Tag: AI

How AI-Enhanced Prototyping Can Accelerate the UX Design Process

March 26, 2025 • Content Marketing • no comments

Artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed how industries work across the board. Amongst these, user experience (UX) design has been one of the most affected. Thanks to AI-enhanced prototyping, the way digital products are conceptualized, tested and refined is rapidly changing.

By taking advantage of AI, businesses and designers can organize workflows better, improve collaboration and create more user-focused designs faster. Understanding what AI-enhanced prototyping is, its benefits to the UX design process and reasons for adopting AI-driven tools is important to stay ahead in a competitive digital context.

Understanding AI-Enhanced Prototyping

For small and medium-sized business owners, designers and marketers, AI-enhanced prototyping presents a unique opportunity to accelerate development cycles while improving general user satisfaction. The artificial intelligence market grew beyond $184 billion in 2024, and it is expected to reach around $1.85 trillion by 2030.

AI-enhanced prototyping integrates artificial intelligence into the process of creating interactive digital product models. For starters, understanding the difference between UX and UI is key. The UI stands for user interface, meaning menus, interaction animations and all the general engagements that users can interact with. UX stands for the user experience, meaning the entire experience that users have, from opening the app or website until leaving.

Through AI-enhanced prototyping, designers can visualize, test and refine functionalities before getting to full-scale development. AI-driven tools automate repetitive tasks and create design recommendations while offering real-time insights based on the user’s behavior.

In traditional UX design, prototyping requires manual wireframing, user testing and frequent refinements. The AI accelerates this process by automatically generating wireframes, predicting user movements and even suggesting possible UI improvements.

Benefits of AI-Enhanced Prototyping

Explore the key advantages of AI-enhanced prototyping for boosting UX design below.

1. Time Efficiency: Faster Design Iterations

AI-enhanced prototyping significantly reduces the time required to create and refine digital products. Traditional prototyping can be labor-intensive, often requiring multiple iterations before reaching an optimal design.

AI automates fundamental steps in this process. For instance, the wireframing tools can create draft layouts within seconds based on minimal input. Instead of manually designing every screen, designers can use AI to generate UI components, refine layouts and quickly test different versions. This allows teams to focus on high-level creative decision-making rather than spending hours on repetitive tasks.

2. Improves Collaboration and Workflow Efficiency

UX design is a collaborative effort that involves designers, developers, marketers and stakeholders. Applying AI-enhanced prototyping tools benefits smooth collaboration by allowing real-time feedback, automated documentation and shared design libraries. Teams can work on the same project simultaneously, identifying changes reflected instantly across all devices.

AI-driven platforms ensure consistency in element design, reducing the risk of miscommunication or inconsistent branding. Moreover, these tools can lead to interactive prototypes that stakeholders can test without requiring extensive technical knowledge, speeding up the approval process.

By adopting AI-enhanced prototyping, SMBs can launch digital products with confidence, knowing they have been thoroughly tested and optimized before going live. This agility allows businesses to adapt to market demands faster while staying ahead of competitors.

3. Improved Usability Testing and Data-Driven Insights

One of the most valuable aspects of AI in UX design is its ability to analyze user behavior and come up with actionable insights. These prototyping tools are able to simulate user interactions, identify engagement patterns and recognize pain points before launching a product.

AI-driven usability testing allows designers to assess user experience more efficiently. Instead of waiting for post-launch feedback, teams can leverage AI analytics to detect if there are any navigation issues, accessibility concerns and user preferences at the early stages of the process. This proactive approach leads to fewer costly revisions down the line and higher user satisfaction.

In this phase, marketers can test different layouts, calls to action and visual elements to determine what is more connected with their target audience. This leads to higher engagement rates and better conversion outcomes, making AI a powerful tool for optimizing digital campaigns.

4. Personalization: Crafting Tailored User Experiences

When it comes to digital products, personalization is one of the most important features to focus on. AI algorithms can analyze user data to tailor content, layout and functionality based on individual preferences. This results in engaging, relevant and user-friendly experiences.

For example, AI can predict user needs by analyzing previous interactions, suggesting placing frequently used features in the more accessible areas or adjusting UI elements based on the user’s behavior. By including these tools early in the design process, the marketing team can refine messaging, content placement and conversion strategies while creating interfaces that resonate more deeply with their audience.

