Marketing and retail AI applications pay off for brands

AI applications are becoming more common across functions including supply chain, product, and back office. Brands are using AI tools to generate deep customer insights, track supplier pricing, and more.

And it’s making a difference. More than 80% of IT professionals in marketing and sales worldwide believed AI led to a reduction in costs, with more than a quarter (27%) reporting a decrease of 20% or more, per a June 2021 survey by McKinsey & Company.

Many marketers already implement AI without knowing it—using certain email automation workflows or generating keywords, for example. In other words, they’re using AI to help complete tasks.

Close to half (46%) of financial services marketing leaders in France, Italy, the UK, and the US believe marketing AI investments can lead to a revenue lift of 30% to 69%, according to a January 2021 survey by Persado.

The key to driving revenues and decreasing cost with AI lies in a strategic, integrated approach—for example, implementing tools that generate cross-platform insights alongside those that provide product recommendations and handle programmatic buying.

• Marketing, among all company functions, has the most to gain from AI, according to Harvard Business Review, with applications like improving the accuracy of sales forecasts and ad targeting.
• Three of the top five AI objectives are marketing-oriented, according to a global 2020 Deloitte survey of early adopters:

1. Enhancing existing products and services
2. Creating new products and services
3. Improving relationships with customers