Artificial intelligence is becoming an integral part of marketing and many other industries. AI can be integrated into search engines, content curation, fraud prevention etc. as far as online marketing efforts are concerned. Econsultancy’s Tink Taylor has shared four ways marketers can get themselves ready before they venture into AI implementation. Taylor says, “Today, that potential is starting to be realised: AI is progressively becoming a fundamental part of many business strategies. In fact, within the most innovative organisations, AI usage has become a central part of their... [...]

Barry Levine says, “Artificial intelligence (AI) is more than a stylish trend. It goes beyond rules, providing the ability to understand content or language, find patterns that can be applied to the future, digest all kinds of information and make reasoned decisions. One by one, B2B vendors are rolling out their AI chops — targeting platform Demandbase, CRM and marketing platform Salesforce, account engagement platform YesPath, conversational platform Conversica, and B2B predictive marketer CaliberMind, among a growing list of others. To get some insight into what this means for businesses... [...]

Maz Nadjm says, “We may not give it a lot of thought, but artificial intelligence is already part of our daily lives in a number of ways. When it works well, it makes our life slightly easier – from trying to anticipate our needs (e.g. Amazon’s suggested products or Netflix’s recommended shows) to preventing us from being victims of fraud (e.g. our bank’s fraud detection systems). As a result, our experiences as consumers and humans becomes more seamless and pleasant. It doesn’t take long to get used to this, to the point that some of us are now starting to expect a certain level... [...]

Ben Davis says, “At Facebook’s F8 2017 event, the unveiling of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology caused quite a stir. Whilst the AR features showcased are mostly still in private beta, the VR stuff is out there now, though admittedly available to a more limited audience of Oculus Rift owners. In this article, I’m going to look at some of the key functionality and what it could mean for marketers. AR: The Camera Effects Platform Snapchat on steroids gives creative power to the consumer The best way to think of the Camera Effects Platform is as Snapchat... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “UK-based location-data platform Blis is introducing a predictive ad model that will charge advertisers exclusively on a pay-per-visit basis. What that means is that advertisers will pay only for customers (or potential customers) that visit their business locations. It’s called “Blis Futures” and uses AI and audience modeling based on historical visitation patterns. A week ago, New York-based xAd introduced something similar, offering a cost-per-visit model that only charges brands and enterprises if customers walk through the door. Beverage brand Stella Artois... [...]

Barry Levine says, “There is no doubt the search industry has evolved. Just one look at how search engine results pages are currently laid out shows how things have changed. We have come a long way from 10 blue links. But have we gone far enough? At SXSW earlier this month, information access was a hot topic. People no longer head to Google’s search bar as their only way of accessing content. How we access information is changing Search engines used to be the primary (or sole) place a consumer would turn to when they needed an immediate answer. You entered in a phrase, clicked a link... [...]

Justin Freid says, “There is no doubt the search industry has evolved. Just one look at how search engine results pages are currently laid out shows how things have changed. We have come a long way from 10 blue links. But have we gone far enough? At SXSW earlier this month, information access was a hot topic. People no longer head to Google’s search bar as their only way of accessing content. How we access information is changing Search engines used to be the primary (or sole) place a consumer would turn to when they needed an immediate answer. You entered in a phrase, clicked a link... [...]

Sujan Patel says, “There are only a few industries in which automation isn’t threatening some job roles. That’s a pretty scary thought, right? Well, don’t panic just yet. “While automation will eliminate very few occupations entirely in the next decade, it will affect portions of almost all jobs to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the type of work they entail,” according to McKinsey Quarterly. Roles that require empathy, like therapists and psychologists, as well as jobs that are highly reliant on social and negotiation skills, like managerial positions, are less threatened... [...]

Ben Davis says, “Amazon has been using algorithms to try to sell you extra stuff for years. But the technology to personalise merchandising, much further than recommendations, is advancing rapidly across ecommerce. Companies such as Sentient and Apptus and their AI-powered systems are changing site search functionality, product lists, facets and more, to try to generate more sales. I caught up with Sören Meelby, VP Marketing at Apptus, to get an introduction to the technology (Apptus eSales), and to pose some questions about the user experience in online retail. Econsultancy: Many ecommerce... [...]

Barry Levine says, “Artificial intelligence has been making headlines over the last 12 months in domains like health care, finance, face recognition and more. Marketing, however, doesn’t seem to be getting the same kind of coverage, despite major developments in the application of AI to marketing analytics and business intelligence. Five or 10 years ago, only the world’s savviest, most heavily funded companies had a serious foothold in artificial intelligence marketing tech. As we enter 2017, there are hundreds of AI marketing companies all over the world (including some that have gone... [...]