A study in the International Journal of Business Information Systems has looked at the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital marketing. The researchers provide a pragmatic view of the future of this area of marketing and focus on what they describe as the tangible benefits offered by AI solutions.

The research itself was designed to accelerate the adoption of AI technologies in the rapidly evolving digital marketing landscape and employs a comprehensive approach, incorporating surveys, exploration of existing AI solutions, and in-depth analysis of the results obtained.

The term AI has been applied to many different aspects of study over the decades. Initially, it perhaps alluded to the idea of a conscious machine. However, in the modern technological vernacular, AI is usually thought of as meaning the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, and decision-making, using algorithms and data. The term has in recent years been applied to such systems that can generate text, images, video, even music from a prompt input by a user that builds on the system's training data to produce something apparently novel.

Leandro Pereira, Daniel Tomás, Álvaro Dias, Renato Lopes da Costa, and Rui Gonçalves of the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal, surveyed targeted digital marketing professionals. They hoped to reveal the potential of AI to address both general and specific needs across various domains, with a spotlight on search engine optimization (SEO), communication, sales, and content marketing. The study also revealed the degree to which strategy and data analysis, online advertising, and social media marketing have matured in recent years.

The team's findings allude to the potential benefits of AI applications in many disparate areas. Moreover, while they found plenty of room for growth, there are already bespoke AI solutions for digital marketing available to practitioners. Indeed, almost all aspects of digital marketing queried in their survey have a ready-made AI solution available. They point out that as the digital marketing landscape evolves, the integration of AI promises real benefits to practitioners in terms of efficiency, personalization, and strategic insight.

More information: Leandro Pereira et al, How artificial intelligence can improve digital marketing, International Journal of Business Information Systems (2023). DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2023.135351