4 AI Controversies Marketers and Brands Should Avoid

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic, and a recent study shows over 61% of marketers have used AI in their marketing activities. By now, you've probably heard all the ways AI can assist you in crafting and executing your marketing strategy, but are there any drawbacks?

To help you avoid missteps as you explore the world of AI, here are four cons of AI that marketers and brands should keep in mind.

The Pros of AI in Marketing

Before we get into AI's drawbacks in marketing, we must look at the positives.

One helpful aspect of AI is that it can automate repetitive parts of the marketing process, such as task automation, data analysis, and campaign personalization.

Automating the above tasks allows marketers to spend more time crafting their strategy, brainstorming content, and finding new ways to connect with consumers.

AI can also significantly reduce errors made in the marketing process by avoiding missed deadlines, spelling and grammar mistakes, and incorrect math or data entry.

Speaking of data, AI can also analyze large sets of data 24/7 without needing rest or getting burnt out.Ultimately, AI is a great tool that can be used to carry out tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible for humans to do.

4 Cons of AI in Marketing

While there are many benefits to integrating AI into marketing, it does come with some disadvantages marketers should know.

1. Machines can't replace human connection.

While AI can personalize marketing campaigns using up-to-date data, this doesn't remove human connections' importance. For example, chatbots are a common form of AI used in marketing to automate customer communication and troubleshooting.

In fact, 89% of consumers appreciate customer service chatbots for their quick responses. However, unlike humans, chatbots cannot display emotion and are unlikely to respond to a customer's inquiry with empathy like a human agent.

Chatbots also have limited responses and may not have the data necessary to answer every customer's question.

If customers feel like their concerns aren't taken seriously or aren't getting the answer they need, they could become frustrated, and their relationship with your brand can sour.

According to a recent study, 53% of consumers have cut spending after a single bad experience with a company.

Quality customer service is integral to retaining customers, so you shouldn't over-rely on AI when communicating or connecting with your consumers.

2. AI predictions and analyses can sometimes be wrong.

“Reliable sentiment analysis (i.e. figuring out if a sentence is happy, sad, or sarcastic) is really hard for artificial intelligence, along with reliable sentence parsing," said Pawan Deshpande of Scale AI.

"Visually recognizing a teacup reliably is challenging for current machine vision algorithms," he said.

In other words, AI doesn't possess the human intuition to understand and carry out specific tasks — such as analyzing feelings and intentions. An AI can get something wrong without the guidance of human experience and perception.

"The human intuitions underlying what data to look for and what questions to ask are some of the biggest limits now," Deshpande said.

3. They require huge sets of data and human intervention.

Speaking of data, an AI is only as capable as the data it's given, and it needs massive data sets. So, you may need to hire someone who understands AI well enough to train and upload these large data sets.

Or, your current team will need to train and expand their skills to work with AI.

If the process seems too tedious and costly for your brand, consider if and how you want to integrate AI into your strategy.

4. AI lacks human creativity.

AI tools can be used in customer segmentation, recommendations, and other parts of the marketing process. However, humans are still needed to brainstorm creative and innovative content strategies that will reach audiences.

For instance, regarding social media marketing strategies, consumers gravitate to content that shows the brand's values and how it aligns with their own. Funny, trendy, and relatable content is also popular among audiences.

Only a human marketer can spearhead touching, relevant content that fosters connection.

A content strategy that is too reliant on AI-generated content and algorithms may come as dull or disconnected.Consumers want to know a person behind the brand empathizes with their concerns.

Ultimately, AI can be an excellent tool to automate and streamline aspects of the marketing process, but companies should be aware that AI shouldn't replace the human element.