AI is nothing to fear—unless you’ve ignored its potential to transform marketing.

Yes, there are a lot of misconceptions about AI, especially as the technology has dominated headlines recently as tools such as ChatGPT and DALL-E become more mainstream. But often, these misconstrued notions lean more toward science fiction than fact. As much as humanity has been fascinated with creating an intelligence equal to or greater than its own, AI is not Frankenstein’s monster: confused, scared and ready to rear up and turn on its creator.

So, what is AI really? Let’s ask it.

ChatGPT Prompt: In two sentences or fewer, explain what AI is and why it's relevant to marketers. *Refined once to also include the explanation of what AI is not, in two sentences or fewer.

AI, or artificial intelligence, is a technology that enables machines to simulate human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning and decision-making. AI is relevant to marketers because it can help them automate tasks, gain insights into customer behavior and deliver more personalized experiences, resulting in better engagement and higher ROI.

AI is not a replacement for human intelligence or creativity. It is also not a silver bullet that can solve all marketing challenges, but rather a tool that can help marketers make more informed decisions and optimize their campaigns.

As more marketers lean into collaborating with AI to augment and enhance everything from the creative process to workflows, AI adoption has more than doubled over the past five years, with investment in the technology matching pace.

To better understand what AI can do for marketers, let’s enlist the help of, well, AI.

How? For this story, humans did all the things they usually do when crafting a story (researching, writing, re-writing, second-guessing that third paragraph) while also working with a generative AI tool. Using ChatGPT, a human fed the tool prompts to generate sections of this story, labeled them accordingly for transparency and annotated if prompts needed refinement. This process was also followed by a designer, using Stablecog AI to create the art.

So, are you ready to discover what AI has to say about AI in marketing, from the opportunities available to the specific steps to take to get started? Keep scrolling.

AI is nothing to fear—unless you’ve ignored its potential to transform marketing.

Yes, there are a lot of misconceptions about AI, especially as the technology has dominated headlines recently as tools such as ChatGPT and DALL-E become more mainstream. But often, these misconstrued notions lean more toward science fiction than fact. As much as humanity has been fascinated with creating an intelligence equal to or greater than its own, AI is not Frankenstein’s monster: confused, scared and ready to rear up and turn on its creator.

So, what is AI really? Let’s ask it.

ChatGPT Prompt: In two sentences or fewer, explain what AI is and why it's relevant to marketers. *Refined once to also include the explanation of what AI is not, in two sentences or fewer.

AI, or artificial intelligence, is a technology that enables machines to simulate human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning and decision-making. AI is relevant to marketers because it can help them automate tasks, gain insights into customer behavior and deliver more personalized experiences, resulting in better engagement and higher ROI.

AI is not a replacement for human intelligence or creativity. It is also not a silver bullet that can solve all marketing challenges, but rather a tool that can help marketers make more informed decisions and optimize their campaigns.

As more marketers lean into collaborating with AI to augment and enhance everything from the creative process to workflows, AI adoption has more than doubled over the past five years, with investment in the technology matching pace.

To better understand what AI can do for marketers, let’s enlist the help of, well, AI.

How? For this story, humans did all the things they usually do when crafting a story (researching, writing, re-writing, second-guessing that third paragraph) while also working with a generative AI tool. Using ChatGPT, a human fed the tool prompts to generate sections of this story, labeled them accordingly for transparency and annotated if prompts needed refinement. This process was also followed by a designer, using Stablecog AI to create the art.

So, are you ready to discover what AI has to say about AI in marketing, from the opportunities available to the specific steps to take to get started? Keep scrolling.

ChatGPT prompt: Explain the types of AI marketing solutions available and how marketers can use them, in 150 words or fewer.

*Refined three times; once to request the inclusion of personalization as a solution; a second time to request the inclusion of generative AI as a solution; and a third time to request a use case example for each solution.

AI marketing solutions are designed to help marketers optimize their campaigns and achieve better results. There are various types of AI marketing solutions available, each offering a unique set of capabilities.

