Artificial intelligence (AI) used to be pure science fiction. But now AI is science fact.
This once futuristic technology is now implemented in almost every aspect of our lives. We must adjust.
Luckily, we’re used to adjusting, pivoting, and expecting a change of any kind – and quickly. The use of AI in our digital marketing strategies is no different.
We have to think of AI as we thought of mobile years ago. If we don’t learn about it and apply it, then we are destined to be out of a job.
So, What Is AI?
AI encompasses a large scope of technologies. The basic concept of AI is that it is a machine that learns to mimic human behavior.
Google has built AI into pretty much every product they have – from paid and organic search, to Gmail, to YouTube. Facebook powers all its experiences using AI, whether it’s posts that appear in the news feed or the advertising you see.
AI can be used for many things, but today we’re only focusing on what it can do for your marketing strategy and how to implement it.
Here are four ways that businesses of any size can start using AI.
AI Generated Content Creation & Content Creator Sourcing
Content creation is expensive and time-consuming. But now we have access to AI tools that allow users to input data and output content.
Companies like Wordsmith allow us to connect data and write short outlines, then they’ll generate a story in seconds. This allows for companies everywhere to scale their content production while improving the quality of the content they put out.
AI generated content is built using an NLG (natural language generation) engine. These tools make it easy to format and translate content quickly.
Not ready yet to produce content at scale with robots? No problem. You can still integrate AI into your talent sourcing for writers.
Companies like Scripted connect you to freelance writers by analyzing content to find the best writer for your job. This saves you hours of work reading through content.
Basically, AI generated content creation and content creator sourcing is going to improve the quality of content. It is important to jump on board and get your content process in order before your competition moves ahead of you.
Chatbots
Chatbots are copying human behavior just like any other sort of AI, but they have a specialty. Chatbots interpret consumer questions and queries. They even help them to complete orders.
There are many companies out there creating chatbots and virtual assistants to help companies keep up with the times. For instance, Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Echo, and others are all forms of chatbots.
Chatbots are also being created specifically to help marketers with customer service.
Facebook is particularly interested in helping brands create chatbots to improve customer service. You can access the tools they have created, called wit.ai bot engine.
For people who find this to be way too developer centered and would like other companies to build these for you, you can use tools like ChattyPeople.
Whichever tools you choose, it’s important for any company that provides customer service to start implementing chatbots now.
AI for Image and Video Tagging Automation
Anyone who has ever had to do an image audit on a large or commercial website should truly understand the value in a tool that can auto-recognize images.
When issues of image and video licensing, poor image and video tagging, and UX come into play, AI can solve our problems.
Next time you’re hit with an image audit or a need to categorize your images and video for improved UX, you should look to AI tools like Dextro or Clarifai.
You can also use tools for smart tagging. Instead of bringing in tools to review current assets, you can use Adobe Experience Manager to maintain appropriate tagging with their smart tagging features.
All of these tools will save you so much time, energy, and (in some cases) money.
Voice Search
Voice search tools, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, will change the face of marketing forever.
We must start looking at the ways voice search will change our content, websites, and customer service options.
We have to think about how a person would ask for something instead of how they would search for it using text.
Studies suggest that query length in voice search is much longer than in text search. So focus on long-tail keywords instead of short.
We also know that language is a much greater signifier of intent. This means that as we start to use more voice search, the conversions (in theory) should be higher and the quality of leads should be better.
Voice search isn’t on its way. It’s here. Make sure your brand stays ahead of the game.
Conclusion
AI once sounded scary and futuristic. But it is neither.
If you study, test, and start implementing what you know about AI into your strategies now, then you’ll be able to keep up.
Don’t let yourself get left behind. It’s only a matter of time before AI becomes the new normal and the next big thing hits.
