Who knew AI in marketing could be this impactful? From personalized content creation to predictive analytics and campaign automation, AI does the heavy lifting, freeing marketing teams to focus on creative strategies. So, if you’re curious about how AI can help you up your marketing game, I’ve curated ten of the most inspiring examples of AI in marketing.
TD;LR
- AI is transforming modern marketing in unprecedented ways
- From content management to customer segmentation and predictive analytics, AI in marketing has positively impacted businesses in diverse industries
- Teams should incorporate AI into their marketing strategies and look out for more AI evolution
How is AI Transforming the Marketing Landscape?
Marketing will never be the same again. Certainly not with the way AI is revolutionizing it. It’s intriguing how we moved from manual, time-consuming traditional marketing methods to automated AI-driven practices. The evolution has started, and like a good show, we’re here to enjoy every bit of it.
Here are four key ways AI is transforming marketing:
- Fast and accurate data analysis
Is it not incredible that AI can sift through large amounts of data in seconds when the same task would have taken an analyst weeks to complete? This speed enables teams to access critical customer insights in real-time, an essential advantage in this fast-paced digital economy.
Aside from quick analytics, AI insights are also highly accurate. Using machine learning and advanced algorithms to process data, AI uncovers patterns and trends that other data analysis systems would miss. This precision equips marketers to make data-driven decisions that drive growth.
- Improved customer experiences
Marketing is about creating better experiences for prospects and customers to boost conversions. However, carrying out these processes manually is slow and yields minimal results. With AI in marketing, teams can deliver personalized experiences at scale, using data-driven insights to customize content, offers, and interactions.
- Enhanced efficiency
Automation is AI’s standout feature, and rightly so. By automating routine marketing tasks like customer segmentation, social media scheduling, and email campaigns, AI frees marketers from time-wasting manual work. With that off their plate, they can concentrate on more creative, strategic, and innovative business operations.
- Increased ROI
The ultimate goal of all marketing efforts is improved ROI, and AI in marketing delivers on that. The technology gives marketers more bang for their buck by automating their processes, providing actionable insights, and enhancing efficiency. This cuts costs and increases the impact of marketing campaigns, yielding better returns on investments.
What are the best examples of AI in marketing?
#1 Expedia Group uses AI to design marketing materials
Industry: Hospitality technology
Use case: Design
The role of design in marketing
What’s the first thing that draws you to a brand? It’s most probably the design. Eye-catching visuals capture viewer’s attention and encourages them to interact with a brand. If well-nurtured, this initial attraction can end in a purchase. Little wonder that 81% of businesses use graphic design in various formats.
Designing without AI
Manually designing customer-facing materials is challenging, but not with AI in marketing. Without generative AI tools, the design process can be tiring and time-consuming, requiring manual adjustments and a lot of back-and-forth. It’s also pretty expensive, as hiring professional graphic designers doesn’t come cheap.
The process with AI
Generative AI has transformed marketing design, enabling marketers to create real magic. It automates asks, offering numerous templates and design suggestions. This not only reduces time but also saves costs and improves productivity.
Many teams now use AI image generators. These AI-powered image generators help businesses produce high-quality marketing materials efficiently and at a fraction of the traditional cost.
How Expedia Group used AI to design their marketing materials
Expedia Group is one of the inspiring examples of AI at work. They needed to produce high-quality marketing materials while maintaining brand consistency. They also wanted to be able to collaborate on projects, onboard new staff, and launch a global rebrand. To achieve these goals, they needed to incorporate generative AI in marketing. So, they partnered with Canva, the AI-driven design software.
The result
Using AI for their designs, Expedia Group saved 7,800 design hours in a year. Their teams could also create videos in three hours rather than three days. Overall, they’ve seen a 93% reduction in design review times.
#2 Accor Hotels uses AI for ad targeting and optimization
Industry: Hospitality
Use case: Ad targeting and optimization
The role of ad targeting and optimization in marketing
Ad campaigns have always been part of marketing, but digital marketing has taken a different dimension. No one wants wasted ad spend. That’s why you do not just throw your ads out there, hoping the right people will engage with them; you must be deliberate.
Ad targeting and optimization lets you precisely direct your ad campaign to specific audiences based on detailed insights and behaviors. This approach ensures your ads are seen by those most likely interested, increases customer engagement, and drives better results.