Predictive analytics: AI tools can analyze vast amounts of data to predict customer behavior, enabling marketers to target the right audience and offer them personalized recommendations. A retail company can use predictive analytics to analyze customer data and predict what products a customer is likely to purchase based on their previous purchases and behavior. The company can then use this information to offer personalized recommendations and targeted promotions.

Chatbots: AI-powered chatbots can help marketers engage with customers in real-time, answer their queries, and provide them with relevant information. A travel company can use a chatbot on its website to engage with customers in real-time and answer their questions. The chatbot can also recommend relevant travel destinations based on the customer's preferences.

Natural language processing (NLP): AI can analyze customer conversations and understand their intent, enabling marketers to offer them personalized content and experiences. An ecommerce company can use NLP to analyze customer feedback and reviews to understand what customers like and dislike about their products. This information can be used to create more personalized and relevant product recommendations.

Image and voice recognition: AI-powered image and voice recognition can help marketers better understand their audience by analyzing their behavior and preferences. A fashion company can use image and voice recognition to analyze social media posts and identify trends in fashion and style. This information can be used to create more targeted and relevant marketing campaigns.

Personalization: AI can help marketers deliver personalized content and experiences to their audience by analyzing their behavior, preferences and interests. A financial services company can use personalization to offer personalized investment advice based on a customer's risk tolerance and investment goals.

Generative AI: AI can be used to generate new content, such as product descriptions or social media posts, based on existing data and trends. A software company can use generative AI to create unique and relevant social media posts based on current events, industry trends and customer preferences.

Marketers can use AI marketing solutions to automate routine tasks, optimize their campaigns and gain a deeper understanding of their audience. By leveraging AI, they can create more personalized experiences, improve engagement and drive better results. With the addition of generative AI, marketers can create more content with greater efficiency and effectiveness, enabling them to scale their campaigns and reach new audiences.

While all these AI-powered marketing solutions provide a great opportunity, generative AI for content creation is one of the most talked about currently. And maybe that’s due to its highly accessible nature—if you have an internet connection, you can access an AI content generation tool, whether you want to create some epic cat art or just need help writing a best man’s speech. 

But for marketers, using generative AI to cut out the laborious—and often expensive—work of creating, replicating and tailoring creative assets for different markets, channels and campaigns is a game changer because of its ability to scale and create efficiency.

And don’t forget about some of the more technical uses for AI; while marketers may focus more closely on creative applications for their campaigns, they still rely on the computing power of AI to accomplish their goals. While technical applications can range from improved search and discoverability to better recommendation engines and semantic search within data sets, AI and machine learning can also be used to create new practical tools.

For instance, to help bridge the communication barrier between deaf or hard-of-hearing children and their (hearing) parents and peers, Hello Monday/Dept partnered with the American Society for Deaf Children to develop the browser-based app Fingerspelling.xyz. Using machine learning and a 3D model to demonstrate the appropriate position of hands and fingers to spell each letter, the hand tracking experience helps users learn the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet.

Clearly, AI is a driving force behind radical transformation. But of course, an AI solution is only as good as the human using it. AI relies on a human to provide the data, set the parameters, interpret the insights and act on the recommendations. Let’s see this in action.

ChatGPT prompt: Explain the types of AI marketing solutions available and how marketers can use them, in 150 words or fewer.

*Refined three times; once to request the inclusion of personalization as a solution; a second time to request the inclusion of generative AI as a solution; and a third time to request a use case example for each solution.

AI marketing solutions are designed to help marketers optimize their campaigns and achieve better results. There are various types of AI marketing solutions available, each offering a unique set of capabilities.

Predictive analytics: AI tools can analyze vast amounts of data to predict customer behavior, enabling marketers to target the right audience and offer them personalized recommendations. A retail company can use predictive analytics to analyze customer data and predict what products a customer is likely to purchase based on their previous purchases and behavior. The company can then use this information to offer personalized recommendations and targeted promotions.