5. Automation of Repetitive Tasks: Freeing Designers for Creativity

UX designers often spend a significant amount of time on repetitive tasks such as resizing buttons, aligning text or converting low-fidelity sketches into high-fidelity mockups. By automating technical and repetitive aspects of UX design, AI frees up time for designers to focus on storytelling, aesthetics and user engagement.

For example, AI-powered design assistants can create multiple variations of a layout, suggest improvements based on best practices and even fill wireframes with realistic placeholder content. Taking advantage of new technologies helps designers decrease the number of tedious tasks while increasing the time dedicated to conceptualizing unique experiences that make a product truly stand out.

6. Addressing the Challenge of Meaningful Work in UX Design

A significant concern in the workplace is the lack of meaningful work, which leads to high employee turnover rates. In fact, 31% of employees quit their jobs in 2022 due to a lack of meaningful work.

AI can help handle this issue by automating low-impact or unengaging tasks, allowing UX professionals to take care of more fulfilling and high-impact work. Instead of getting stuck in routine design adjustments, designers and marketers can focus on tasks such as problem-solving, innovation and user engagement. This ultimately leads to greater job satisfaction and career growth.

Implementing AI-Enhanced Prototyping in Your Workflow

These are some steps to consider when integrating AI-enhanced prototyping into your UX design process:

  1. Choose the right tools: Invest in an AI-powered design software that aligns with your team’s needs. Some of the most well-known are Figma and Adobe XD.
  2. Take advantage of AI for data-driven decisions: Use AI analytics to identify the user’s behavior patterns and to make informed design choices.
  3. Encourage mutual collaboration: Create a team culture that approaches AI as a supportive tool instead of a replacement for human creativity.
  4. Continuously test and refine: Analyzing AI-generated insights on a regular basis helps to improve UX design and optimize user experience.

With 73% of U.S. executives assuring that they will work with generative AI companies, it’s clear AI is here to stay.

Conclusions on AI-Enhanced Prototyping

Increasing efficiency, improving collaboration and offering deeper user insights are just some of the ways AI-enhanced prototyping is reshaping the UX design process. For designers, marketers and small business owners, capitalizing on AI-driven tools accelerates product development and encourages creativity and innovation.

By integrating AI into the team’s workflows, professionals can focus on what truly matters — creating meaningful, engaging and user-friendly digital experiences.

Eleanor Hecks

Eleanor Hecks is a design and marketing writer and researcher with a particular passion for CX topics. You can find her work as Editor in Chief of Designerly Magazine and as a writer for publications such as Clutch.co, Fast Company and Webdesigner Depot. Connect with her on LinkedIn or X to view her latest work.

The Role of Human Emotion in Enhancing AI-Powered UX Design

February 25, 2025 • Content Marketing • no comments

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly gained traction as a design tool. As helpful as it can be in ensuring functionality and accessibility, though, these are not the only factors to consider in user experience (UX).

A good UX must also incorporate human emotion. This requires the uncanny ability to study, dissect and interpret what users feel in a way that is machine-learning friendly.

Read More

Optimize Conversion Rates with AI-Powered A/B Testing and Data Analytics

January 22, 2025 • Content Marketing • no comments

A/B testing is an industry go-to for discovering your customers’ preferences. The usual way to do this is to isolate a specific variable (eg copy, visual, audience, channel, pages) and to see which performs better with everything else being equal.

If you have an underperforming email marketing campaign for instance, you could create two templates to send to customers to see which yields click-throughs.

Read More

Key Digital Marketing Trends for 2025

January 2, 2025 • Content Marketing • no comments

As we step into 2025, the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Technologies like AI are reshaping strategies, while emerging challenges such as AI-generated scams and spambots demand urgent attention.

Sustainability, consumer privacy, and innovative e-commerce models will also play a pivotal role in shaping the industry.

Here’s a look at the key trends marketers need to watch in 2025.

AI Drives Marketing—But Comes with New Risks

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way we do marketing. For some, AI-content tools help to generate campaigns that are faster, more precise, and tailored. Tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney make it easier to churn out social media posts, articles, ad copy, and visuals without having to craft each line individually. This has helped to improve the productivity of marketers everywhere.

