Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the buzzword in the technology industry and for good reason. AI is revolutionising the way we work, and marketing is no exception.
As we move towards a more data-driven world, AI is helping businesses make sense of the vast amounts of information available to them, and it's providing insights that were once impossible to obtain without significant investment. In this blog, we'll explore the uses of AI in the marketing world, and how you can work with AI...

 

What is ChatGPT?

GPT stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer", and it is a type of language model that uses deep learning techniques to generate human-like text. It is essentially an incredibly powerful search engine, amassing large amounts of text data from the internet, including books, articles, websites, blog posts and more. It is trained on these large amounts of text data and uses the GPT-3.5 (now 4, for those who have upgraded to GPT Plus) algorithm to generate responses to the user's inputs. 

ChatGPT achieved one million users in record time upon its release, amassing that number within 5 days. Its popularity can be credited to its UX, along with the mindblowing range of content you can produce with the tool, including; brief tales, prose, documents, programming code, solving maths problems, rephrasing and explanations, and providing business advice.

 

How to Use AI in Marketing

Content generation

AI can help in automating mundane tasks, improving customer engagement, and overall increasing efficiency and productivity. 

Using an AI such as ChatGPT or Bard, you're able to create marketing assets within a few minutes, compared to hours.
Produce marketing collateral such as email marketing content, blog content, and social media content. 

Here's an example of using ChatGPT to generate email content. While this tool is incredible for this use, we recommend using the outputs as a draft only.
The text it outputs should always be fact-checked and assessed for any mistakes, and adjusted to align with the tone of voice your brand uses. 

Along with generating new content, you can use AI to rewrite your existing content. Below is a shorthand example, but the possibilities are endless.
Need an existing piece of content rewritten to target specific marketing personas? ChatGPT can help within a matter of seconds...

Resources

It is not recommended to use ChatGPT or OpenAI to research topics and take the information it produces as fact. (GPT states itself when you log in: "Limitations: May occasionally generate incorrect information. May occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content. Limited knowledge of world and events after 2021.")
You can, however, ask the AI to produce a list of helpful websites and resources to access reliable information. 

Coding

AI can now help you with your coding needs! Here is the response using GPT's own suggestion "How do I make an HTTP request in Javascript?"

Coding, however, is a complicated process, from knowing the script you need, to how to implement the code onto your site, it isn't generally recommended to use this feature for coding and web development unless you have prior experience and knowledge within this field. Your website is your 24/7 salesperson - so it is best to leave this to your developers. 

Pitfalls of AI in Marketing

Creativity

AI is amazing at analysing data, and identifying patterns within but it can lack the creativity and 'human touch'. The content AI produces can be identified as it tends to be repetitive and lacking in creativity. AI also lacks the emotional intelligence that can be critical in building strong customer relations. Having said this, it is a great starting point for writing content and can be used to generate general outlines of content or to assist in rewriting. 

Bias

Based on the data the AI is trained from, the information AI gives can be biased so should always be fact-checked. This is especially important in areas such as advertising and customer targeting. 

There are a few ways in which bias can creep into AI algorithms:

• Sampling bias - if the data used to train the algorithm is not representative of the population, the algorithm may learn from a skewed sample and produce biased results.
• Labelling bias - If the labels assigned to the data used to train the algorithm are biased, the algorithm may learn from those biases and produce biased results.
• Feedback loop bias - If the algorithm is allowed to run without any human oversight, it may learn from biased feedback and produce even more biased results.

As mentioned, businesses using AI to produce content should evaluate the data the AI produces. Ultimately, AI should be utilised as a tool by content creators, rather than as a content producer itself. 

Dated Knowledge

Chat GPT has incredible potential, however, it is essential to be aware of its limitations - this being its knowledge base. With its knowledge restricted to information available up to 2021, using this application for tasks like SEO can be a gamble. SEO is a forever shifting landscape, with best practice algorithms changing frequently, therefore for tasks such as this we would recommend supplementing chatGPTs insights with additional research from up-to-date sources and industry experts.

Bing AI and Bard however, are connected to the internet and offer up-to-date information, and there are Chrome extensions for chat GPT to connect to the internet. 

As always, we recommend using AI as a "jumping off point", or as a draft, rather than a final edit.

AI is rapidly changing the marketing world. Companies that embrace this technology will realise the significant benefits in terms of increased efficiency, cost savings and improved customer experiences, all while achieving business goals. It is however important to recognise that AI is not a miracle tool, and requires continuous learning and optimisation to deliver the best results. 

We at Intergage are looking forward to the progression of AI, and what it could bring.