Chatbots: AI-powered chatbots can help marketers engage with customers in real-time, answer their queries, and provide them with relevant information. A travel company can use a chatbot on its website to engage with customers in real-time and answer their questions. The chatbot can also recommend relevant travel destinations based on the customer's preferences.

Natural language processing (NLP): AI can analyze customer conversations and understand their intent, enabling marketers to offer them personalized content and experiences. An ecommerce company can use NLP to analyze customer feedback and reviews to understand what customers like and dislike about their products. This information can be used to create more personalized and relevant product recommendations.

Image and voice recognition: AI-powered image and voice recognition can help marketers better understand their audience by analyzing their behavior and preferences. A fashion company can use image and voice recognition to analyze social media posts and identify trends in fashion and style. This information can be used to create more targeted and relevant marketing campaigns.

Personalization: AI can help marketers deliver personalized content and experiences to their audience by analyzing their behavior, preferences and interests. A financial services company can use personalization to offer personalized investment advice based on a customer's risk tolerance and investment goals.

Generative AI: AI can be used to generate new content, such as product descriptions or social media posts, based on existing data and trends. A software company can use generative AI to create unique and relevant social media posts based on current events, industry trends and customer preferences.

Marketers can use AI marketing solutions to automate routine tasks, optimize their campaigns and gain a deeper understanding of their audience. By leveraging AI, they can create more personalized experiences, improve engagement and drive better results. With the addition of generative AI, marketers can create more content with greater efficiency and effectiveness, enabling them to scale their campaigns and reach new audiences.

While all these AI-powered marketing solutions provide a great opportunity, generative AI for content creation is one of the most talked about currently. And maybe that’s due to its highly accessible nature—if you have an internet connection, you can access an AI content generation tool, whether you want to create some epic cat art or just need help writing a best man’s speech. 

But for marketers, using generative AI to cut out the laborious—and often expensive—work of creating, replicating and tailoring creative assets for different markets, channels and campaigns is a game changer because of its ability to scale and create efficiency.

And don’t forget about some of the more technical uses for AI; while marketers may focus more closely on creative applications for their campaigns, they still rely on the computing power of AI to accomplish their goals. While technical applications can range from improved search and discoverability to better recommendation engines and semantic search within data sets, AI and machine learning can also be used to create new practical tools.

For instance, to help bridge the communication barrier between deaf or hard-of-hearing children and their (hearing) parents and peers, Hello Monday/Dept partnered with the American Society for Deaf Children to develop the browser-based app Fingerspelling.xyz. Using machine learning and a 3D model to demonstrate the appropriate position of hands and fingers to spell each letter, the hand tracking experience helps users learn the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet.

Clearly, AI is a driving force behind radical transformation. But of course, an AI solution is only as good as the human using it. AI relies on a human to provide the data, set the parameters, interpret the insights and act on the recommendations. Let’s see this in action.

AI isn’t a substitute for human ingenuity. It’s an additional tool that can enhance creativity, inspire innovation and quicken development. And it’s important to realize it’s a technology that is still in its infancy. In fact, Dept predicts that over the next three years, AI will accelerate as much as 80% of what brands do and it will disrupt 40% of the day-to-day tasks that individuals complete.

Still, AI is already empowering brands to solve age-old challenges in new and inventive ways—from driving personalization to regulating media spend to delivering exceptional customer service. Let’s take a look at three innovative AI-boosted campaigns:

Personalized memories
Collectibles are a huge part of comics/anime culture. When eBay was looking to find a way to make a splash at London’s MCM Comic Con in October 2022, it identified trading card games (TCG) as a key part of collectible culture. Working with Dept, it turned to AI to deliver an experience that got attendees’ attention.

People dropping by eBay's "TCG ME" booth had the chance to be the stars of their own story by creating a personalized and shareable trading card via interactive AR photo booths. Instead of a cookie-cutter look, each card had a unique design—ranging from Futuristic to Superhero Retro—created with the AI-powered image generation tool DALL-E. The addition of their name and one of nine titles (such as the Slayer or the Wanderer) made for a truly memorable collectible.