But there’s a flip side. AI isn’t just in our hands—it’s in the hands of scammers too. Ever received an email that felt too real to be fake? That’s the power of AI-driven scams. These phishing attempts and spambots don’t just look convincing; they act like real people, tricking businesses and consumers alike. For us marketers, this means doubling down on cybersecurity and being crystal clear with our audiences about how we protect their data.

AI is a tool, a challenge, and an opportunity. How we use it—and protect against its misuse—will define our success in 2025.

And then there’s SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Remember the days when you’d craft content hoping it lands on Google’s first page?

Now, tools like ChatGPT are giving users instant answers, cutting out the middleman. For us, this means writing content that’s not just good but speaks directly to the questions people are asking. Structure and clarity are the names of the game if we want to stay visible in this AI-driven search world.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Strategies in 2025

With AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini delivering direct answers, SEOs need to evolve their strategies to remain relevant. Here are some recommended strategies to stay relevant in the age of AI-fueled searches:

  • Craft Visual and Video Content: With more users preferring visual content formats, this may be your trump card. Most AI-tools suck at doing these well.
  • Focus on BOFU Content: Target transactional queries with product comparisons, case studies, and landing pages optimised for conversions.
  • Create Local-Specific Content: Optimise for “near me” searches and hyper-local needs with tailored landing pages and geo-specific content.
  • Tap Proprietary Data: Publish unique research, surveys, and original insights that AI cannot replicate. These may also be cited by AI tools looking for original research.
  • Offer Interactive Tools: Build calculators, quizzes, and other interactive elements that provide value beyond static text. These are also highly linkable and considered useful by Google.
  • Highlight Brand Authority: Develop detailed guides, expert interviews, and authoritative content to establish trust and credibility.
  • Optimise for Real-Time Updates: Publish fresh, timely content on breaking news, trends, and updates to maintain relevance.
  • Personalise Post-Click Experiences: Ensure landing pages and CTAs cater to individual needs, driving deeper engagement.

By focusing on areas AI cannot replicate, SEOs can maintain their competitive edge and continue to drive value for users in an increasingly AI-dominated landscape.

Social Media: TikTok Commerce and Beyond

In 2025, social media continues to be a dynamic landscape, presenting both opportunities and challenges for marketers. Platforms like TikTok have transformed into comprehensive ecosystems, seamlessly integrating entertainment with e-commerce. Live shopping events on TikTok have generated substantial sales, exemplifying the platform’s influence in merging content and commerce.

However, not all platforms are experiencing the same trajectory. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has faced criticism over recent algorithm changes. Users have expressed dissatisfaction, noting that their feeds are increasingly populated with content from accounts they don’t follow, leading to a less personalized experience. This shift has prompted some users to reconsider their engagement with these platforms.

Additionally, the rise of AI-generated content and bots is reshaping the social media environment. Platforms are leveraging AI to automate interactions, aiming to enhance user engagement. While this automation offers new avenues for content creation and interaction, it also raises concerns about the authenticity of online engagements.

In an age where users are inundated with content, standing out requires more than clever targeting. It demands authenticity, consistency, and genuine connection.

Brands that prioritize transparency and actively engage with their communities will cultivate loyalty that goes beyond a single platform’s quirks. Trust isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s the bedrock of meaningful relationships in the fast changing social media landscape.

Changes to Privacy and Consumer Trust

Privacy remains at the core of digital marketing, with significant shifts forcing marketers to rethink how they collect and use data.

With tracking pixels becoming less reliable—due to browser restrictions like Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) and Google Chrome’s phasing out of third-party cookies—marketers are pivoting to first-party data strategies. For example, brands are now leveraging loyalty programmes, gated content, and direct opt-ins through website interactions to build richer datasets.

Starbucks, for instance, uses its app to track customer purchases directly, offering targeted rewards and promotions based on behaviour.

Transparency has become a necessity, not just an expectation. Brands are increasingly adopting clear privacy policies, consent banners, and communication campaigns to explain how customer data is used. Companies like Spotify and Netflix excel in this area, demonstrating that transparency doesn’t just meet legal requirements—it builds trust and loyalty by showing consumers the value of sharing their information.

