How marketers can make the most of AI

Time poor and budget strapped, marketing teams are under pressure. So, it’s no surprise there’s a big appetite from marketers to increase their adoption of AI — to run more campaigns, create more content, launch more products.

But the true value of AI lies in looking beyond simply ‘getting more done.’ And recent advancements in generative AI mean marketers can not only use AI to do more — but they can also deliver better, more personalised experiences. And that means more measurable impact and value.

Elevating experimentation

A big opportunity for generative AI lies in experimentation — a critical approach to testing, refining and enhancing online or app experiences.

Optimizely’s recent Tested to Perfection report, based on a survey of 100 UK marketers, revealed two-thirds (65%) are already using AI within their experimentation approach. Although almost half (45%) have only adopted the technology within the last 12 months.

When I talk to marketing teams about using AI to elevate their experimentation approach the focus is always data — what customers buy, how they behave online, what they want from their digital experiences.

But these expectations are dynamic and constantly evolving. Insights from one experiment might not apply a month — even a week — later. Armed with AI, marketers can automate data collection, analysis and experimentation to make fast, data-driven decisions about customer expectations, keeping their approach competitive and innovative on a continuous basis.

How to use AI when experimenting

Using AI, experimentation becomes quicker and easier — and, critically, more accurate and effective. And that means more valuable insights into customers, more informed decision making, and higher conversion rates.

One example of using AI within experimentation is through headline generation. Audience insights from past experiments can be used to create optimised headlines for content such as email marketing, products and offers. AI can intelligently craft different headline variations, test these in real time, and then refine the headline based on testing insights data — the result is an informed headline that is proven to resonate with target audiences.

The use cases go far beyond headline generation, however. From generating images and CTAs at scale, creating hypotheses for experiments, or dynamically allocating traffic between testing variations, the opportunities that AI provides marketers are almost limitless.

Creating actionable insights

Probably the greatest value of AI in experimentation lies in the speed and scale it brings to the process.

Marketers have access to a vast amount of customer data but are seldom fully equipped with the time or knowledge to extract the most value from this data. This is where AI can have a big impact – through its ability to extract, analyse and refine data insights to inform marketing strategies and create actionable insights. Additionally, AI can help marketers segment users based on their visitor behaviour in real-time, so the experience is always as personal as possible. The technical term for this is contextual multi-arm bandits, and something a lot of our customers have taken interest in.

This ability to analyse consumer behaviour across multiple touchpoints is where AI can revolutionise personalised experiences and bring a dynamic approach to marketing campaigns.

Meet customer expectations with confidence

AI has infiltrated almost every area of business and for marketing teams there are clear opportunities.

Experimentation has long been used to create high-performing, engaging online experiences. With the emergence of generative AI and more advanced AI applications, there’s the opportunity to elevate experimentation to a new level — to meet customer expectations with confidence and creativity.