AI and insights in 2024: Navigating the new age of innovation

Abstract

In 2023, the marketing realm experienced a significant transformation, driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI, which reshaped how we approach innovation and interaction within the field. Looking ahead to 2024, there is a clear shift toward emerging trends and future predictions. How will the continued rise of AI influence marketing strategies and operations in the near future?

Adapting to an AI-centric landscape

Editor’s note: Polat Goktas is an AI research scientist at the School of Computer Science and Ireland’s Centre for Applied Artificial Intelligence (CeADAR), University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Goktas can be reached at polat.goktas@ucd.ie.

In 2023, marketing experienced a significant transformation driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), which reshaped how we approach innovation and interaction within the field. Insights from 2023 McKinsey and Deloitte Digital have highlighted the substantial impact and increasing adoption of generative AI in marketing. Looking ahead to 2024, there is a clear shift toward emerging trends and future predictions. Gartner’s 2024 marketing predictions point to a notable move toward AI-driven platforms and a re-evaluation of brand positioning strategies. Qualtrics’ 2024 “Research Trends Report” emphasizes an increasing dependence on AI for market research. Furthermore, Deloitte’s “Tech Trends 2024” report anticipates ongoing technological advancements, underscoring the necessity for marketers to evolve and incorporate AI strategies within the rapidly changing digital environment.

Generative AI transcended traditional boundaries, embedding itself deeply within marketing operations and strategy formulation. Highlighted in insightful reports by McKinsey, this shift marked a new epoch of enhanced productivity and efficiency in the marketing realm.

A key question arises from this evolution: How will the continued rise of AI influence marketing strategies and operations in the near future? As we explore these developments, we realize the extent to which AI has become not just a tool but an essential element of the marketing landscape, shaping the future of how businesses engage with their audience.

This article explores these developments, focusing on the critical role of AI in strategic business planning and market research, and the urgent need for marketers to adapt to this AI-centric landscape.

2023: The year of generative AI breakthroughs

The landscape of AI in marketing reveals a notable shift, marked by the rise of generative AI. This evolution, while gradual, has been substantial, reshaping the integration of AI in both our daily lives and business operations.

McKinsey’s perspective on generative AI: A new frontier in AI evolution

A McKinsey report from June 14, 2023, highlighted the game-changing potential of generative AI in both business and societal contexts. This report detailed the progressive incorporation of AI across various industries, including mobile technology, autonomous vehicles and retail. Generative AI was positioned as a critical driver for the next wave of productivity, capable of unlocking novel abilities and significantly enhancing existing functionalities in diverse areas such as imagery, video, audio and coding.

2023 was a landmark year for generative AI, with applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Gemini, GitHub Copilot and Stable Diffusion coming to the fore. These tools surpassed previous AI milestones, such as AlphaGo’s victory in 2016, by offering a broader range of applications and capturing a more extensive audience. Their capabilities expanded beyond basic tasks like data organization, venturing into creative realms including text generation, music composition and digital art. These developments marked a significant milestone in AI’s evolution, showcasing superior capabilities in processing extensive and diverse unstructured data.

Deloitte Digital’s analysis: Generative AI in marketing

Deloitte Digital’s research in October 2023 further confirmed the impactful role of generative AI in marketing. In 2023, 26% of marketers embraced generative AI, with another 45% planning to adopt it by the end of 2024. The study highlighted a 54% increase in the volume of content needed and the challenges faced in meeting this growing demand. Generative AI presented a viable solution, facilitating the creation of high-quality content at increased volumes, thereby boosting productivity.

Early adopters of generative AI in marketing reported a significant return on investment of 12%, underscoring the technology’s efficiency in saving time and enabling a focus on strategic tasks. Deloitte’s Content Studio exemplified how generative AI could be effectively utilized to craft personalized, premium content, providing businesses with a competitive edge in the digital marketing arena.