At the same time, global privacy regulations are tightening. Enhanced GDPR standards and new data protection frameworks in countries like China and Singapore require businesses to adapt or risk penalties. Strategies like conducting regular data audits, ensuring compliance documentation, and providing staff with privacy training are becoming non-negotiable.

With the decline of tracking pixels, marketers are shifting towards owned channels. Building stronger email lists and Telegram Channels through sign-up incentives, creating subscription-based content models, and developing community platforms (like Discord or branded forums) are becoming effective ways to maintain consumer connections.

Double Down on Vertical and Live-Streaming Videos

Video continues to dominate digital marketing, with live-streaming taking centre stage as a dynamic tool for engagement and conversion. The shift towards real-time, interactive video experiences is reshaping how brands connect with audiences.

Shoppable Live Streams

Live-stream shopping has exploded, particularly on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. These sessions are no longer just about showcasing products—they’re immersive, real-time shopping experiences where viewers can engage directly with hosts, ask questions, and make purchases seamlessly.

For example, beauty brands like Sephora have used TikTok live streams to demonstrate products in action, driving impulse buys through limited-time offers and clickable links. This blend of entertainment and commerce is proving incredibly effective, with live-stream events generating millions in sales globally.

Interactive Video Ads

Interactive video ads are transforming passive viewing into active participation. These ads allow viewers to make real-time choices, such as selecting product features or storyline outcomes, creating a personalised experience.

Brands like Netflix have experimented with interactive formats to promote shows, while retail companies use similar strategies to highlight product ranges. The result? Higher engagement rates and deeper brand recall.

Vertical Video Dominance

With mobile consumption leading the charge, vertical videos are the format of choice across platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok. These videos are designed for quick consumption, optimised for smartphone screens, and aligned with shorter attention spans.

According to data from HubSpot, vertical videos enjoy 58% higher engagement compared to horizontal formats. Brands like Nike have capitalised on this trend with short, punchy videos that grab attention instantly, showcasing products in creative, scroll-stopping ways.

Best Practices for Websites and Landing Pages in 2025

In 2025, websites and landing pages need to continually adapt to meet user expectations and deliver better results. Here’s how they’re changing:

Personalised Experiences

AI-driven tools can now tailor websites to individual visitors. Product recommendations, dynamic content, and behaviour-driven CTAs make every interaction feel more relevant. For example, e-commerce sites display items based on browsing history to increase conversions.

Even Faster Load Times

Speed is crucial. Sites that load in under 2 seconds see better engagement and rankings. Strategies like compressing images and using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) ensure pages are quick and responsive.

More Interactive Features

Static designs are giving way to interactive tools like live chats, calculators, and quizzes. These keep visitors engaged and turn casual users into leads. SaaS brands often use ROI calculators to connect with decision-makers.

Mobile-First Focus

With most traffic coming from mobile devices, websites are designed to be simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate on smaller screens. Features like sticky CTAs and thumb-friendly layouts are now standard.

SEO and Accessibility

Structured data improves visibility in AI-powered searches. Accessibility features like alt text and keyboard navigation enhance usability for everyone, aligning with ethical practices and boosting search rankings.

By focusing on speed, relevance, and usability, websites and landing pages remain essential tools for businesses to connect with their audiences effectively.

Web and App Digital Design Trends in 2025

Web and app designs are becoming more than functional; in 2025, it’s a space for creativity, personalization, and seamless user experiences. These emerging trends have started to influence how websites look and feel, making them more engaging and relevant.

  • Custom Illustrations: Generic stock images are being replaced by unique, brand-specific illustrations that stand out. These visuals create memorable impressions and help brands tell their stories in a distinct way.
  • Dynamic Cursors: Interactive cursors that change based on user interactions are adding a fun, engaging layer to website navigation. They’re subtle but effective in keeping users interested.
  • Parallax Scrolling: This popular design technique, where background content moves at a slower pace than the foreground, adds depth and makes scrolling feel like an immersive experience.
  • Dark Mode Options: Dark mode is now a standard feature, offering users an aesthetically pleasing alternative that reduces eye strain and enhances visibility in low-light settings.
  • Organic Shapes: Rigid grids are giving way to organic, asymmetrical designs. These flowing, natural layouts make websites feel more approachable and modern.

