Marketing Predictions in the AI Era

As 2023 wraps up, no one can dispute that AI has dominated and disrupted every facet of our lives, and this trend shows no sign of abating in 2024. If you doubt the impact of the technology, consider this—of the 84 billion views Wikipedia received this year, the leading page is ChatGPT, with 49.5 million views!

Research from McKinsey found that a third of organizations are using AI regularly in multiple departments, and 40% plan to increase their investment in the year ahead. And according to Gartner, AI is more than a trend and is forever changing how humans and machines interact.

The technology is transforming every aspect of marketing, from content to automating tedious tasks and analyzing vast volumes of data. Marketing has been inundated with AI tools and as teams grapple with these and try to navigate this new intelligent era, it has created a slew of opportunities and challenges in the quest to optimize marketing strategies and drive efficiencies.

With this in mind, let’s dive in and explore six predictions on how AI will impact marketing in 2024 and beyond.

6 Predictions on how AI will impact marketing in 2024—and beyond

1. Campaign Optimization

AI is disrupting every facet of marketing, and teams will increasingly integrate the technology to help analyze data, uncover insights, and deliver efficiency gains, all in the pursuit of optimizing campaigns. Any organization not exploring and testing how AI can improve marketing efforts will struggle to stay competitive.

2. Copyright Comes into Focus

Generative AI design tools are increasingly being adopted, but one thorny issue is copyright. Many of these AI solutions scrape visual content without being subject to any consequences. The U.S. Copyright Office has provided some initial guidance and launched a formal AI initiative. In 2024, you can expect there will be a lot more energy, effort, and public policy discussions focused on finding a solution to the copyright problem with AI image creation to clarify ownership. This will allow marketing teams to embrace AI design tools without fear of encountering legal issues, saving precious time and money.

3. Customer Engagement: AI in the driving seat

By the end of 2024, most customer emails will be AI-generated. Brands will increasingly use generative AI engines to produce first drafts of copy for humans to review and approve. However, marketing teams must train large language models (LLMs) to fully automate customer content and differentiate their brand. By 2026, this will be commonplace, enabling teams to shift focus to campaign management and optimization.

4. AI Key to Scaling Personalization Efficiently

Generative AI tools will help appease the never-ending thirst for content. In addition, the intelligence will be pivotal as marketing has historically struggled to scale personalization efforts. The technology will enable marketing to generate more customer experiences from improved segmentation and optimize advertising targeting and marketing strategies to achieve higher engagement and conversion levels.

5. AI and Talent: The Augmentation Era

As AI becomes more pervasive, this will inevitably change the fabric of marketing teams. Lower-level admin-centric roles will disappear, and many analytical positions will become redundant. However, it's not all doom and gloom; the demand for data scientists will explode, making it one of the most sought-after skill sets for the rest of this decade and immune to economic pressures. Humans will continue to drive marketing, but the role of machines will increase each year. This era of AI (with guardrails) augmenting humans will continue for at least another decade in marketing.

6. The Intelligent Future

For employees, hoping they will not need to adapt and reskill to some extent is naive. As with every disruptive technology, those who embrace it and look for ways to harness it will no doubt reap the benefits and create new and exciting career paths. Everyone should be learning how to work with AI and, for example, exploring how to use prompts effectively. At Keysight, the marketing team is test-driving various tools to determine the best mix for our organization to drive results and continue to delight our customers. As marketing teams plan for the year ahead, they should look to expand their skill set and become AI literate.

Embrace the future and potential of AI

Rather than fearing AI, I’m excited about the possibilities it’s opening up for all of us, irrespective of whether you are starting your career, in the final stretch, or at some point in between. Embracing change is a mantra for success in business and life, and I look forward to seeing how marketing is transformed in the AI era in the coming months and years. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.