Looking ahead to AI marketing trends: 2024 and beyond

As we look toward 2024, the marketing domain stands at the cusp of a transformative era, largely driven by the rapid evolution and integration of AI. This segment explores key trends and predictions that are expected to shape the future of marketing, drawing insights from authoritative sources such as Gartner (registration required).

The decline of traditional social media and rise of AI-driven platforms

Prediction: Gartner forecasts that by 2025, the deteriorating quality of traditional social media sites will lead to half of the consumers significantly reducing their usage of these platforms.
Impact: This trend is likely propelled by the increasing concerns about generative AI and its role in spreading misinformation. As AI becomes more ingrained in social media, there is a risk of eroding consumer trust. This could catalyze a shift toward newer, AI-regulated platforms that emphasize authenticity and trustworthiness.
Strategic response: In response to this evolving landscape, marketers are encouraged to adapt by exploring and investing in new social media channels that employ AI to ensure content authenticity. Additionally, it is crucial for marketers to realign their engagement strategies to effectively connect with audiences on these emerging platforms. This proactive approach will help maintain relevance and audience engagement in a rapidly changing digital ecosystem.

Generative AI: Revolutionizing creative talent

Prediction: Gartner anticipates that by 2026, a significant 80% of creative professionals will incorporate generative AI into their daily workflow. This widespread adoption of generative AI is expected to ignite a new wave of strategic creativity and will likely lead to an increase in budget allocations for creative projects.
Impact: The incorporation of generative AI into creative processes could significantly streamline the development of varied and personalized marketing content. Marketers stand to gain from generative AI’s rapid content generation capabilities, which will not only speed up the creative process but also enhance brand appeal and deepen customer engagement.
Strategic response: To capitalize on this trend, companies are advised to invest in comprehensive training programs for their creative teams. These programs should focus on effectively leveraging generative AI tools for content creation, ensuring that creative professionals are well-equipped to utilize these advanced technologies to their fullest potential. This proactive approach will empower creative teams to innovate and produce high-quality, AI-assisted content that resonates with their target audience.

The emergence of AI-free brand differentiation

Prediction: By 2027, Gartner predicts that 20% of brands can establish a unique market position by consciously choosing not to use AI in their products and services. This trend reflects a strategic decision to stand out in an increasingly AI-dominated market.
Impact: This movement is expected to emerge as a response to the ubiquity of AI, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, human craftsmanship and ethical considerations. By adopting an AI-free strategy, these brands aim to cater to niche markets that place a high value on traditional methods and the human element in products and services.
Strategic response: For brands considering this approach, it is crucial to conduct a thorough evaluation of their current market position. They should assess whether an AI-free strategy is in harmony with their core brand values and whether it meets the expectations of their customer base. This strategic decision should be aligned with the brand’s identity and market dynamics to effectively appeal to the targeted segments that prefer the unique proposition of AI-free products and services.

The transformation of search landscape by generative AI

Prediction: Gartner predicts that by 2028, organic site traffic for brands will decrease by 50% or more, as generative AI-powered search becomes mainstream.
Impact: This shift in the search landscape, driven by the increasing use of AI in search engines, is expected to transform how consumers access information. AI-generated content is likely to dominate search results, potentially leading to significant changes in website traffic patterns and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.
Strategic response: To adapt to this evolving landscape, brands will need to recalibrate their SEO strategies to be more AI-compatible. Enhancing their visibility in AI-driven search results will be key, as will exploring alternative channels for generating web traffic to compensate for the potential decline in organic search leads.

Emphasis on content authenticity and brand protection

Prediction: Gartner forecasts that by 2026, 60% of CMOs will implement technologies such as content authenticity tools to safeguard their brands against the deceptions that generative AI might introduce.
Impact: As the presence of AI-generated content grows, the challenge of maintaining brand authenticity and integrity becomes more pressing. Brands will need to develop and enforce clear policies and guidelines for managing AI-generated content to ensure credibility.
Strategic response: To preserve brand trust and integrity, investing in AI detection and content verification technologies will become essential. These tools will help brands in identifying and managing AI-generated content, thereby maintaining credibility and trust with their audiences. Brands will have to be proactive in adopting these measures to stay ahead of the challenges posed by the proliferation of AI-generated content.

