AI is the latest and greatest in marketing. This shiny new toy will change our world and relationship with customers, or so it is claimed. But dial it back one second and ask: Are we guzzling too much of the Kool-Aid?
3 Reasons AI Stinks at Personalization
- It knows facts and figures about your customers, but nothing about them as human beings.
- AI automation can result in ill-timed and inappropriate email sends.
- AI-generated content can feel inauthentic.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not some Luddite shouting into the heavens. AI is seriously impressive. It can crunch numbers faster than I can say “buyer persona” and spit out targeted emails like there’s no tomorrow. But there lies the paradox. Marketers using AI are getting caught up in a numbers game and forgetting what marketing should be: connection. It’s what we crave. It’s in our DNA. Without it, we’re losing.
AI: The Creepy Party Guest
Imagine this: You’re at a get-together, and a stranger walks up to you, recites your entire LinkedIn profile, and then tries to sell you a personalized diet supplement subscription.
Creepy, right? That’s AI-driven marketing. Granted, it knows everything about you, but it has a toaster’s EQ.
We all know those “personalized” emails, most likely sent to you from a do-not-reply email address or with the dreaded placeholder [First Name] that just screams form letter (or worse yet, like your bank wrote them). Hello [INSERT_NAME], we see you like [INSERT_PRODUCT]. Have you considered buying more [INSERT_PRODUCT]?
Gee, thanks, AI. I feel so special now.
AI: The Automatic Sprinkler
Scaling is what AI does best, but the nuance and the context? Not so much. AI marketing is like those automatic sprinklers that water a garden even if it doesn’t actually need watering. Sending too many targeted ads or giving a plant unnecessary water can backfire and actually have an adverse effect.
For example, after an awesome lunch meeting with a prospect, I sent an AI-generated email blast, saying, “Hope you enjoyed your weekend! Check out my new blog.” Young, dumb me to send an impersonalized, automatic email, completely unaware that my client had spent the weekend clutching the porcelain throne, thanks to the questionable sushi we had at lunch. In my rush to promote my new blog, I missed the opportunity to properly and personally follow up with them.
Yeah, that happened. Thanks, AI.
AI: The Handler of Grunt Work
Let’s not throw AI out completely. It excels at data crunching, audience segmentation and automating routine tasks that would take humans hours. AI can analyze customer behavior patterns, predict trends and even optimize ad placements in ways that would be hard for us to do manually. Its precision and speed make it invaluable for high-volume tasks. It’s a fantastic tool for handling the grunt work. Let it crunch the data, segment demographics and automate those mind-numbing repetitive tasks.
But when it comes to creating messages that really connect with people, that's where we, as humans, can make a real impact.
Let’s treat AI like a meticulous fact-checker. It can double-check our data, spot our mistakes and point out any inconsistencies in our communication. But we’re the ones who need to craft the compelling narrative that moves people. AI can tell us that 57 percent of our target audience loves cats, but it takes a human to spin that into a purr-fect campaign that’ll have them feline fine.
We must find that sweet balance where data-driven insights satisfy human creativity and emotional intelligence. AI can give us the skeleton of a campaign. We need to add the flesh and heart and maybe throw in a dad joke or two. (Speaking of which, why did the marketer get off the trampoline? He was worried about his bounce rate!)
AI: The BS Detector
And let’s talk about authenticity for a hot second. Consumers can spot inauthenticity from a mile away, and AI-generated content often misses the mark. It lacks the subtle understanding of actual customer pain points, falling back on generic solutions that feel hollow and distant.
We’ve all seen the different ways AI can generate creative content and even create ads that promise the world but fail to address people’s genuine concerns. We need our marketing to show that we understand what our customers want and why they want it. In the age of AI, creating real connections with our customers sets us apart.
Here's a radical idea, Let’s incorporate real anecdotes, genuine human experiences and a touch of personality into our campaigns. It may sound wild, but believe me, it works.
Humanity: The Heart of Marketing
As we move toward an AI-dominated future (hello, Skynet), we marketers must remember our covert asset: our humanity. While AI is busy calculating the perfect time to send an email, we can be understanding the hopes, fears, and dreams that drive our customers. Is it better to send 1,000 general emails or 20 really effective ones? Emails that will make the recipient laugh, snort, cry or honestly just feel something. If they feel, they’ll remember you, and when it comes down to it, that’s what we want, right?
Here’s a kicker for you: I’ve run this very article through several AI detectors, and they’re insisting I’m a robot. I assure you I am human (as far as I know anyway), pouring my heart out about the importance of the human touch in marketing.
This just proves my point. AI is still fumbling in the dark when it comes to detecting the nuances of human passion, creativity and yes, even our delightful inconsistencies.
So, fellow marketers, here’s my call to action: Embrace AI for its strengths, but don’t rely on it entirely. Use it to maximize your efforts, not replace them. Let it handle the heavy lifting of data analysis and segmentation. But when it comes to crafting messages that truly connect? That’s our time to shine. And if it tells you you’re a robot, well, take that with a grain of salt.
Ultimately, marketing is about connecting with them on a deeper level. Until artificial intelligence can offer a knowing wink or a comforting pat on the back, that responsibility remains firmly in our human hands.