And to drive home eBay as a source for top-tier collectibles, each bespoke trading card was stamped with a unique serial number to certify its authenticity. Overall, the activation generated impressive results with 2,000 unique cards created and 6.1 million AR impressions.

Not quite Mr. Roboto
Promoting a death metal band? Cool. Promoting a death metal band with no media budget? Huge challenge.

That’s the dilemma creative agency Hello Monday/Dept faced to bring attention to the band Dracaris and its latest album. But an open-source machine learning tool and face detection prototype allowed the team to bring an immersive music and gaming experience into the homes of head bangers everywhere.

Inspired by block breaker-style games like Arkanoid, the team created Head Banger, an AI-powered, in-browser immersive game. As they play, users rock out to new music from Dracaris while navigating a variety of levels, controlling the paddle with their head movements, collecting points and avoiding obstacles. And for a truly gnarly metal experience, players can earn extra points by rocking out with a righteous hand bang. Within the first two weeks of the game being live, Head Banger generated 50,000 headbangs—again, without any media spend—and an average of nearly 2 minutes was spent in the Dracaris metal universe.

Hey you, nice shoes
It’s no fun to go window shopping in a downtown shopping district or local mall and find yourself facing a bunch of shuttered storefronts. That’s not good for landlords either. So Hello Monday/Dept created the Shoe Mirror, an AI-powered installation that brings digital stores to physical storefronts by providing a fun, personalized and realistic shopping experience.

Using full-body AI tracking, the Shoe Mirror analyzes what people are wearing and finds the perfect shoes to match the outfit—definitely a step up from Cher’s closet in Clueless. Then it places the kicks or pumps or brogans on their image, and the AI picks up the person’s movements and matches them to their feet on the screen. Taking the interaction one step further, a QR code on the digital storefront allows the browser-turned-shopper to scan and purchase the shoe directly from within the display.

AI isn’t a substitute for human ingenuity. It’s an additional tool that can enhance creativity, inspire innovation and quicken development. And it’s important to realize it’s a technology that is still in its infancy. In fact, Dept predicts that over the next three years, AI will accelerate as much as 80% of what brands do and it will disrupt 40% of the day-to-day tasks that individuals complete.

Still, AI is already empowering brands to solve age-old challenges in new and inventive ways—from driving personalization to regulating media spend to delivering exceptional customer service. Let’s take a look at three innovative AI-boosted campaigns:

Personalized memories
Collectibles are a huge part of comics/anime culture. When eBay was looking to find a way to make a splash at London’s MCM Comic Con in October 2022, it identified trading card games (TCG) as a key part of collectible culture. Working with Dept, it turned to AI to deliver an experience that got attendees’ attention.

People dropping by eBay's "TCG ME" booth had the chance to be the stars of their own story by creating a personalized and shareable trading card via interactive AR photo booths. Instead of a cookie-cutter look, each card had a unique design—ranging from Futuristic to Superhero Retro—created with the AI-powered image generation tool DALL-E. The addition of their name and one of nine titles (such as the Slayer or the Wanderer) made for a truly memorable collectible.

And to drive home eBay as a source for top-tier collectibles, each bespoke trading card was stamped with a unique serial number to certify its authenticity. Overall, the activation generated impressive results with 2,000 unique cards created and 6.1 million AR impressions.

Not quite Mr. Roboto
Promoting a death metal band? Cool. Promoting a death metal band with no media budget? Huge challenge.

That’s the dilemma creative agency Hello Monday/Dept faced to bring attention to the band Dracaris and its latest album. But an open-source machine learning tool and face detection prototype allowed the team to bring an immersive music and gaming experience into the homes of head bangers everywhere.

Inspired by block breaker-style games like Arkanoid, the team created Head Banger, an AI-powered, in-browser immersive game. As they play, users rock out to new music from Dracaris while navigating a variety of levels, controlling the paddle with their head movements, collecting points and avoiding obstacles. And for a truly gnarly metal experience, players can earn extra points by rocking out with a righteous hand bang. Within the first two weeks of the game being live, Head Banger generated 50,000 headbangs—again, without any media spend—and an average of nearly 2 minutes was spent in the Dracaris metal universe.