Ready for 2025’s Digital Marketing Challenges?

Digital marketing in 2025 promises to be as dynamic as ever. The rise of AI-driven risks, evolving consumer expectations, and the continued dominance of video and social commerce demand that marketers stay agile.

By balancing innovation with responsibility, brands can seize opportunities while mitigating emerging threats in this exciting new chapter.

What are you most excited about in the year ahead? I’d love to read your thoughts!

How Predictive AI Is Revolutionizing Content Strategy for Marketers

November 25, 2024 • Content Marketing • no comments

Content is at the core of every successful marketing strategy. Yet, as brands generate more content across diverse channels, understanding what truly resonates with audiences has become a complex challenge.

Enter predictive artificial intelligence (AI) — a transformative tool shaping the future of content strategy by helping marketers predict trends, refine messaging and make more informed decisions.

Read More

Strategic Use of AI Tools for Digital Marketing

November 19, 2024 • Content Marketing • 1 comment

Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now the bread and butter of digital marketing, with 72% of organisations integrating AI into at least one business function (McKinsey & Company). However, many marketing teams are barely scratching the surface of what AI can do.

In a field where understanding customer needs is the lifeblood of success, AI acts as both a microscope and a compass—digging deep into data while pointing teams towards smarter decisions. Tools powered by AI don’t just save time; they automate tasks, personalise customer interactions, and uncover insights that would take human analysts days, if not weeks, to discover.

Here’s how your team can embrace AI tools to build stronger customer connections and keep pace with today’s fast changing digital landscape.

Identifying the Right AI Tools for Marketing

For a start, your strategy should leverage AI to enhance your marketing campaigns, optimize efforts to deliver on your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and improve client engagement to reach your business goals.

There are numerous ways for you to tap on AI-powered tools for strategies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Email Marketing, Content Creation, and Analytics. Here are some of the best tools to look into for these different areas:

  • Notion AI – the AI for Notion is an excellent productivity booster. It can help you develop ideas, write, and fill out things using automation. It’s like having your own personal assistant, where you can ask questions about anything regarding your business.
  • Content at Scale – this AI writing tool is most helpful for generating SEO blog posts, because it provides high-quality content that can help scale your SEO.
  • Grammarly – you can use this content editor to check your writing, and you can use it across many different different apps including Word, Google Docs, emails, and more. It helps spot redundant words, and fixes phrasing and style inconsistencies so you can improve your content.
  • io’s Email Assistant – your business can build email campaigns across numerous channels and this tool helps automate the rest with email replies, using responses and helping identify potential leads.
  • Zapier – for automating tasks, Zapier is the AI tool that helps with process integration. It connects across multiple apps and allows you to create customized workflows to link the actions while pulling data for analysis so you can make adjustments for future campaigns.

Do also consider how you can tap on the best practices in programmatic advertising to optimize your efforts.

Strategic Uses for AI

Through all of these tools, it’s easy to conclude that you can use AI for a wide range of digital marketing tasks. The benefits include automation, improved customer experience and targeting, and even enhancing relationships to give your business expertise and promote loyalty.

Content Personalization

AI tools can help you to tailor your content to your consumer’s journey. Optimizely is an AI tool with content personalization that creates meaningful experiences to drive conversions. You can use personalized content in blogs or articles, emails, product descriptions, and video content.

Your business can build personalized digital content that is based on your prospect’s interests and behaviors online. It improves your marketing strategy by honing in on what will draw in your ideal clients since it deeply understands trends that give your strategy a bigger impact.

AI can also automate certain tasks, like identify and organize images and videos. It also helps analyze data so your business can continue refining and adapting its content strategy.

Chatbots and Customer Service

Do also consider AI chatbots to generate conversations and provide customer service. These can be extremely helpful in saving you time and costs, simply by addressing common scenarios with your products and services that can be handled more efficiently.

Chatbots handle Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and can help your customers do things like track orders or manage their accounts. They free up time for your staff to allow them to focus on other pertinent tasks at hand, while improving your response times.

Monitoring these AI tools helps your company to maintain its human touch. Consider deploying more advanced AI chatbots that tap natural language processing (NLP) to understand human queries and provide accurate answers and solutions.

