Over the past few years, we’ve seen many large enterprises harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for strategic business gain. Companies such as Amazon and Netflix today use artificial intelligence to anticipate customer needs with targeted recommendations and provide a more personalized experience. Other industries across financial services, pharmaceutical and automotive are also tapping into massive data sets to solve complex problems.

Today, Artificial Intelligence is a becoming reality for marketing and communications professionals. For most organizations, AI seems far-fetched and something from a science fiction movie. The reality is that AI has the potential to empower marketing teams with new insights — enabling faster and more informed decision making. Yet how should marketing and communications teams approach AI and incorporate in their day-to-day activities?

Big Data & Machine Learning – The Power Couple of the Decade

Renowned data scientist Andrew Ng compares Artificial Intelligence to building and launching a rocket ship: A successful launch requires a huge engine (powerful Machine Learning algorithms) and massive amounts of fuel (Big Data).

Marketing and communications professionals are fortunate to have access to one of the largest readily available datasets — the 2.5 Exabytes of media data produced daily. However, the sheer volume of information means that sifting through this information can no longer be a manual process. Just as a stock broker uses a spreadsheet to perform calculations at a level of speed and accuracy that humans can never achieve, marketing and communications professionals need Artificial Intelligence to surface insights from this deluge of media data — insights that would be impossible to get otherwise.

Where humans fit into the equation

The role of AI in the workplace differs greatly from the one of humans. While machines can process data and identify trends infinitely faster than mankind ever could, Artificial Intelligence still lacks the ability to be creative — an element that’s uniquely human.

Marketers will develop campaigns — and Artificial Intelligence will help determine their effectiveness in real time. Machine learning algorithms can surface instant insights into market penetration, the influencers involved, the sentiment and the topics of conversation around campaigns. Organizations can use this instant feedback to tweak their messaging and to determine where precious dollars are best spent.

What’s more, marketers and communications professionals don’t need to have a background in Artificial Intelligence to reap the benefits of this technology — software can interpret the output of algorithms and present the data in easily digestible visualizations. All that is needed is a basic understanding of how data can help make informed decisions in marketing and communications programs.

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The sheer scale of media data now available around a brand has made it impossible for humans to analyze the entire media spectrum. Artificial Intelligence does this in seconds, while providing greater insights than an army of humans ever could. Teams can then leverage this information to make campaigns more targeted than ever before.

If you would like to learn more about how Artificial Intelligence simplifies the conversation around your brand, download our White Paper – “Artificial Intelligence for Communications and Marketing Teams”