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The present: the year AI goes mainstream
As 2023 etches its mark in history, one dominant theme will be remembered above all else, the year artificial intelligence (AI) goes mainstream.
AI discussions have become commonplace in homes and businesses alike. With its remarkable ability to engage in human-like interactions and solve problems, the question for most of us remains the same, should we be worried or excited?
For businesses of all shapes and sizes, AI marketing has become a hot topic with business owners and marketing teams debating “What will be the role of AI in digital marketing?”, “How will this impact the future of SEO?”, and “Should we even considere using AI?”.
These critical questions find their answers through the efforts of Opace, a digital marketing agency based in Birmingham. Their recent insights and comprehensive analysis explore the multifaceted role of AI in digital marketing and profound insights into the future of SEO.
For those still left wondering what happened in 2023 to mark this major breakthrough in AI, it was the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI.
Opace explains, “AI, at its core, aims to create systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. One of the most significant advancements in AI is ChatGPT, a conversational AI model developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT can understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives. It can hold conversations, answer questions, and even assist with content creation.”
Is ChatGPT real AI?
It’s important to distinguish between different types of AI and where exactly we are at this point in time with AI tools like ChatGPT and also competitors such as Bing Chat, Bard, and Anthropic’s Claude all providing similar AI capabilities.
“Artificial narrow intelligence (ANI), including ChatGPT, is the type of AI used today for marketing and content creation. These systems excel in specific tasks but lack consciousness or autonomous decision-making capability. On the other hand, artificial general intelligence (AGI) is more akin to the AI depicted in movies like The Terminator or I, Robot, or M3GAN, where AI-powered computers have their own personalities and can take over.”
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While ChatGPT is not an AGI, its capabilities have made many believe it’s close, especially with its GPT-4 model and possibilities for GPT-5. It can perform tasks similar to AGI, such as training, learning, planning, problem-solving, and coming up with creative solutions. However, the key difference is that AGI can carry out multiple varied tasks without human intervention and can reason on its own, whereas ChatGPT still operates within human-defined rules.” Opace continues.
The evolution, future, and role of AI in digital marketing
AI has come a long way, from simple automated tasks to complex problem-solving abilities. Once considered the luxury of big businesses, AI is now at the forefront of technology, innovation, and marketing. Freely available and accessible to all, it’s shaping how we go about our daily lives. In particular, the use of AI in digital marketing and strategies like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has gone from something widely considered to be bad practice and poor in terms of its capability, to integral almost overnight.
With tools like ChatGPT, businesses can understand their audience better, tailor content to individual preferences, and predict future trends. This level of analysis and personalisation was unheard of a few years ago. It’s happening to such an extent that AI is transforming every facet of marketing, from data analysis to customer service.
The potential creation of future AGI systems will revolutionise marketing even further. AGI will be able to learn, think, adapt, and implement knowledge across a broad range of tasks without human intervention. It will process vast amounts of data instantly and display cognitive flexibility. Although we’re not at the AGI stage yet, it will define the future of marketing. There are already rumours of a future version of ChatGPT being AGI.
The future of SEO using AI marketing
Opace elaborates on how the future of SEO now looks very different to what it did last year, “AI has now become an accessible and invaluable tool when it comes to SEO and digital marketing. From content creation, to personalisation, technical optimisation, and even coding, AI is really changing the game. As an example, individuals who run a WordPress website or blog can take advantage of plugins which can recommend keywords, propose content concepts, and even write complete blog articles tailored to the user’s preferences and prompts.”
“ChatGPT can provide AI-driven insights and enhance the process of brainstorming and conceptualising content ideas visually using its own plugins. It can identify trends and suggest content topics that resonate with audiences. Personalisation is key to capturing and retaining the attention of today’s visitors. With A, content can be tailored to meet the unique preferences and needs of individual users, helping to enhance engagement and loyalty. AI can be used to analyse website performance, offer keyword recommendations and suggest content strategies that align with organic search trends.”
To think this is all possible at a stage when tools like ChatGPT are still considered to be ANI (weak or narrow intelligence). Just imagine the future of SEO with AGI.
Opace continues, “Imagining the future of SEO with AGI is really exciting but also quite daunting when thinking about how much will be automated. Without a doubt AI in its current form and potentially AGI in the future will put professionals out of work, and that includes SEOs. However, on the upside, for those who think ahead and try to stay relevant by providing value beyond that of AI (the human touch), it will offer incredible possibilities. Imagine being able to ask your AI to analyse the SEO of your entire website, I mean every single page, against competitors, then make intelligent recommendations or even changes while you sleep ready to check the next morning.”
Using AI for social media marketing
It’s not just about SEO of course, social media platforms serve as crucial touchpoints for businesses to engage with their audiences in this day and age.
From Facebook to Twitter (‘X’) or TikTok, AI can revolutionise social media content creation, marketing and analysis. AI can analyse trends and produce content that specifically targets audience on these platforms in real-time and in a way indistinguishable from a human.
Alternatively, AI can be used to measure user engagement metrics, such as likes, shares, and comments, to determine which content resonates most with the audience, ensuring businesses always continue to produce engaging and shareable content. Furthermore, AI tools can suggest optimal posting times, predict content virality, and even automate responses to user comments or messages.
In essence, AI’s role in social media marketing, content creation and analysis changes everything, enabling businesses to undertake social media activities with precision and efficiency.