Predictive Analytics

With machine learning technology, you can easily do data analysis to identify patterns, forecast trends, and predict customer behavior.  It works by collecting data, preparing it and applying algorithms and variables to supply accurate prediction.

Through this, it can learn patterns, behaviors, and relationships that your business can use to create more effective marketing campaigns.

Marketing Automation

AI has transformed marketing automation from handling basic tasks to delivering sophisticated, data-driven insights. Beyond simple tools like ChatGPT, AI now streamlines time-consuming, repetitive activities such as email personalisation, lead scoring, and customer segmentation.

This allows marketing teams to shift their focus to strategic and creative tasks, fostering innovation and better campaign outcomes. Advanced platforms further use machine learning to predict customer behaviour, optimise ad targeting, and personalise content at scale, ensuring more effective and efficient marketing efforts.

Identify Right Influencers

AI is changing the face of influencer marketing by simplifying the once-complex process of finding the right partners for your brand. It can analyse large datasets to identify influencers whose audience aligns with your target demographics, evaluate engagement quality, and predict the potential impact of collaborations.

CommPRO is one such tool that analyzes massive datasets to quickly locate influencers who may be able to connect with your brand’s audience. This data-driven approach ensures that brands can easily connect with influencers who resonate with their audience, driving higher ROI and campaign success.

Digital Marketing AI Tool Examples

Many leading brands are integrating AI tools into their digital marketing strategies to improve their customer experiences and streamline marketing operations. Here are two standout examples:

Starbucks

Starbucks wanted to find a way to bring better offers to its audience through its widely used app. Customers have the option to use a service called “My Starbucks Barista” to place orders for pickup that uses chatbot innovation and voice technology.

Users can even adjust their orders in real time to ensure every detail is just right, combining convenience with personalisation to enhance customer satisfaction.

Lowe’s

Shopping for necessary tools and equipment while doing home improvement can be complex and challenging. Lowe’s took on that challenge by incorporating an AI innovation that offers its customers a more seamless and helpful shopping experience: LoweBot.

The AI-driven technology is a robot assistant found in-store where you can quickly locate what you need or work with one of their assistants. It uses cameras and sensors that capture and process data about that particular store so that it can quickly answer questions and make your shopping that much easier.

What’s Next in AI Digital Marketing?

There are many AI tools available that can aid your digital marketing strategy. You must assess your business needs and customer desires so that you can make effective choices about which tools to invest in to take your business to the next level.

Looking ahead, AI is likely to expand its capabilities into areas traditionally dominated by human input, such as creative content generation, relationship-building, and strategic planning. While these developments are still in progress, the technology already provides measurable improvements in campaign effectiveness and operational efficiency.

By adopting AI with a focused approach, businesses can enhance their ability to meet customer needs, improve marketing performance, and adapt to a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Guest Author: Donna Maurer

Donna Maurer - Content Creator - DonnaMaurer.com | LinkedIn

Donna is a seasoned marketing professional with expertise in digital marketing strategies and consumer engagement. Her interest for crafting targeted writing ensures brands connect meaningfully with their audiences. When not working, she loves playing guitar and attending music festivals.

Should Companies Embrace AI for Marketing?

July 2, 2024 • Content Marketing • 1 comment

Wish to tap Artificiall Intelligence (AI) for your marketing efforts? What should you consider before leveraging on AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, CoPilot, and many others?

The recent rise of artificial intelligence has completely shaken up the marketing industry. Today, you can find chatbots to handle customer queries, generative tools to produce content marketing, and analytic programs to break down the consumer data you collect.

However, before you shut down your marketing team and shift to AI-led operations, it’s worth considering whether or not AI will actually improve the quality of your marketing efforts. In their current state, many generative AI programs remain riddled with errors and may produce work containing falsehoods.

Additionally, audiences tend to favor work produced by humans. This may mean that switching over to generative programs damages your brand reputation and undermines your image. As such, you should proceed with caution and only use AI when you’re sure it will have a net positive impact on the long-term growth of your firm.