Hey you, nice shoes
It’s no fun to go window shopping in a downtown shopping district or local mall and find yourself facing a bunch of shuttered storefronts. That’s not good for landlords either. So Hello Monday/Dept created the Shoe Mirror, an AI-powered installation that brings digital stores to physical storefronts by providing a fun, personalized and realistic shopping experience.

Using full-body AI tracking, the Shoe Mirror analyzes what people are wearing and finds the perfect shoes to match the outfit—definitely a step up from Cher’s closet in Clueless. Then it places the kicks or pumps or brogans on their image, and the AI picks up the person’s movements and matches them to their feet on the screen. Taking the interaction one step further, a QR code on the digital storefront allows the browser-turned-shopper to scan and purchase the shoe directly from within the display.

Now that you have a better understanding of what AI really is and have seen some creative AI executions, what’s next? Here are some actionable steps to get started on the journey of incorporating AI into your marketing strategy.

Have a clear goal
Define your goal and identify your pain points first, then see how AI can help; otherwise, you’re applying AI to something that might not benefit from it. You can then narrow down the search field to select the right AI tool. For example, if your goal is to take your customer support to the next level, look into intelligent chatbots that can provide quick answers to simple questions, freeing up the customer support team to take on more complicated support issues.

Research tools
Consider your key marketing goals and whether the tools succeed in addressing them. You also need to consider the openness of the AI tool. Do you want a system with an open-source algorithm that provides visibility into how the tool makes analytical decisions? Or are you mainly concerned with the results? Find out where the AI tool’s data comes from, how much data is available and how frequently the tool can analyze it. And as always, keep your budget in mind. While some tools are free, others are not, but they may pay for themselves by offering cost-saving insights.

Consider the ethics
Knowing how a model has been trained and where the data comes from is critical when working with AI. For example, does a generative AI image tool have permission from artists to use their work to train its models and databases? There is also the potential for accidental copyright infringement or plagiarism. Human oversight is critical to ensure that AI solutions work correctly and do not cause unintended consequences. According to Gartner, 80% of enterprise marketers will establish a dedicated content authenticity function to root out AI-generated misinformation by 2027.

Find the right partner
The right partner makes a significant difference between success and headaches. You want a partner that can help translate between technical and marketing stakeholders and needs, as well as apply AI to real problems in progressive and novel ways. It’s also critical that your partner can put best practices into use around privacy and data management when training models on your behalf or helping your clients’ data science teams build their own.

Start small and test
It's critical to identify any issues and refine your approach before committing significant resources to the project. Additionally, ensure you have adequate data to train the AI model and monitor the performance of the solution to evaluate its impact on your marketing goals. And when using a generative AI tool for content creation, it’s vital to approach it as having a dialogue with the tool. The more you’re open to the idea that generative AI can be a sounding board for your creativity to take over, the greater the chance that you’ll meet your goal.

ChatGPT prompt: The above text includes steps to get started with incorporating AI into a marketing strategy. Please read through and determine if there are any steps missing.

The steps mentioned seem to be a good starting point for incorporating AI into a marketing strategy. However, depending on the specifics of the strategy and the organization's needs, there may be additional steps that could be considered. Here are some additional steps that could be added:

Evaluate the data
Analyze the data that you have collected to ensure that it is accurate, relevant and reliable. Make sure you understand the limitations of the data and the potential biases that may exist.

Develop an implementation plan
Based on your goals and research, develop an implementation plan that outlines the specific steps you need to take to incorporate AI into your marketing strategy. Consider factors such as budget, timeline and resource allocation.

Train your team
Make sure your team has the necessary skills and knowledge to work with the AI tools you have selected. Provide training and support to ensure they can use the tools effectively.

Monitor and adjust
Continuously monitor the performance of your AI tools and adjust your strategy as needed. Be prepared to make changes based on the data and feedback you receive.

