Can Digital Marketing Be Replaced By AI?
The market value of artificial intelligence in digital marketing is expected to reach over $107 billion by 2028.
More and more businesses are embracing AI to automate repetitive tasks and improve their workflows.
The 🧞‍♂️ genie is out of the bottle and there’s no going back to the days before generative AI. But does this mean digital marketers should worry about getting replaced by AI tools? Can AI handle all our digital marketing tasks effectively?
Unfortunately, the question doesn’t have a one-word answer.
In this post, we’ll tell you:
- Why smart marketers shouldn’t worry about getting replaced by AI
- What can AI replace in digital marketing
- How to use AI to become a better marketer
- And more
Let’s dive in.
Can Digital Marketing Be Replaced by AI?
Here’s an answer to the question from an AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT:
At Webology, we couldn’t agree more. AI can’t do digital marketing on our behalf. Skilled digital marketers will always play a pivotal role. Let’s get into the details.
Why AI Can’t Replace Digital Marketers Entirely
There are multiple reasons as to why skilled marketers are irreplaceable.
Lack of Emotional Intelligence
We all know AI-powered chatbots rely on pre-fed data. They reproduce what’s already online, albeit in a different way.
The problem with AI content is that it lacks emotional appeal. If you’ve played around ChatGPT for a few minutes, you’d know that.
AI-generated content doesn’t work in many marketing situations because it doesn’t have the emotional appeal to connect with people.
Lack of Creativity
AI tools are still not capable of creating anything. They use the existing human content to recreate something different.
Developing an effective digital marketing campaign requires creativity, human experience and imagination.
Difficulty Understanding Human Behavior
Human beings aren’t purely logical creatives. In marketing, consumers rely on their emotions while making buying decisions and later justify them with logic.
Effective digital marketing requires understanding human behavior and creating campaigns to address different emotional triggers.
While AI may be far superior at data analysis, it struggles with understanding the intricacies of human behavior.
Limited Strategic Thinking
You need to have a broad vision and the ability to anticipate future trends to develop a comprehensive strategy.
While AI can predict future trends, it’s purely based on data, which we can’t fully rely on.
Ethical Considerations and Bias
AI tools can only be as accurate and objective as the data they’re trained on.
As a marketer, you have the responsibility to ensure your campaigns are:
- Compliant with data privacy laws
- Unbiased
- Ethical
This means you need a human to oversee and double-check everything.
Lack of Innovation
The widespread adoption of AI in marketing makes it hard for businesses to stand out.
To truly stand out, you need to go beyond automation and instill creativity in your strategies.
These were some of the prominent reasons why artificial intelligence can’t fully replace digital marketing (or digital marketers).
Now that that’s clear, let’s talk about how you can leverage AI to achieve your ROI goals.
How to Use AI for Digital Marketing and Still Sound Human
You can use AI tools to make yourself a better marketer.
The key is to stay up to date with the fast-changing AI trends. You need to be consistently on the lookout for the best AI tools and take advantage of them.
However, “How” you use AI tools in your marketing is becoming increasingly important. It’s easy to spot AI content that has not been cleanly edited, and it comes across as robotic and unnatural.
Data Analysis
AI helps marketers analyze vast amounts of data in no time, allowing them to make informed marketing decisions.
You can use AI tools to analyze:
- Consumer behavior
- Website Traffic
- Social media engagement
- Ad interactions
- And more
Content Creation
Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT use NLP (Natural Language Processing) to interact with and chat like humans.
You can use the technology to brainstorm ideas, create a schedule, perform research, and improve your existing content.
Note that relying on a chatbot for any type of content isn’t helpful as it’s not optimized for human connection.
Even if you want to use AI content, make sure it’s proofread, fact-checked, and optimized by a human.
You May Also Like: How to Write SEO Content for Your eCommerce Site
Automation
Probably the best use case of AI is workflow automation, for instance:
- Scheduling triggered-based emails for lead nurturing
- Schedule and publish social media content
- Automating prospect and customer interaction with custom chatbots
Personalization
AI can analyze a lot of data and segment your audience with incredible precision.
This lets you personalize your messages to appeal to different segments of your audience.
For instance, you can personalize your retargeting campaigns based on how website visitors interact with your content.
What Can AI Replace in Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing can’t be replaced by AI, not anytime soon, at least. But, it can replace, and has started to replace, certain aspects of digital marketing.
Repetition
A common use case of AI in digital marketing is automating repetitive tasks.
AI automation helps marketers free up their valuable time and focus on the creative aspects of marketing.
For instance, AI can produce reports based on customer data in an easy-to-understand format.
Another example would be getting AI to schedule and publish your social media posts.
Customer Service
A lot of companies use AI chatbots to automate communication with their prospects and customers.
In fact, 41% of them use them to generate more sales.
Common use cases of AI chatbots in customer support include:
- Addressing frequently asked questions
- Handling customer complaints
- Providing ongoing support
Decision-Making
When it comes to decision-making, there’s nothing better than consumer data. AI can help you make informed marketing decisions based on data and predictive modeling.
Concluding Thoughts from Webology
As you can see, AI may have a lot of applications in digital marketing, but it’s not here to replace marketers.
Humans are the ones who need to do the most important work, including closing deals, developing strategies, and maintaining client relationships.
AI can do certain things better than humans, but it can’t replace human expertise and insights.
What you should do is leverage it to improve your workflows and save time.
Use AI to outsource repetitive tasks and focus on strategic, human aspects of digital marketing.
Don’t Get Left Behind: Leverage AI in Your Marketing Today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI Replace Marketing Jobs?
I don’t believe so! In our case, we just upgraded our writers in job title to editors and kept helping our clients rank higher in Google.
How Can I best Use AI in Digital Marketing?
The best uses of AI in digital marketing are in data analysis and optimization. AI can quickly process large amounts of data and provide insights that humans may have missed. This can be particularly helpful in areas like keyword research, ad targeting, and content optimization.
Does Webology Use AI
Yes! We’re well-versed in using AI tools and techniques to improve our clients’ digital marketing strategies. From automating tasks to analyzing data, we utilize AI to stay ahead of the game and deliver results for our clients.
What Sets Webology Apart When it Comes to AI?
At Webology, we don’t just rely on AI as a standalone solution. We understand that digital marketing is a blend of art and science, and AI is just one tool in our arsenal. Our team of experts combines their knowledge of human behavior and digital marketing with the power of AI to create effective strategies that drive results for our clients.
Hire Webology
Reach out today for a complimentary audit of your entire digital presence. Webology’s AI-powered solutions will help take your digital marketing efforts to the next level and increase your ROI. Don’t just take our word for it, see for yourself how we’ve helped numerous clients achieve their online goals and dominate their respective industries. Contact us now to get started on your journey towards success with Webology.
