Understanding the evolution of AI in marketing

Artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from a novel concept into a pivotal force in marketing within a remarkably short span. Before December 2021, AI wasn’t a significant part of the public conversation, but the emergence of tools like ChatGPT has quickly transformed its role. Today, AI is expected to impact marketing in profound ways. The question remains: Is AI delivering on its promises, or is it more hyped than substance?

During the sixth edition of Social Samosa’s SAMMIES, a panel of experts shared their thoughts on 'Diffusion of innovation: The AI chapter', offering invaluable insights and sparking interest among advertising, marketing and media professionals. To explore this, Rajiv Dingra, Founder & CEO, ReBid moderated a panel discussion. The panellists included:

• Adityan Kayalakal, Head, Marketing & Founding Team Member, Veera
• Sagar Shah, VP Marketing, Kotak 811 

Impact of AI on Marketing

"While AI is not a foolproof solution, you can start noticing improvements," said Adityan Kayalakal. Sharing his insights on how AI is enhancing the browsing journey at Veera,  he noted that while AI improves customer experiences, there is still a need for backend refinement.

Additionally, Kayalakal also discussed the various functions fulfilled by AI, particularly in growth marketing. “Performance is one of those areas where you put art in the back seat and place logic in the front seat.” In the overall stack, “if you are a traditional marketer, performance and growth might take 95% of your time, even though they are not 95% of the contributors to your customers,” he added.

Providing a perspective from a large company, Sagar Shah noted how AI is integrated throughout the marketing funnel, from copy and creative development to customer engagement and retention. Additionally, while responding to a query about AI replacing human roles, Shah highlighted that AI’s strength lies in speed and scale. "The power of AI is about speed and scale. It can handle 500 campaigns in hours, something that would take much longer with human resources. However, a blend of AI and human input is essential," he added.

Understanding the role of human intervention

"AI is not going to replace hard work but can multiply it by ten. It helps fill gaps in skill sets and brings good ideas to fruition," Kayalakal added. He emphasises that AI is a tool that complements human effort rather than replacing it.

Consequently, Shah agreed with Kayalakal’s statement, explaining to the audience how “It’s not AI versus humans but AI working alongside humans. What you feed into AI and how you use its results decide how effective it will be.”

Following Shah's response, Rajiv Dingra, the session chair, posed another question to the panellists. He asked them about their thoughts on the future developments in AI.

Kayalakal anticipated that advancements would enhance AI's ability to handle human-like interactions, improving customer experiences. "People prefer human voices over chatbots. AI that simulates human conversation will be smarter and more effective," he noted.

Whereas, Shah anticipated increased micro-segmentation and cost reduction as significant trends. Which Dingra added that AI could assist in analyzing marketing data that humans might miss, and there might be a shift towards AI-driven agencies in the future. Kayalakal agreed, suggesting that AI could add more value than traditional agencies if it can generate sharper marketing insights.

AI's future in marketing

While Shah said they plan on using AI to improve ROI and impact by optimizing customer acquisition costs and enhancing cross-selling and retention strategies, Kayalakal aims to run a Telegram community using AI and leverage it for educational purposes. Additionally, the session chair, Dingra noted how he intends to use AI to generate insights in performance and digital marketing and to provide recommendational insights.

The panel highlighted that while AI is a significant force in marketing, its success depends on the synergy between technology and human insight. "If you feed enough quality data, AI can be a powerful tool for any team", added Dingra.