By Joe Stevens, Client Lead, Atomic 212°
Fad or forever: which elements of AI are here to stay and which are hype?
Marketing departments are integrating AI in their tactics but which will remain forever and which of those is simply a fad?
Personalisation - FOREVER
When I was working in B2B environments, each customer touchpoint had dramatically higher value than in B2C marketing. It’s not that B2C touchpoints matter “less”, it’s just that the volume is generally lower, and the purchase journeys are anything from one month to around two years. If you can have a more impactful touchpoint at some point in that vast customer journey it would massively increase the success of the lead pipeline (and win that all important currency, the respect of the sales department).
Use ChatGPT or Gemini to create tailored landing page or email copy for certain personas, then you can create multiple emails or landing pages for those working in different verticals or at certain prospective clients. Mailchimp also has an AI tool to assist with this.
Predictive Analytics - FAD
AI can assist enormously with analysing large data sets, realising trends and then presenting them back. This is set to continue, and tools will become more sophisticated.
AI assistant tools can be used to plan media, especially integrating media mix modelling, however, these will always need to be overlaid with the human business context for the most effective results.
I am sorry but I just don’t buy the hype that you can simply plug inputs into a tool and have the best outcomes. Again, AI can provide an excellent starting point but for any GA4 predictive insights or Adobe analytics AI powered data modelling a person should overlay their intelligence on top of this.
Voice Search - FAD
When voice search arrived on the scene it was touted as the sole way we would interact with tech and all SEO and SEM would be optimised for voice search first. But AI isn’t going to change this user behaviour; it may enhance voice-based interaction but it’s still not going to move the dial and make us all move away from the written or typed word.
Content Creation & Optimisation - FOREVER
Whether it’s the written word or in image form, it’s never been easier to produce bespoke content thanks to AI tools. Jasper generates content for blogs, Grammarly can help with tone and clarity suggestions, and Canva can create images with text prompts. These things are here to stay. They can be used for quick iterations or tools for ideation to support your final creative output, be that blog articles, images for a presentation or a homepage or landing page makeover.
I will put a warning in here on the “fad” scale that overreliance on generative AI to replace human creativity isn’t advisable. It’s fantastic for editing creative that has already been formulated or giving ideas to start the process. But it should not replace the people-centric nature of this process or become the soul output of your process.
Don’t be lazy with it; if it’s just doing your work, what value are you adding?
AI for AI’s sake - FAD
While this article’s title would suggest a black and white view of AI, even within these examples things are grey. AI is a hugely exciting technology and has 100% become more than just a “buzzword”. But as with a lot of new technologies, it’s really down to how the technology is applied and used to supplement your current role and output.
Don’t over rely on AI or see it as a silver bullet. Think about how you can integrate it “forever” and use it to add value to YOU and it will be a forever tool in your toolbox.
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