Artificial Intelligence Trends: A Primer for B2B Marketers

Rumors are flying around the business community about the latest artificial intelligence trends – and many of them are more science fiction than fact. For marketers, a lack of clarity about developments in artificial intelligence makes a difficult job even harder. To effectively market your AI brand, you need to know where the technology stands today and where it may be headed tomorrow.

Artificial intelligence trends to watch

On a basic level, artificial intelligence refers to applications that imitate human thought. Although still in its infancy, AI uses machine learning, deep neural networks and other technologies to help individuals and organizations perform complex functions quickly and accurately.

Where AI technology leads us in the coming decades is anyone’s guess. But in the short-term, artificial intelligence trends point toward several developments that are useful for brands and marketers.

1. AI won’t replace human activity. It will improve it.
One of the biggest misconceptions about artificial intelligence is that it will replace human activity in the workplace. But that’s simply not what the current generation of AI is designed to do. Instead of replacing human beings, AI improves human employees’ effectiveness.

For example, Harley Davidson recently used artificial intelligence to uncover real-data insights about the wording of ad-based calls to action. Based on these insights, team members moved away from instinct-driven personas to wording rooted in composite market behaviors. The result was a 447 percent improvement in ad performance.

2. Most AI applications will be highly specialized.
Unlike other technologies, most artificial intelligence applications aren’t designed to handle a wide range of functions or activities in the enterprise. These applications vary by industry, but often involve converting specific categories of unstructured data (e.g., images, audio, text, video) into structured data that is valuable to the organization.

The specialized nature of artificial intelligence applications means that marketers must develop and communicate narrow use cases. For many, the marketing strategy won’t be hyping the benefits of the technology, but specifically describing how the technology can be used in prospects’ organizations.

3. AI technology will require new training, not new hiring.
The belief that the introduction of AI technology means new hiring will be a barrier to adoption that brands and marketers must overcome. In some ways, artificial intelligence represents a seismic shift in the enterprise. But it’s not a shift that will require the addition of new teams. Instead, it will require retraining for existing teams.

Marketers play a role in helping teams adapt to artificial intelligence trends in the workplace. The more brands can do to close the knowledge gap and create strategies for retraining, the easier it will be for decision makers to build a case and recruit employees to advocate for AI implementation.

Capitalize on the latest trends in artificial intelligence with Walker Sands

Walker Sands is leading the way in the development and execution of B2B public relations and integrated marketing strategies for artificial intelligence brands. As an established player in the B2B technology space, we have the experience and relationships to successfully position your company on the leading edge of artificial intelligence trends.

Let’s talk. Contact us today and learn how we can put our expertise to work for your brand.

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