Ad targeting and optimization without AI
If a company were to perform ad targeting and optimization manually, its entire workforce wouldn’t be able to keep up with the workload. It involves analyzing large amounts of data, making regular updates, and running multiple campaigns simultaneously, which takes time and effort.
The process with AI
AI tools use machine learning and sophisticated algorithms to analyze large datasets to identify audience behavior and preference patterns. This allows them to target ads to individuals most likely to engage with them.
However, AI tools do not stop there; they continuously monitor ad performance and make real-time adjustments, such as refining ad content or reallocating budgets, to optimize results. This helps to reduce ad spend.
How Accor Hotels used AI for ad targeting and optimization
Accor Hotels wanted to drive organic traffic, increase click-through rates, and boost brand awareness. It turned to Google Ads, using the AdWords ad extensions, an AI-powered tool for enhancing ad visibility and customer engagement.
The result
By adopting AI marketing tools for its ad targeting and optimization, Accor Hotels increased incremental conversions by 14% with site links and form extensions. It also used review extensions to grow click-through rates by 19%.
#3 M&C Saatchi Group uses AI to create a single source of truth
Industry: Advertising
Use case: Data management
The role of data management in marketing
Marketers need relevant, accurate, and up-to-date data to understand their target audiences, track campaign performance, and personalize customer interactions. This data must be well managed for easy access, security, and valuable insights.
Data management without AI
Managing customer data manually can be time-consuming, error-prone, and inefficient. It often requires endlessly exporting and merging files, increasing the risk of duplications and inconsistencies.
As a result, the marketing team regularly cleans and validates data to reduce errors. This involves manually checking for duplicates and missing values.
The process with AI
With AI in marketing, data management becomes a breeze. AI automates the entire process of gathering, organizing, storing, and analyzing data with remarkable speed and precision.
AI uses its deep learning capabilities to handle large datasets, pulling data from multiple sources and instantly organizing it. This saves the marketing team from manually sifting through numerous files or worrying about errors.
How M&C Saatchi Group used AI for data management
M&C Saatchi Group needed a single source of truth for all its entities. It wanted a platform that would give a clear view of its clients, prospects, and pipeline. So, it embraced AI marketing by choosing Hubspot’s AI-powered all-in-one marketing automation software.
The result
The AI solution integrated all their marketing tools and data in one place, connecting all their customer insights and optimizing their operations. By unifying their data sources and automating processes, the AI system gave them a clear view of customer behavior, improved data accuracy, and led to more effective decision-making.
#4 Cox Communication uses AI for content management
Industry: Communication
Use case: Content management
Why content management is vital in marketing
What’s marketing without content? Blogs, social media posts, emails, videos—name it—are all marketing vessels. Managing these content forms involves coordinating their creation with the right AI writing tools, scheduling their publishing, and tracking their performance. This helps you create a cohesive strategy that drives engagement.
Content management without AI
Managing marketing content manually in today’s digital world is cumbersome, error-prone, and inefficient. It would mean creating each content piece from scratch, keeping track of multiple content channels, scheduling them, and monitoring performance metrics. This would undoubtedly drain any marketing team and yield minimal results.
The process with AI
Artificial intelligence automates the content management process, taking over content creation, scheduling, and publishing activities. This innovative technology can also analyze data to predict trends and optimize content for different platforms. AI, no doubt, saves teams time and effort, helping them deliver more effective marketing campaigns.
How Cox Communication used AI for content management
Cox wanted to reach its local audience and drive new pay-per-view customers. To do this, it had to establish an editorial infrastructure. In the past, it only published one-paragraph stories with its video content. But it needed more robust content with a quality mix of graphics and videos. So, it turned to Contently, a content management AI platform.
The result
By adopting AI marketing solutions, Cox improved its content creation and saw an increase in its engagement rate. AI-powered analytics and distribution also reduced its cost-per-click. After the first year, Cox produced 1200 stories, with the conversion rate for pay-per-view events increasing by 50%.
#5 Croda uses AI for social media management
Industry: Healthcare
Use case: Social media management
The role social media management plays in marketing
We can all agree modern marketing is incomplete without social media. Brand interactions, customer service, and product promotions have all found a home on social media. Social media management lets you effectively engage with your audience, improve your brand presence, and track your marketing efforts.
