increasingly more relevant.
This could be a massive advantage to companies advertising their products and services online, yet it does also stress the importance of keeping content relevant; if search engines begin to highlight more relevant results, then you need to make sure that you are advertising your business properly (check out our posts about content writing, common SEO mistakes and mobile usage if you want to know more about keeping your site relevant).
AI is already a big part of our world and is only likely to grow over the course of the next few years. It has the potential to simplify marketing, as it could enable computers to do more of our work for us. To an extent, this is already a reality, especially when considering subjects such as lead generation, chatbots and insight integration.
Regardless of what the future brings for AI technology, it has huge marketing potential and is certainly something that we should be aware of in this digital world. So, keep an eye out; that world-snatching robot could be just around the corner! For more updates and industry insights, why not take a look at our other blogs?
E.W.