Overall, the key to successfully incorporating AI into a marketing strategy is to have a clear understanding of your goals, the available tools and the ethical considerations involved. By following a structured approach and being willing to adapt as needed, you can create an effective AI-powered marketing strategy that delivers real results.

Now that you have a better understanding of what AI really is and have seen some creative AI executions, what’s next? Here are some actionable steps to get started on the journey of incorporating AI into your marketing strategy.

Have a clear goal
Define your goal and identify your pain points first, then see how AI can help; otherwise, you’re applying AI to something that might not benefit from it. You can then narrow down the search field to select the right AI tool. For example, if your goal is to take your customer support to the next level, look into intelligent chatbots that can provide quick answers to simple questions, freeing up the customer support team to take on more complicated support issues.

Research tools
Consider your key marketing goals and whether the tools succeed in addressing them. You also need to consider the openness of the AI tool. Do you want a system with an open-source algorithm that provides visibility into how the tool makes analytical decisions? Or are you mainly concerned with the results? Find out where the AI tool’s data comes from, how much data is available and how frequently the tool can analyze it. And as always, keep your budget in mind. While some tools are free, others are not, but they may pay for themselves by offering cost-saving insights.

Consider the ethics
Knowing how a model has been trained and where the data comes from is critical when working with AI. For example, does a generative AI image tool have permission from artists to use their work to train its models and databases? There is also the potential for accidental copyright infringement or plagiarism. Human oversight is critical to ensure that AI solutions work correctly and do not cause unintended consequences. According to Gartner, 80% of enterprise marketers will establish a dedicated content authenticity function to root out AI-generated misinformation by 2027.

Find the right partner
The right partner makes a significant difference between success and headaches. You want a partner that can help translate between technical and marketing stakeholders and needs, as well as apply AI to real problems in progressive and novel ways. It’s also critical that your partner can put best practices into use around privacy and data management when training models on your behalf or helping your clients’ data science teams build their own.

Start small and test
It's critical to identify any issues and refine your approach before committing significant resources to the project. Additionally, ensure you have adequate data to train the AI model and monitor the performance of the solution to evaluate its impact on your marketing goals. And when using a generative AI tool for content creation, it’s vital to approach it as having a dialogue with the tool. The more you’re open to the idea that generative AI can be a sounding board for your creativity to take over, the greater the chance that you’ll meet your goal.

ChatGPT prompt: The above text includes steps to get started with incorporating AI into a marketing strategy. Please read through and determine if there are any steps missing.

The steps mentioned seem to be a good starting point for incorporating AI into a marketing strategy. However, depending on the specifics of the strategy and the organization's needs, there may be additional steps that could be considered. Here are some additional steps that could be added:

Evaluate the data
Analyze the data that you have collected to ensure that it is accurate, relevant and reliable. Make sure you understand the limitations of the data and the potential biases that may exist.

Develop an implementation plan
Based on your goals and research, develop an implementation plan that outlines the specific steps you need to take to incorporate AI into your marketing strategy. Consider factors such as budget, timeline and resource allocation.

Train your team
Make sure your team has the necessary skills and knowledge to work with the AI tools you have selected. Provide training and support to ensure they can use the tools effectively.

Monitor and adjust
Continuously monitor the performance of your AI tools and adjust your strategy as needed. Be prepared to make changes based on the data and feedback you receive.

Overall, the key to successfully incorporating AI into a marketing strategy is to have a clear understanding of your goals, the available tools and the ethical considerations involved. By following a structured approach and being willing to adapt as needed, you can create an effective AI-powered marketing strategy that delivers real results.

Dept is a pioneering technology and marketing services company that creates integrated end-to-end digital experiences for brands such as Google, KFC, Philips, Audi, Twitch, Patagonia, eBay and more. Its team of 4,000-plus digital specialists across 30-plus locations on five continents delivers pioneering work on a global scale with a boutique culture. Dept is committed to making a positive impact on the planet and since 2021 has been Climate Neutral and B Corporation certified.

Illustrations by Stablecog AI