The capabilities of AI are growing on a nearly daily basis. Leaders in almost every industry are scrambling to understand the threats and opportunities these technologies pose to their business and what initiatives they can adopt to keep up with their competition.

Because the pace of change in AI is so rapid, launching initiatives now is a particular challenge. By the time an initiative is proposed, planned, approved, and resourced, it may well be outdated. On the other side of the coin, generative AI tools—particularly the Large Language Model (LLM) technologies like ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude—are available to everyone, with most organizations still struggling with how to govern behind-the-scenes use of these tools by their employees.

To help the marketing industry navigate this quickly shifting environment, we’ll be focusing our July webinar on where AI tools for marketing stand now, some examples of how companies have adopted these tools, and what the broader future picture looks like for marketing as AI tools reach mature integration.

As a primer to the webinar discussion, below are some of the key applications of AI that all marketers should be aware of today.

AI for content creation

Generative AI models like GPT-3 and GPT-4 allow for advanced content creation. As marketers work to understand the implications of this technology, AI is already changing how we create everything from blogs and web content to email campaigns and social content.

Some of these capabilities are already being integrated directly with services like HubSpot and Shopify. HubSpot users can now try the firm’s Content Assistant (currently in public beta) to inject AI-created content directly into their workflows in existing HubSpot products.

Shopify’s tool allows users to set up a complete e-commerce site, including content, with just an AI prompt.

AI for personalization

Machine learning allows marketers to build more advanced profiles of their customers, segment audiences, and predict preferences. Ultimately, this will allow marketers to build tailored messaging for each customer for 1:1 marketing en masse.

AI for analytics

One powerful application of AI in marketing is using machine learning algorithms to analyze data and uncover insights. Marketers can pull data from website traffic, social media engagement, email campaigns, sales efforts, and so on. AI tools can then process these massive datasets to identify trends and patterns, which might be difficult for humans to spot on their own.

AI for ad targeting

AI can help with ad targeting by automating time-consuming optimization processes. For example, for PPC campaigns, AI can take over bids and budget management, freeing up marketers’ time while ensuring ads are adjusted in real-time to drive optimal results. The algorithms can analyze past campaign performance data like clicks, conversions, engagement metrics, etc. to identify the best audiences, keywords, ad placements, landing pages, and bidding strategies. Rather than relying on manual A/B testing, the AI will continuously tweak targeting parameters to reduce wasted ad spend and boost ROI.

Doing AI right starts today

Watch our July webinar for a discussion about how leaders and marketers think AI will fundamentally change how they operate. Our presenters Courtney Kehl, CEO & Founder of Expert Marketing Advisors, and Celeste Malia, Public & Analyst Relations, have put current and future AI applications in an actionable business context with examples of how brands are already using AI in their marketing.

Critically, Courtney and Celeste have also discussed how marketers can leverage AIwhile navigating the risks and challenges these technologies present.