Navigating the Intersections of AI and Marketing

AI is all around us. And, frankly, has been for quite some time. “A.I.” is the buzzword lately, but humans have been imagining what it might be like to create something that can think for itself… think and act FOR US.

From Wikipedia:

Myth and legend

In Greek mythology, Talos was a creature made of bronze who acted as guardian for the island of Crete. He would throw boulders at the ships of invaders and would complete 3 circuits around the island’s perimeter daily.^[4] According to pseudo-Apollodorus‘ Bibliotheke, Hephaestus forged Talos with the aid of a cyclops and presented the automaton as a gift to Minos.^[5] In the Argonautica, Jason and the Argonauts defeated Talos by removing a plug near his foot, causing the vital ichor to flow out from his body and rendering him lifeless.^[6]

an AI-generated image of hands An image generated by an artificial intelligence application of two hands kneading dough shows one type of inaccuracy that can occur. One hand has six fingers. Created with OpenAI/DALL-E

The reality of why we are talking about AI so much now, is that we have finally achieved a semblance of a manufactured intelligence. And AI is changing the world of Marketing quickly. AI and Marketing have had a storied relationship – as a marketer, keeping up with all the AI tools are our disposal is exhausting. We also have to continually keep up with AI as a competitor to what we do. So far AI is a great supplement, but can’t supplant the human creative mind. — i.e. the abundance of 6-fingered representations we see daily.

So where is Marketing and AI intersecting today. Here are a few ways…

Customer Insights & Data Analysis

AI excels at analyzing vast amounts of customer data from multiple sources (web behavior, social media, CRM, purchase history) to identify trends, preferences, and behaviors.

Use Cases:
- Customer segmentation and persona creation
- Predictive analytics (e.g., likelihood to convert, churn)
- Sentiment analysis on social media and reviews

2. Personalization at Scale

AI enables hyper-personalized marketing by tailoring content, product recommendations, and messaging based on user data and behavior.

Examples:
- Netflix or Amazon-style recommendations
- Personalized email marketing (subject lines, timing, product offers)
- Dynamic website content based on visitor profile

3. Content Generation

Generative AI (like ChatGPT, DALL·E, and others) can create marketing content including:

Blog posts, product descriptions, email campaigns
Social media captions and ad copy
Visual assets (images, videos, infographics)

4. Chatbots & Conversational Marketing

AI-powered chatbots handle customer service, lead qualification, and engagement 24/7, often with a natural, conversational tone.

Platforms: Intercom, Drift, Zendesk AI
Uses: Answer FAQs, recommend products, schedule demos

5. Ad Optimization

AI automates the testing and optimization of digital ads, analyzing performance in real-time to allocate budgets, refine targeting, and improve creative elements.

Platforms: Google Ads’ Smart Bidding, Meta Advantage+ campaigns
Benefits: Better ROI, less manual A/B testing

6. Visual Recognition & Targeting

AI can analyze images and videos (e.g., on social media) to understand visual trends and target users based on visual preferences.

Example: Pinterest Lens suggests products based on photos
Retail Use: Visual search for similar apparel or home goods

7. Voice Search & Smart Assistants

Optimizing content for AI-driven voice search (via Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant) is an emerging SEO and content strategy area.

Voice-activated marketing: Skills/actions, podcast ads, interactive experiences

8. Campaign Planning & Forecasting

AI tools assist with media planning, budget allocation, and forecasting campaign performance before launch.

Tools: Adobe Sensei, Salesforce Einstein
Benefits: Data-driven decision-making and scenario modeling

9. Customer Journey Automation

AI maps and optimizes the customer journey, ensuring timely messaging and content delivery at each stage via marketing automation platforms.

Platforms: HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Salesforce Marketing Cloud

10. Ethics & Brand Trust

AI is increasingly used to manage brand reputation, detect deepfakes, and flag harmful or misleading content online.

Challenge: Ensuring ethical use of customer data and AI transparency
Trend: Brands using AI audits and ethical AI policies in campaigns

And yes, you better bet I used AI to inform this article. Why spend 2 hours writing it, when I could spend 30 minutes…. and THAT, my friends is how AI and Marketing actually intersect. We can operate faster, and more efficiently for our clients. We can write copy quicker. We can find resources. We can expand on existing ideas. But, what we HAVE to do is hold AI accountable. Because, what we get back is just a data scrape, not a thought or concept – just data.

Wield it wisely.