Well, the last 2 to 3 years have certainly shaken up our everyday lives with the advent of AI. The advancements in this space are truly mind blowing and the applications seem to be almost endless. Let’s reflect on how this is affecting all things Digital marketing.
PRODUCTIVITY
One fact that no one can argue with is that repetitive tasks which need little analysis are rightly being taken over by AI. Those periodic admin tasks that we all have are now being run by AI which gives marketers more time to focus on more important items.
USAGE
Through uploading content and context into projects, AI can evolve and improve almost exponentially.
With AI being generative, each additional iteration on a repetitive task should provide better and better output and make the usage more and more valuable.
A valuable learning we have found is the difference in using AI within the browser, the app and the browser extension. Each have their pro’s and cons in terms of cost, power, team usage and suitability.
LLMs
While all of the large language models are making huge steps forward it is no secret that Claude seems to be leading the way when it comes to highly complex usage of AI. The cowork and code elements of it mean that extremely complex tasks can now be completed with relative ease. And with the right inputs, the outputs can match your needs extremely well whether it is creating a line graph, presentation, comparison, graphic, strategy, content and much more.
It is important to recognise the elephant in the room which is Google. Google has the largest competitive advantage with its massive list of users of its search product. Therefore it is no surprise that their AI service Gemini is on track to surpass ChatGPT usage in the coming years.
ChatGPT will continue to be one of the top two or three players given that it was the first major LLM to market and also its native integrations into all things Microsoft.
OUTPUT QUALITY
One of the key outtakes that we have found is that AI does not have 100% accuracy. Even with the greatest context in a prompt there can still be room for error therefore blindly following the advice of AI is risky and can have wide reaching negative effects.
There is also burgeoning trend of AI ‘slop’. Large language models are creating extremely long pieces of content which are overly verbose. It’s important that the output is concise and useful.
AI SERVICES IN DIGITAL MARKETING
AIO, GEO or AEO, whatever you wanna call it is now a digital marketing channel that most major brands are embracing. In a nutshell this involves content, technical and reputation.
Ads in AI are now coming to market and will be a major channel in the coming years.
COST
Many agencies have pivoted to cut out most of their staff and rely holy on AI to run their agency. We do not believe this is a safe or long lasting solution.
Most agencies will attest to the myriad of additional costs that AI bring in such as hardware.(Mac Minis), token usage, team users, increased internet plans and even further hosting and processing costs of custom applications. By maintaining a hybrid human and AI approach the cost savings are less than previously expected but the quality and quantity of work has certainly improved.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The hybrid model of large language models and human input is the best combination of digital marketing management to maximise results for our advertisers. AI actions unmonitored can implement erroneous actions, conversely human only actions don’t have the output that AI can provide. AI is advancing exponentially therefore it is crucial to be nimble enough to change with this. This will generally favour smaller to mid level agencies whose systems are more agile. It will also favour marketers who are open to change and to experiment.
If you want to discuss your digital marketing needs let us know and we can prepare a free audit of your footprint in AI, search or social media.
