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A recent GoEpps blog article revealed the most common uses of artificial intelligence (AI) for marketing purposes. This one reveals key reasons why businesses resist it.
Why Businesses Haven’t Invested in AI
A recent study showed that just over six out of ten businesses had either already invested in AI or were planning to do so in the next two years. So what about the four-in-ten bucking the trend?
According to the study, the main reasons for resisting AI have to do with:
Uncertainty about the accuracy of AI-generated results
Intrinsic biases exhibited by AI software
Concerns about relying too much on AI tech
Let’s take a closer look at each of these issues.
Concerns Over Inaccurate Results and Information With AI
Business owners and marketers are stewards of their brands. A single piece of wrong or incorrect information could cut into hard-earned consumer trust.
That’s why one of the biggest causes for concern when it comes to using AI in marketing is the fear that tools depending on it may come up with inaccurate information.
The worry about accuracy is well-founded. Data from a recent Hubspot study about the use of artificial intelligence in marketing shows that nearly one out of two marketers who use generative AI tools report that they have received results from them that had clear inaccuracies.
Another cause for concern: That same Hubspot survey reports that only 27 percent of respondents who use AI marketing tools feel extremely confident that they could identify bad information generated by them. With the possibility of errors being high, and confidence in finding them low, it could take a while for companies to feel secure about leveraging the information that comes from AI.
Worries About the Inherent Bias of AI Tools
Some of the most concerning news headlines about early results from AI tools were about their troubling biases. They result from the biases that the developers of AI-powered tools may have, whether they are aware of them or not.
Because AI developers program the algorithms that run AI solutions, they are essentially teaching the machines what to look for and how to identify and categorize different types of data and information.
When a developer has biases, the AI may become biased toward certain assumptions or prejudices. For instance, it is already known that some facial recognition software is not effective at identifying people of color, which contributes to wrongful arrests.
In today’s highly sensitive and polarized culture, any bias consumers perceive could seriously harm a brand.
Businesses Don’t Want to Become AI-Dependent
Some business owners and marketers are concerned about becoming too reliant on AI and automation tools. They fear that relying too much on artificial intelligence for content development, strategy planning, research, and other things will make them less capable of completing those tasks themselves.
The good news is that artificial intelligence doesn’t substitute for the creativity, knowledge, and capability of humans and their brains. Instead, AI makes it possible to complete routine tasks like basic content creation faster and easier. Think of it as similar to a great research assistant; It frees up time for business owners and marketers to focus on more critical aspects of the operation.
Getting Started With AI
If you aren’t already using AI-powered tools for marketing because of the common concerns explored in this article, here are some relatively safe ways to dip your toes in. You may use artificial intelligence:
For keyword suggestions
To conduct demographic analysis and come up with first drafts of personas of your target audiences
To identify competitors and find ideas on how to win out against them
To repurpose content, for instance, turning long-form content into social media posts
To find content gaps and issues with your existing content
To create loose outlines for blog posts, web copy, and emails that can be tweaked and filled out by writers and editors
Leveraging AI tools to handle these safe and simple tasks will help you eventually feel more confident about adding AI to more of your marketing mix.
