Beyond virtual assistants: why is AI so much more than chatbots?

However, according to Adobe, in 2018, only 15% of companies were actively involved in using AI-based systems. Of course, the numbers are different now, as the same report predicted that around 31% of companies would make the switch in the following year.

We can see the change as more and more companies use Chatbots to improve the customer service experience and increase their level of efficiency in dealing with low-level issues. There is also an increase in people using voice assistants (such as Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa), according to a recent report by the Pew Research Center, almost 50% of US citizens interact with their smartphones using voice commands.

But AI systems aren’t just about voice assistants and chatbots (as awesome as they are)! These systems promise to cover mundane tasks that are currently handled by employees, so we can use our brains for more creative and challenging work. As such, AI is reshaping the world as we know it, influencing entire industries, from customer relations to production and manufacturing.

Given this, it should not surprise us that digital marketing is one of the most impacted segments. Marketers are already familiar with systems designed to provide predictive analytics based on data collected from various sources, but AI has spawned a new way of making decisions and identifying audiences (among others).

AI’s Influence on Digital Marketing

The main Artificial Intelligence-driven change in Digital Marketing strategies is seen in the way brands connect with their audiences. Many brands use chatbots, but marketers also use smart systems for content personalization, creating better-targeted campaigns, and cutting costs. As a side note, this also shows that digital marketers may also need to learn AI (at least on a basic level) in the nearest future.

Chatbots for a better connection between the client and the brand

In simple terms, chatbots are software tools designed to interact with customers and provide useful information. Right now, the chatbot industry is on the rise, and more developers are focusing on creating intelligent systems that can hold a natural human conversation.

This is made possible by the development of AI semantic recognition, speech conversion technology, and language processing. While we are still working on refining these tools, basic chatbot systems can perform simple tasks like answering basic questions, taking orders, guiding users through various processes, and more.

The main benefits of brands using chatbots are:

Uninterrupted access to 24-hour customer support services – chatbots do not need to sleep or rest, so they can provide support around the clock;

One-to-Many Approach – One system can work simultaneously with multiple clients, removing the limitations of a human-operated system where only one-to-one interactions are possible at any given time.

Better customer experience – Chatbots don’t get frustrated with impatient customers and don’t lose their cool.

Localized customer service – many chatbot systems can be used in multiple languages, so a customer can select their native language.

Fast delivery – Chatbots have access to a vast database (including users’ previous interactions with the platform) and can provide the requested information much faster than a human operator.

Chatbots are even more critical as many brands have switched to communicating with customers via text apps like Facebook Messenger, Slack, or WhatsApp. And it turns out that more than 50% of consumers love the idea of ​​simpler and faster communication with their favorite brands!

Content Personalization

It’s about personalizing each user’s experience with a site or platform by suggesting content that best suits their needs.

A good example here is the algorithm that YouTube uses to recommend content for each user based on their previous selections. But this only happens if you have an account. Otherwise, you will be shown recommendations for your current location.

In a similar effort, marketers can (and do) use AI systems to serve their viewer’s products, offers, content, and other items that are consistent with their previous interactions with the platform. Going one step further, the same system can be used to drive sales by making more accurate recommendations for users.

personalization

Lastly, AI systems can also determine the type of content that is most likely to engage your audience. In this way, you eliminate a lot of the guesswork and trial and error systems that are still prevalent in today’s digital marketing strategies.

The main advantage of today’s smart systems is the fact that they can process large amounts of data at high speeds, thus delivering results that can have an impact in real-time.

Refining email marketing

Email marketing is one of those tools that define time and technology, keeping fit and delivering incredible ROI even in the age of AI. Still, it may need a bit of refinement, and now we have the perfect way to get it right.

We now have smart systems that set up triggers for various actions (based on previous behavior). This allows marketers to target the right people with the right content, making the experience more relevant for the customer and more profitable for the business.

email list

For example, many brands use a segmented email strategy based on a user’s status. As such, they send one type of email to someone who has just signed up for an account, a different email to someone who is a member and has a wish list, and a different email to someone who is a loyal customer.

Mind-Blowing Ad Concepts

Ads (especially digital advertising) are getting smarter, and it’s all because of the insights provided by AI. We can see this across all social media platforms and Google where smart systems are used to target the right audience.

Due to AI technology, marketers can accurately predict trends and capitalize on micro-trends, enabling better targeting, thus reducing wasted digital ad spending. According to Statista, the global ad spend estimate for 2019 was over $560 billion, and due to the trial and error system most companies use, some of the money was wasted. However, as AI takes over, less and less of a company’s advertising budget will be wasted.

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Now AI isn’t just about making sure your budget is well spent. It is also about innovation and creativity. In fact, most social media platforms that run ads can create copy that suits your needs based on past user behavior and the links you want to promote. As such, a digital marketing agency’s content creation process can be powered and refined by AI-powered platforms.

Additionally, some brands combine modern technologies like augmented reality or virtual reality to create mind-blowing ads that keep people engaged and retain their attention.

Cut costs

While innovation and better targeting are extremely helpful for marketers, business owners are really excited about AI because it’s a fantastic opportunity to cut costs.

Just think about it.

By simply using chatbots, businesses save money and increase profits by providing a better customer experience. The same happens when planning marketing strategies or personalizing content.

AI-powered systems have the intelligence to take over some of the menial tasks that used to be handled by human operators. This means fewer employees and more efficiency.

Redefining Search

The main job of a digital marketer is to get inside the customer’s head and understand what they might end up looking for online, regarding the product or service they are promoting. In the past, this task used to be quite easy because search engines used keywords to find relevant pages.

But those days are behind us, and this is due, in part, to the development of intelligent systems. Today, a search algorithm understands nuance and contextual meaning (also known as semantic search). Furthermore, some algorithms provide results by taking into account a user’s search history.

With the launch of virtual assistants (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and more), AI systems can also use Voice Search and voice recognition to identify new niches and tap into previously unknown resources.

voice-search-listening

So what does this mean for SEOs?

In a nutshell, it means that digital marketers need to be open to new possibilities and that they have a powerful ally in AI-powered platforms.

Available Tools

Now that we know why and how intelligent artificial systems are part of the digital marketing industry, let’s take a look at some of the tools we can use.

Google cloud

This is a tool for learning how to use and implement AI in your business, and we highly recommend exploring some of its modules. Google Cloud AI offers amazing examples of tools and designs that may become extremely popular in the future.

It also offers insight into what your competition can do to gain an advantage and carve out a larger slice of the market for themselves.

Zoom

A fantastic platform for brands going all out on social media campaigns!

zoomph

Zoomph provides insights and helps marketers understand their audience and the social platforms they use. It also analyzes the emotions and feelings that make a campaign fly, delivering more accurate data than traditional CPM models.

MarketMuse

MarketMuse is an AI-powered platform for SEO, content research, and competitive analysis and helps marketers create content that is truly relevant to their audience. In addition to this, it provides useful information on various keywords and identifies potentially untapped areas.