As a marketing team, creating social media posts and engaging with your customers and prospects on social media is no longer optional. It is essential for staying competitive and relevant in today’s business ecosystem.
Social media management without AI
Effective social media management requires constant attention and quick responses to maintain a vibrant online presence. Doing this manually is time-consuming, stressful, and error-prone. It would be impossible to engage with audiences in real-time, leading to missed opportunities for engagement and slower response times.
The process with AI
The difference between manual and AI social media management is enormous. AI is super efficient. Using machine learning and advanced algorithms, it helps you schedule content faster, engage customers and prospects in real time, and give you detailed analytics. AI predicts trends, optimizes post timing, and personalizes interactions at scale.
How Croda used AI for social media management
Croda, a consumer care brand, wanted to drive organic traffic to its website. It needed a platform to integrate all its social media efforts, spread its sustainability message, and engage employees in advocacy work. Doing all this manually would be impossible, so it engaged Hootsuite, a social media marketing platform.
The result
Using Hootsuite as a centralized platform where teams can publish, manage, and analyze their campaigns created a solid digital presence for Croda. It became easy for everyone to interact with customers.
They were also able to build an online community to educate and inform the audience. With an AI-powered platform, Croda has reached over 23 million connections on LinkedIn and has seen over 5,000 web conversions.
#6 Natural Cycles uses AI customer segmentation
Industry: Healthcare
Use case: Customer segmentation
How customer segmentation impacts marketing
Customer segmentation involves dividing customers into unique groups based on shared features like demographics, behaviors, and preferences. This process is vital as it helps you tailor your messages to the specific needs of each group, improving personalization and customer satisfaction.
Customer segmentation without AI
Manual customer segmentation is a long and tiring process. Before grouping the data, you’ll need to prepare, clean, and analyze it. Next, you’ll create the segments based on determined criteria. This traditional method involves a lot of trial and error, and there’s still no assurance that the data will be accurate.
The process with AI
Customer segmentation is easier and quicker with AI tools. These tools automatically gather, clean, and analyze data, spotting trends and patterns. Using machine learning algorithms, they group customers based on specific shared characteristics. Not only is artificial intelligence faster, but it is also more efficient and reliable than manual segmentation.
How Natural Cycles used AI for customer segmentation
Natural Cycles, a health insurance company, is one of the exciting marketing examples of customer segmentation. It set out to get more granular in its targeting and create more personalized messages with its birth control app. They needed help creating and managing campaigns but realized customer segmentation was the first step. So, they sought help from Optimove, an AI-powered marketing automation platform that uses deep learning to analyze user data and behavior patterns.
The result
Optimove helped them segment their app users by real-time activity, enabling them to tailor messages to users in each category. They could also schedule many campaigns in much less time and with fewer people.
#7 New York Racing Association (NYRA) uses AI to predict players’ behaviors
Industry: Sports
Use case: Predictive analytics
Why predictive analysis is essential in marketing
Think of this technology as your own little marketing fortune teller. It analyzes customers’ past activities, such as browsing habits and purchase history, to help marketers anticipate interactions, forecast trends, and identify potential leads. With this information, teams can send personalized marketing messages and optimize their campaigns.
Predictive analysis without AI
Traditional predictive analytics relies on basic statistical methods and mathematical models. While effective in many scenarios, they cannot handle large datasets or complex patterns. This can limit the depth and accuracy of insights, especially with increased volume and complex data.
The process with AI
AI automates predictive analysis by gathering and cleaning data from websites or social media sources. Using this data, it builds models that identify patterns and predict customer behavior. These predictions help marketers make smarter decisions, target the right audience, and personalize their strategies to improve results.
How NYRA used AI for predictive analysis
NYRA is one of the AI marketing examples that inspires. They had challenges increasing the volume of their marketing campaigns. They wanted to predict their players’ behaviors. Doing this manually would be stressful and time-consuming, so they adopted AI through Optimove, an AI marketing platform, to automate and enhance their predictive capabilities.
The result
With AI-powered solutions, NYRA saw a 54% improvement in activation rate. It now communicates regularly with customers based on real-time and predictive behavior. They’re also able to target each player with personalized offers.
