Making the best use of AI: What marketers need to know

Artificial intelligence is incredibly exciting, and everyone seems keen to take advantage of the amazing efficiencies it brings.

But I’ve noticed a curious way of thinking about AI products and services, a way of thinking I want to highlight with this blog post.

Because AI is so hot right now, people see the purchase of AI products or features as a box for them to check. They are looking at AI for AI’s sake, rather than what AI can do for them.

That’s not a wise approach.

With that in mind, here are four things for any company to consider when they are casting around for new products or services in a world of rapidly evolving AI solutions.

1. Identify your pain points before looking for solutions

We had a prospective client approach us and ask us to demonstrate Knak to them.

They made it clear that they wanted us to focus on AI in our demo.

Knak believes strongly in AI. We have hired an AI architect, and we are working with some of the world’s biggest and most AI-forward companies to build AI features into our product.

We already use AI to help with translation and the generation of preview text. But overall, our product is not AI-based.

We were therefore a bit confused by their request.

It’s great that you want to use AI, we said, but what do you want AI for?

In other words, what problems are you trying to solve? What are your pain points?

They weren’t able to tell us.

That is not uncommon.

Because AI is so new, a lot of people don’t know what it can do. That means they don’t know what problems it can solve or what pain points it can be applied to.

But because it’s so exciting, business leaders are telling their teams to get them an AI product or service.

So there are people out there hoping that tech companies like Knak will tell them where and how to use AI.

To me, that sounds like trying to buy a house without knowing what city you want to live in or how many bedrooms you need.

So my first bit of advice to anyone looking at using AI is this: Before you do anything else, figure out what problems you want to solve. What do you need AI for? Otherwise, your search will be a bit like an unguided missile; you won’t know what to target!

2. Don’t let AI blind you to non-AI solutions

I want to come back to that prospective client and their request for a demonstration of Knak’s capabilities.

Knak is all-in on AI. We have brought new AI-based features to market very quickly, features that boost our impact. But in the end, AI is just another tool. Our platform, which is at the core of Knak’s ability to help our clients, is not AI-based.

It actually took a bit of effort to convince the prospective client to let us go ahead with our demonstration.

They really wanted something based on AI and they wanted us to focus on our AI features. We had to convince them to let us show them our entire solution, so they could understand that even without AI features, the step-change for them if they started using Knak would be huge.

They finally agreed.

After we had started our demonstration, their chief marketing officer joined the call.

He had missed all the preliminary discussions about Knak being a non-AI company with a growing number of AI features. All he saw was a demonstration of what Knak could do.

He was blown away.

And we hadn’t even got to our AI features yet.

So the second bit of advice is this: Sometimes, regular tools can have a huge impact. Don’t rule something out because it’s not completely AI-based.

3. AI can be part of the solution without being the entire solution

As I said, we use AI as a power-booster for very specific things within our platform.

So if you have a mandate in your company to look at AI, keep in mind that AI tools or solutions can be add-ons. You don’t always have to scrap everything you’ve got and replace it all with AI.

It comes back to knowing what you want AI for.

Are you looking to solve an existing problem or headache?

Are you looking for a new solution, a way of tackling some new activity or enterprise for your company?

Are you looking to replace people?

Are you looking to replace technology?

Once you’ve identified what you want to do, you will have a better idea of how AI can help you.

And sometimes, the best solution is to use AI to turbo-charge something that already exists.

4. Buy from reputable vendors

AI is a rapidly evolving area and there are new developments, capabilities and products every few weeks.

So last spring’s hot new product might very well be outdated by fall.

That means you’ve got to keep on top of things.

It’s not easy.

My final piece of advice is this: If you are going to buy an AI solution, make sure you’re buying it from a solid and credible vendor. That means someone who is selling you the latest technology, and who has the ability to help you update your purchase as AI changes and improves.

How do you know your vendor is on top of things?

You need to do some homework. Who are their clients? Who do they work with?

For example, Knak’s client list includes some of the top companies in the world that are active in AI. Google and Amazon are helping us expand the use of AI in our platform. We are able to leverage their expertise as we expand our AI offerings. (On Knak’s horizon: The automatic generation by AI of full marketing campaigns. Stay tuned.)

Not all vendors will have clients like ours, but they should be able to reassure you and answer your questions.

In closing…

AI is developing fast, and the solutions it provides can be incredible. No wonder everyone wants in.

But it’s not a silver bullet that will magically solve all your problems. It therefore pays to remain clear-headed about what you want AI for. And to remember that in a few short months, new solutions and new companies will surely emerge.

There’s no avoiding the fact that keeping on top of AI will take some work.

But I can also tell you that it’s worth it.