Evolving AI in business and market research

AI-driven market research

Qualtrics (registration required) highlights AI’s transformative role in market research, enabling rapid, in-depth insights from large data sets.

Customer insights: AI tools now effectively process and analyze customer feedback across digital platforms, leading to a 30% faster acquisition of consumer insights. This enables quicker business responses to market shifts.
Sentiment analysis: AI-driven sentiment analysis is pivotal in assessing public opinion on products and services. It is a key tool for marketing teams, with 65% of large enterprises employing it to shape their marketing strategies.
Predictive analytics: AI’s predictive analysis is used by 55% of retail businesses for inventory management and demand forecasting, boosting supply chain efficiency and mitigating inventory issues.

2024 marketing research trends

The Qualtrics 2024 Research Trends Report identifies several pivotal trends, all propelled by advancements in AI, that are shaping the future of marketing research:

Increased AI adoption in research: The report, surveying over 3,000 researchers in 14 countries, found that 47% are already integrating AI into their daily operations.
Focus areas for AI in research: Key research areas attracting investment include customer experience (53%), consumer trends (52%) and user experience (51%). AI is critical in these domains, providing deeper and more accurate insights.
Budget allocation for AI research: Approximately 50% of researchers have witnessed a budget increase, emphasizing the escalated importance of AI in market research and supporting more advanced research methodologies.
AI and skills development: The rapid evolution of AI technologies is creating a skills gap in market research, with 33% of researchers reporting the need to outsource due to in-house expertise shortages. This gap is driving a major push toward upskilling and reskilling in AI-related competencies.

The intersection of technology and marketing in 2024

The rise of digital qualitative research marks a significant trend, with 87% of researchers indicating a shift toward remote and online methodologies. This digital transformation opens new avenues for customer engagement and data collection, providing marketers with richer, more nuanced insights. The key challenge lies in maintaining the authenticity and reliability of these digital research methods. Thus, as we move into 2024, the interplay between technology and marketing is becoming increasingly significant. Deloitte’s “Tech Trends 2024” report sheds light on this dynamic, highlighting how emerging technologies are shaping the marketing landscape.

The rise of the industrial metaverse: Building on the insights from Deloitte’s report, a major trend is the growing importance of virtual and augmented reality in industrial settings. This advancement presents a unique opportunity for marketers to craft immersive brand experiences within the metaverse, harnessing these technologies to engage customers in novel and compelling ways.
AI and computation innovations: The report also points out that advancements in AI models are driving the need for new computational capabilities. This development is poised to have a substantial impact on marketing strategies, especially in areas like data processing and customer analytics.
Security and trust in the AI era: With the proliferation of AI technologies, cybersecurity becomes paramount. Marketers are tasked with the responsibility to safeguard customer data and uphold ethical standards in the use of AI.
Shifting toward technical prosperity: Deloitte emphasizes the need for businesses to transition from technical debt to prosperity, suggesting that marketers should leverage robust technology infrastructures to drive innovation and growth.

Addressing the skills gap in AI and marketing

As AI technology rapidly evolves, a significant skills gap is emerging in the marketing sector. The integration of AI into marketing strategies necessitates that marketing teams undergo upskilling and reskilling to keep up with these technological advances. Marketers need to leverage AI tools not just for efficiency, but also to add strategic value. This involves equipping their teams with the skills required to fully exploit AI’s potential.

As we look toward 2024 and beyond, AI’s role in marketing is poised to fundamentally transform how businesses interact with customers, create content and formulate strategic decisions. Marketers face the challenge of adeptly navigating this evolving AI landscape. It is imperative to embrace the opportunities AI offers, while also considering its ethical implications and maintaining a focus on human-centric strategies. To succeed in this new environment, marketers must remain agile, continuously adapt to technological changes and utilize AI to develop marketing initiatives that are not only compelling and authentic but also strategically sound.