How AI Could Change The Digital Marketing Landscape
Could Artificial Intelligence Change The Foundations Of Digital Marketing Strategy?
As I am sure you have all seen, Microsoft recently launched its new Bing Chat feature. The system uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology, a company backed by Microsoft. Since then, the new feature has made headline news across the globe and has forced other technology companies to roll out their own version of an AI chatbot. AI (artificial intelligence) has quickly become the latest buzzword within the marketing industry. From social media platforms to search engines, AI is everywhere we look.
But this begs the question, how is this new technology going to change the way we use the internet and in turn, how will digital marketing strategies have to adapt?
Search Engine Optimisation and AI
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a key area of digital marketing. The running joke is that if you have to click through to page 2 of any search engine, you have gone too far. This is rooted in fact, as less than 1% of people move off page one. The fight to reach and stay on the first page is one which will always be ongoing and at this moment, changes such as new/updated content on your current website can help you show the search engine (for example Google or Bing) that you are the most relevant website for the searcher’s query. However, if artificial intelligence is offering up answers instead of the users scrolling through search results, where does this leave our web pages?
In a statement, Bing have stated how the AI bot will offer detailed answers to questions in a human-like manner, rather than offer the most relevant webpage. The bot will sift through webpages for the user, and provide answers in a conversational manner. For example, if you were to search for ‘Cheap Green 2 Seater Sofa’ on Bing’s Chatbot right now, it would offer you one single product it determines to be most relevant. They basically do all the heavy lifting.
As a user of search engines, this all of course sounds wonderful and although Bing does offer its original sources, would you check them all out before taking Bing’s answer as gospel? Our guess is that for the majority of those searching, the source URLs won’t be explored further.
The extent to which AI-powered search engines will change SEO is still unknown, but it has the potential to seriously affect visibility, organic traffic and therefore a company’s number of leads and/or sales. For businesses who rely solely on organic rankings to gain website traffic, this thought can be worrying.
Pay per Click Advertising and AI
Pay Per Click advertising (PPC) is an effective way to attract customers who have already entered the buying funnel and over 80% of global businesses are using Google’s PPC platform, Google Ads. When someone searches on either Bing or Google, companies who are bidding on that search term will enter an auction. In most cases, the higher the bid, the higher up the page you are.
Like SEO, if a customer searches for a ‘Cheap Green 2 Seater Sofa’ and the chatbot offers a product straight away, logical thinking suggests that the opportunity for you to become a top-of-page ad is greatly reduced.
As it stands, Bing and Google have not disclosed how they will monetize their new search engines. Microsoft have suggested they may include an ad at the end of the query answer but how this ad will be decided and formatted is yet to be seen. The conversational nature of the chatbot does not easily lend itself to advertising purposes.
Social Media and AI
Following closely behind search engines, social media platforms are in a race of their own to launch new AI capabilities.
Like Bing, Snapchat has also utilised ChatGPT in the creation of My AI. The feature can be used to answer questions (much like Bing) as well as plan trips, offer advice and suggest recipes. Snapchat describes it as a ‘personal sidekick’.
Over on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has announced that they are working on an AI bot of their own, to be built into their messaging apps: Messenger and WhatsApp. They also alluded to the integration of AI on Instagram.
As with PPC, how these new AI interactions will change advertising strategy on these platforms is undetermined. Snapchat’s My AI does not currently impact advertising as companies can still easily use story ads or create filters (to name a few ad formats) to achieve their marketing goals. My AI is also only available to those who pay for Snapchat+ (approximately 2 million). Although this seems like a large number, Snapchat currently has a total of 375 million daily active users available to marketers.
Content Creation and AI
One of the most discussed uses of AI is within content creation. From landing pages and blogs to marketing assets, AI appears to be able to do it all. However, although basic content can be created using AI, most find it unlikely to replace marketing roles. This is because most AI technologies today lack the ability to create content specific to a brand’s personality and cannot humaise the content it creates.
Another thing to note is that AI cannot create new content; its only capabilities are to utilise copy and artwork already in existence. This means it cannot create anything which is brand new and unique. Ensuring that your digital strategy is up to date, relevant and well-optimised will still remain with the professionals.
AI and Digital Marketing Strategy
To answer our initial question, a lot remains undetermined. Marketers across the globe do not know how this technology truly influences their overall digital strategy. Our guess is that although AI seems foreign and (let’s face it) a little scary at times, the developers will find a way to monetize AI and when they do, we will be ready! But in the meantime, if you need help or advice with your digital marketing strategy, why not get in touch? Our consultants are on hand to answer your questions (AI related or otherwise!).
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