Generative AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an umbrella term used to describe computing that mimics human-like cognition. Generative AI is a sub-branch of those efforts to mimic human intelligence that creates content based on user inputs and historical data. These generative programs use machine learning algorithms to “think”. At their core, these ML programs are defined by their use of:

  • Computational techniques that draw insights from large data sets;
  • Training that produces desirable results based on the programmer’s instructions;
  • Supervision that ensures they continue to produce the desired results
  • Increasingly complex as neural networks become deeper and more sophisticated

With these tools and techniques, users have found it a lot easier to deploy generative AI in their marketing activities.

Bad Actors Using Generative AI

While these facts may lead you to believe that you no longer need your graphic team or writers, a quick search online will reveal that AI falls some way short of the efforts of real content marketers — at least for now. Big brands like Sports Illustrated have landed in hot water after being caught using AI to create profiles for fake writers, and publishers like Wizards of the Coast have been forced to ban the use of AI after discovering that their artists had been using programs to push out new content quickly.

Crucially, this doesn’t mean you should turn your back on AI during the content creation process altogether. Instead, consider using AI to empower your content creation team. For example, if you currently rely on a fleet of writers to produce your blog content or marketing materials, consider investing in tools like Grammarly and Jasper AI. These tools empower, rather than replace, real marketers and improve the quality of their production by offering real-time editing suggestions.

Lead Generation

Finding new leads for your firm is crucial when you work in marketing. However, lead scoring and data analytics can take hours to complete if you’re entirely reliant on human marketers. Similarly, human marketers require time away from the desk, meaning that new leads that pop up in the wee hours of the night may be left to cool while everyone’s asleep.

Today, you can use AI to embolden your lead-generation efforts by investing in tools that automate the process. For example, many modern AI tools can score incoming leads in real-time based on variables like historical data and user behavior. This can quickly sort your hot leads from your dead ends and will ensure that you are able to focus on the folks most likely to convert.

Data Analysis

You can also use these AI tools to enrich your data and predict changing trends in your industry. For example, if you collect a large volume of data from social sources, modern AI tools can stitch together data from other sources like surveys and email forms. This will give you a more comprehensive understanding of user intention and may aid your efforts to create marketing content based on hard data.

That said, you will likely need to improve your data-cleaning efforts to make use of AI for lead generation and maintenance. If you feed bad data into your analytic programs, don’t be surprised when it produces poor results. Investing in data cleansing tools and intentionally retraining your AI program to parse out useless data points is key to your efforts and ensuring your team is empowered by data that is relevant and accurate.

Pivoting Towards AI

It’s clear that, though caution should be exercised, AI is fundamental to marketing companies making the digital transformation. ML programs can personalize advertisements for folks online, natural language processing algorithms can aid consumers with accessibility concerns, and generative software can edit and suggest revisions during the content creation process.

However, pivoting towards AI shouldn’t be undertaken rashly. Rather, marketing teams that want to increase their use of AI should treat the digital transformation as a journey. This means that marketing managers should move through distinct phases when rolling out new tech, including:

  • Enablement: Are there any processes that the marketing team already does that would be instantly empowered by the introduction of automation and AI? For example, could you use AI to track invoices or send automated emails upon purchase completion?
  • Transformation: Which processes will be a little harder to automate, but will pay dividends in the long run? For example, could you embed more AI into your CRM in order to track trends and keep tabs on shifting consumer behavior?
  • Investigation: Keep an open eye out for emerging technology that could be useful for your firm. You don’t have to try every new AI product in the marketing space, either, and should ensure that anything you do decide to use fits in with your existing tech stack.

Following this process-oriented approach will help you make good use of well-established AI tools and will give you time to on-board new programs properly. This can help you target problems that are specific to your firm and will ensure that you’re aware of existing and emergent solutions in the marketing industry.

Conclusion

Embracing AI for marketing can seem intimidating if you’re new to the idea of automation. Get the ball rolling by using well-established tools that empower your team and enable them to be more productive.

As AI programs become more sophisticated, consider utilizing more transformational tools that change the way you work. Just be sure to maintain strong human supervision, as most consumers show a preference for human-generated content and may turn away from your firm if they discover you’ve been using AI to gain their personal data through illegal means.

Ainsley Lawrence

BIO: Ainsley Lawrence is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest in the United States. She enjoys writing about better living through education and technology. She is frequently lost in a mystery podcast.