How marketing’s next era will be powered by AI and human intelligence

AI is affecting both work and society by redefining how people learn, adapt, generate ideas and make decisions. And it is reshaping the marketing playbook by influencing how businesses understand and anticipate customer needs; embrace learning, experimentation and change; and work collectively as a team.

AI has also created efficiencies that give marketers the freedom to focus on strategic priorities, rather than work in silos. The technology has facilitated cross-functional collaboration among marketing, sales, product and strategy departments to improve business outcomes and drive revenue growth.

Industry leaders balance AI with a human touch to achieve wins

Business leaders throughout industries worldwide have begun incorporating AI into their workflows to improve outcomes and achieve quick wins.

For example, doctors are using an AI system trained on medical data and developed by DXC Technology in conjunction with Singapore General Hospital to personalize antibiotic prescriptions and make critical decisions about antibiotic use.

The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage is unlocking a repository of cultural data by using AI agents to sift through decades of bibliographic information and connect millions of digital materials from over 6,500 libraries.

And farmers will soon be able to incorporate guidance from the tool Cropwise AI to make precise decisions about where to plant crops based on real-time seed placement recommendations.

But AI tools alone can’t create product demand and improve business growth. A marketing team’s human touch — from their problem-solving and critical thinking skills to their capacity for collaboration and adaptability — is needed to unlock AI’s full potential. 

For that reason, marketing team members must be “super learners” — curious, agile and constantly striving for growth. They must view AI, and other technological innovations, as routes to become better at their jobs, and to provide meaning, value and relevance for customers and their organizations.

When these teams also incorporate AI tools into their workflows, they are better able to make every action have a clear purpose and a path to effectively engage consumers, through every media channel, ad campaign, marketing event and piece of content.

AI tools need accurate, transparent consumer data to be effective

Before AI tools can be put into practical use, they need data from which to learn and to formulate recommendations. Marketers can collect this data from a variety of customer touchpoints, including sales data, website visits, social media engagement and customer feedback. The more comprehensive the data set or signal output, the more intelligent and capable AI tools can become.

Marketers must also put the customer experience at the center of every business, strategy and execution decision they make. By integrating AI with first-party consumer data — from client feedback to advocacy signals — marketers can reshape how they connect with customers, address pain points and deliver rapid problem-solving.

Lastly, for data to bring real value to AI, it must be accurate, transparent and trusted. In particular, using AI for social listening to generate insights around customer opinions, emerging trends and overall sentiment removes the guesswork for marketers, builds empathy and deepens consumer trust in the long run. When customers trust marketers with their data, they’re more likely to co-innovate, share success stories and become brand advocates.

AI’s accessibility makes it anyone’s game in the long run

Over the past few decades, there have been several waves of technological innovation, from databases and predictive analytics to the Internet of Things and cloud computing.

Every iteration of emerging technology has moved through its own promotional cycle, eventually being adopted on a larger scale worldwide. However, AI is different in that it has been available to all people and businesses almost immediately.

AI’s democratization — of both data and knowledge — has meant that teams of all sizes, budgets and skills have been able to put AI tools to work across the value chain and to increase creativity and experimentation across marketing departments and companies.

However, the cleverest technological tools are meaningless if marketers don’t assess areas for improvement and make changes based on what they’ve learned. The next wave of AI advancement won’t come from making quick fixes or working on isolated projects. Instead, it will be driven by leaders and teams who are building on early successes and embedding AI deeply across their entire organizations.

Those super learners will need to embrace every opportunity to cultivate new skills and be nimble enough to stay in front of change, pivot into new areas and push the limits of what AI makes possible.

Sponsored by DXC Technology