Cognitive technology has tremendous potential for marketers, and IT executives are taking notice.
No matter your views on artificial intelligence (A.I.), there is no denying that it will forever change our world – and in many ways, it already has. From self-driving cars to cognitive technologies in the workplace, the transformation is well underway, and there is virtually no sector that will remain untouched. Indeed, recent research suggests that IT executives across industries are well aware of A.I.’s promise, and are actively seeking to implement the technology in one or more aspects of their organization.
The Study
In their most recent report, researchers from 451 Research and Blazent surveyed 200 C-level and Senior IT leaders to better understand the current state of data management. While those surveyed cited a number of applications for A.I., ranging from asset management to social graph analysis, almost one-third of IT executives plan on using machine learning programs to optimize their marketing campaigns.
This has profound implications for those in the marketing field, especially given that more than two-thirds of the survey’s respondents “have a strong appetite for machine learning and predictive analytics.” About 22% already have machine learning programs in place, and 42% have plans to implement such programs in the near future. In other words, A.I. is poised to take the marketing world by storm.
Unequal Solutions
But when it comes to cognitive technology, not all solutions are created equal — in fact, few of them really qualify as “Artificial Intelligence” at all. For example, while Analytics platforms are valuable in their own right, they cannot be classified as A.I. In large part, this is because they are completely dependent upon human experts to make observations, test relationships between data sets, and draw conclusions. Moreover, predictive analytics is only as good as the data it uses, and while it can give you useful insights, they are often compartmentalized; in and of itself, an analytics platform cannot provide proactive solutions.
Genuine A.I., on the other hand, is significantly more comprehensive in both its scope and its applications. By leveraging predictive analytics, A.I. uses machine learning to work backwards from the results, uncovering the complex issues driving a particular desired outcome. Importantly, it does so in real-time, making observations across all data inputs and adjusting its behavior with minimal need for supervision.
Infinite Possibility
It’s easy to imagine the promise such technology holds in the marketing sector. Every campaign across every channel could be monitored around the clock, and no longer would different tools be needed to process data and glean valuable insights from separate data streams. Modifications could be made as soon as they are needed, based on observed (and predicted) consumer behavior. Marketers could spend more time developing their unique messaging and less time tracking and analyzing clicks and impressions.
This is not some far-off, sci-fi pipe dream — Adgorithms is delivering on that promise. He is the first cross-channel marketing software that’s powered by artificial intelligence, and therefore acts more like a member of your marketing team rather than a tool.
The question is whether marketers will embrace that promise by trusting platforms like Albert with control over some campaigns, allowing them to put their valuable time to higher-level tasks. A.I. is going to sweep the global business landscape, and autonomous marketing platforms like Albert will be leading the charge — that is, if today’s marketers are ready for them to do so.