#8 Ticketmaster uses AI to deliver personalized customer support with chatbots
Industry: Entertainment
Use case: Chatbots
How chatbots impact marketing
We all love those tiny boxes at the lower right of websites that welcome us and ask how they can help. Chatbots have become a powerful digital marketing tool, providing instant assistance and visitor engagement. These bots can handle inquiries and offer personalized recommendations in real-time, improving customer experience.
Customer support without AI
Before chatbots, customer support agents attended to customer inquiries and resolved issues via phone, email, or live chat. However, their capacity was limited, leading to longer response times. This traditional method makes it challenging to scale customer support as agents cannot handle large volumes of requests or provide 24/7 support.
The process with AI
AI chatbots empower teams to automate customer interactions, providing instant responses and personalized recommendations around the clock. Equipped with Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities, chatbots can handle large volumes of requests, engage users, and gather insights, improving efficiency and customer experience.
How Ticketmaster used AI-powered chatbots for customer support
Ticketmaster, a live-event ticketing company, was experiencing growth and needed to provide faster and more personalized services for ticket buyers and generally improve its digital marketing efforts. So, it turned to Dialogflow’s conversational AI technology solutions.
The result
Ticketmaster created AI chatbots that handled their customers’ queries as if they were human. The chatbots made better recommendations for events that might interest customers and helped them purchase tickets effortlessly.
#9 Photo Review uses AI for email marketing
Industry: Art & Entertainment
Use case: Email marketing
Why email marketing?
Email marketing helps build and nurture relationships with customers and prospects through targeted, personalized communication. It involves sending emails to subscribers to promote products or services, provide personalized content, and drive engagement.
Email marketing without AI
Imagine manually sending emails to thousands of subscribers. You’d have to write each message individually, segment your audience, and schedule each campaign. It would be an unending and tedious process. Not only would it be time-consuming, it would also be prone to errors, reducing campaign effectiveness.
Email marketing with AI
With AI, email marketing is a smooth drive. The entire email campaign process is automated, improving the team’s efficiency. From intelligently segmenting audiences to personalizing content and optimizing send times, AI does a fantastic job. This automation saves time, increases engagement, and boosts conversions.
How The Photo Review used AI for email marketing
The Photo Review previously sent its newsletters manually. As you can imagine, managing its emails and customer data was quite challenging. Plus, it needed to grow its subscribers, so it partnered with GetResponse, an AI-powered marketing platform, to optimize its email campaigns.
The result
They grew their email list to over 1,000 paying subscribers. That’s not all. They’ve also seen more participation in its photography competitions, more people actively bidding in the auctions, and more overall event attendance.
#10 Pastreez uses AI for SEO optimization
Industry: Foods & Beverages
Use case: SEO optimization
Why SEO optimization is vital in marketing
All marketing efforts are geared towards getting visibility on search engines and eventually driving conversions. By optimizing your web pages and content for search engines, businesses ensure they attract relevant visitors who are more likely to engage with their offerings and convert into customers.
SEO optimization without AI
Manually researching keywords, optimizing on-page elements, and addressing other technical SEO aspects is no child’s play. The complexity and volume of work make it difficult to manage effectively without advanced tools or automation.
The process with AI
SEO optimization is best done with AI. It automates complex tasks like keyword research, content optimization, and technical fixes, making the process faster and more accurate. AI tools also analyze user behavior and trends to continuously adjust strategies, ensuring your website remains competitive and ranks higher in search results.
How Pastreez used AI for SEO optimization
Pastreez wanted to build an online presence, with most orders coming from organic search. To this end, they partnered with SEMrush, an AI-powered SEO tool, to launch a keyword-backed website.
The result
Within three months, the optimized website started ranking on Google’s first page and ranking No. 1 for the keyword “macarons near me.” This placed them before Yelp and other prominent websites, increasing their customer base.
Conclusion
AI’s impact on modern marketing cannot be underplayed. From content creation to social media marketing and data analysis, the dynamics have totally changed. Thanks to AI, marketers can now drive more effective campaigns.
Artificial intelligence is not going anywhere. Instead, it’s going to keep evolving. As a marketer, to get the most out of this transformative technology, ensure you stay informed and adapt to AI-driven innovations.
The AI in marketing examples highlighted here is to inspire you to explore new ways of integrating AI into your marketing strategies. By doing so, you’ll get better results and stay competitive.