Other forms of AI marketing
In addition to digital marketing strategies like SEO and social media, other uses of AI marketing include:
- Research and analysis – streamlining vast amounts of research and data collection to provide valuable insights on marketing campaigns, trends and customer behaviour.
- Customer service – AI-assisted chatbots that offer instant and reasoned responses to customer queries around the clock.
- Voice assistants – voice search and smart speakers that use AI to provide interactive and personalised user experiences to customers while on the move or away from a computer.
- Media creation – whether digital media or print, AI image creation tools like Dall-E2, Bing Image Creator, and Stable Diffusion, are now being used to generate unique images based on prompts. Adobe in particular is leading the commercial space with Firefly and its clever generative AI filling techniques.
Case studies: AI marketing campaigns from leading brands
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Several leading brands have successfully been integrating AI into their business strategy and marketing campaigns for years. Here are some of the most well-known examples:
Coca-Cola uses generative AI in advertising
Coca-Cola has embarked on an innovative journey with generative AI, focusing on art and advertising. Its recent advertisement showcases renowned artworks through innovative artificial intelligence.
The ad, titled “Masterpiece”, depicts a Coca-Cola bottle journeying through iconic paintings and sculptures, culminating in its presentation to an inspired student. This visual spectacle was a collaboration between the VFX team at Electric Theatre Collective and Blitzworks, blending live-action, digital effects, and AI. The campaign features artworks from celebrated artists like Utagawa Hiroshige, J.M.W Turner, Vincent Van Gogh, and contemporary artists such as Aket, Vikram Kushwah, Stefania Tejada, and Fatma Ramadan. The overarching message is that artists should view AI as a tool to augment their skills, rather than a threat to their profession.
Additionally, Coca-Cola has partnered with OpenAI’s DALL-E2 model and ChatGPT for marketing initiatives. Pratik Thakar being appointed as the global head of generative AI in 2023 highlights the significance Coca-Cola places on this technology for marketing.
Source – Forbes and Analyticsdrift
Netflix recommendations using AI, Data Science and ML
Netflix is a brand we all know and utilises advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) to offer users tailored and intuitive content suggestions. The company’s AI integration has evolved to enable extensive personalisation, the monitoring of user interactions and making content recommendations based on viewing habits.
Netflix employs AI in various operations, including generating appealing thumbnails through frame annotation and ranking, ensuring optimal streaming quality by predicting subscriber counts, and providing tailored movie recommendations.
The recommendation engine, which costs close to $1 million annually, is designed to enhance user satisfaction. Netflix’s investment in machine learning and data science has significantly improved its marketing campaigns, with AI-driven recommendations being a key contributor to its success.
Source – Simplilearn
Amazon makes AI the core of its e-commerce
Amazon has strategically integrated artificial intelligence and machine learning throughout its organisation, significantly enhancing its e-commerce dominance. A prime example is Amazon’s product recommendations, which are AI-driven and have been in use for around two decades.
These personalised recommendations, based on big data analysis of user behaviour, have proven effective, driving approximately 35% of Amazon’s sales. Additionally, Amazon’s search bar, powered by AI, has a higher conversion rate compared to competitors, transforming searches into actual sales.
Source – Godatafeed
The road ahead: Predictions and trends for the future of marketing
With the integration of AI in digital marketing and traditional marketing, we enter a new era for businesses of all shapes and sizes. The fusion of AI marketing and the future of SEO is undeniable. The advancements in AI, particularly in digital marketing, are not just fads but a transformative shift that is reshaping the very fabric of how businesses connect with their audiences.
Opace concluded, “As we look forward, the future of SEO is intrinsically tied to the innovations in AI marketing. With the rapid evolution of technology, businesses that harness AI in digital marketing will not only thrive but set the bar for competitors to remain relevant. The potential of AI in digital marketing is incredible. As we’ve seen with tools like ChatGPT, the boundaries are continually being pushed, offering glimpses into a future where AI strategies become the norm. The synergy of AI with voice-enabled devices and smart technologies is an exciting one, compelling marketers to embrace a more intuitive and context-rich content methodology.”
While the potential of AI is obviously vast, businesses must remain anchored to their core values, ensuring clarity in their responses and transparency in their AI-driven operations and data usage. Questions will inevitably need to be asked: “Is using AI always beneficial?”, “At what level does AI automation become impersonal?”, and ” Are we using AI ethically, in a transparent and authentic way?”.
To sum it up, the future of SEO and AI marketing poses challenges and ethical questions for businesses, but it’s also exciting to think of the possibilities, especially when considering the potential of AGI. As long as AI is used to compliment human insight, creativity and expertise, rather than replace it, it will continue to grow from strength to strength.
About Opace
Opace is a Birmingham-based digital agency founded in 2008. They specialise in providing tailored digital strategies, including AI, marketing, web desigm, e-commerce, blockchain, and consultancy. Two of their latest developments include the release of AI-Scribe, a ChatGPT blog content creator plugin for WordPress and a new concept called AnswerMate.ai which uses AI technologies to allow callers to have real conversations with AI voicebots powered by OpenAI and ElevenLabs’ advanced text-to-speech technology.
For media inquiries or more information, please contact:
David Bryan, Director, Opace Ltd
Phone: (+44) 845 017 7661
Email: info@opace.co.uk
Website: https://www.opace.co.uk
