Breadcrumb Trail Links
Cultivating a positive customer experience is key to a company’s success, but that cannot be done with data alone, expert says
Artificial intelligence is drastically changing how companies and individuals approach marketing. Photo by Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press files
Article content
Artificial intelligence is drastically changing how companies and individuals approach marketing, with generative AI being employed to assist in content creation, customer outreach, search engine marketing and audience personalization, saving money and increasing efficiency in the process.
Earlier this year, Google Canada honoured three Canadian companies, including Simplii Financial and Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., for the ways in which they used AI to optimize searches and connect with clients.
Advertisement 2
Article content
But these companies reflect a broader trend, with 61 per cent of 872 Canadian organizations recently surveyed by KPMG International Ltd. saying they are implementing generative AI, which can be used to analyze market trends, competitor data and industry insights. Nearly 90 per cent believe gen AI is pivotal to gaining a competitive advantage.
“There are huge cost-saving benefits; that’s undeniable,” Markus Giesler, a professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, said. “A great deal of optimism we associate with AI has been coming out of the world of engineering and solutions, from software programmers and computer scientists. When you operate in that world, you can’t help but get fascinated by the algorithm and the problem-solving capabilities of AI.”
Giesler said there is plenty of excitement around the ways in which generative AI is being used in marketing, but companies need to continue to focus on customers.
“There is a difference between capabilities and experience,” he said.
For example, companies can collect and analyze data on consumer trends and individual clients in order to create personalized ads and suggestions, such as Netflix recommending specific titles. Giesler said cultivating a positive customer experience is a key to a company’s success, but that cannot be done with data alone.
Work
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
“An experience can either be beneficial or detrimental,” he said. “With data capture, customers can feel they can be served or exploited.”
An experience can either be beneficial or detrimental
Markus Giesler
Giesler referenced a personalized Spotify playlist that was compiling breakup songs for him, which led him to facetiously wonder, “What does the AI know that I don’t?”
He admits that is a more amusing example of a misguided algorithm, but he is concerned about what happens if more egregious issues take place, such as a chatbot being rude to a client or an AI algorithm making decisions on behalf of a company or individual.
“We’re extending a network of responsibility,” he said. “If a mistake is made, who’s responsible?”
According to the KPMG survey, 76 per cent of Canadian organizations have ethical concerns about using generative AI. Bias in datasets, the possible spread of misinformation and infringing intellectual property rights are all issues that companies need to be mindful of when implementing AI in their marketing department.
Ownership of content, Giesler said, is particularly important for companies considering using technology to create advertisements, including social media posts, reels and videos.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“Intellectual property comes from an era in which the individual subject had a clear boundary. The idea of an author was easy to delineate,” he said. “Technology continues to undermine the principles of authorship. It’s no longer clear where my authorship ends.”
It’s expected that nearly half of all social media content will be created by generative AI in the coming year, up from around 39 per cent in 2024, according to a recent Capterra Inc. survey of more than 1,600 social media marketers.
Canada is among the countries expected to make the biggest relative increase in generative AI use in the next 18 months. That interest is clear, since nearly three-quarters of those surveyed by Captera said generative AI tools have increased engagement.
Still, almost all the respondents expressed concern about misinformation, and many have encountered issues with generative AI content, including material that was off-brand or inauthentic.
Not properly citing AI content or using it altogether can also be problematic for some groups. In June, the social media account of Canada’s embassy in Washington took down an image that was created using gen AI, but was not acknowledged as such.
Advertisement 5
Article content
Other issues facing companies are workforce readiness and where to invest resources.
The KPMG survey said many organizations don’t believe their workforce is fully capable of embracing AI’s potential, with only 27 per cent strongly believing their employees can leverage the technology. In addition, 88 per cent said AI is forcing them to rethink how they train and develop employees, while 37 per cent strongly believe their company is ready to upskill employees.
Giesler said AI will continue to be a powerful force to wield in marketing, but it can’t replace people who are needed in order to help companies make human connections with customers, particularly those with creative backgrounds.
“A lot of hiring goes into the direction of these technical aspects, looking at software engineers and programmers,” he said. “That’s an important workforce to have within your organization, but they’re not the only people who matter.”
Recommended from Editorial
The hidden cost of the AI revolution: carbon emissions
AI can make customers happier, but that means corporate changes
Giesler said companies should continue to invest in workers with technical skills, but he cautioned against overreacting because consumers are still seeking brands that resonate with their lived experiences and personal beliefs.
“You still have to hire architects, artists, musicians, critical gender scholars, people who can understand how people forge identity around products,” he said. “You need to ask, ‘How can we weave that identity around the customer’s experience?’”
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the business news you need to know — add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
Article content
Share this article in your social network