The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2017 saw a massive amount of hype around AI in speech control (Alexa, Cortana, Siri, and Assistant), and Mobile World Congress this week has proven to be the same. The opportunity for marketers will also be massive, but they will first have to harness AI themselves. Why?
Marketing professionals have enough to keep track of in today’s fast-evolving marketplace. Among their priorities, personalized interactions with each and every customer is a chief objective, one that can seem unattainable with the number of obstacles that have to be planned for and overcome. Personalization at scale for a vast customer audience is challenging, perhaps even terrifying if you imagine customizing each interaction on your own. But imagine you had an innovative way, not only to treat your present audience as individuals through the channels they prefer, but also to double or triple the number of marketing opportunities overnight.
AI on All Android Mobile Phones
In effect, Sunday’s announcement that Google’s AI-enabled Assistant will now be available on all Android phones has delivered that innovative advantage; not by doubling the number of people, but by offering another method for customers to research and request recommendations. In effect, this would double the number of potential ways customers can browse and interact with a brand. Like other voice recognition features for mobile operating systems, such as Siri (IOS), Cortana (Microsoft) and now Google Assistant (Android), these programs will use AI to provide answers to questions asked by consumers.
More devices reached? Yes. More recommendations? Uh-huh. Same or greater expectations? Absolutely. And more opportunity for marketers? Definitely!
M-Commerce in a Mobile-First World
Marketers and brands must consider this trend when it comes to customer engagement, especially in today’s mobile-first world. Many brands rely on mobile because it is a channel that their customers use to research and, increasingly, purchase products. On Black Friday 2016 in the U.S., Target said 60% of their online sales took place via mobile devices. Indeed, a growing number of brands are purely m-commerce. This mobile-only approach, as opposed to mobile-first, aligns with mobile trends, device functionality, and convenience.
AI in home appliances, such as Amazon Echo (Alexa), will also force the mobile industry to keep pace. Indeed, Alexa is already making its way into mobile devices, such as Lenovo’s Moto Z model and Chinese tech giant Huawei’s line of phones. The same will now happen with other Android devices, with early adopters like LG chomping at the bit to include Assistant in its new line of G6 phones.
AIM Solutions: Greater Than the Sum of Their Parts
Provision of truly personalized customer interactions via your marketing channels (mobile in particular) will be more effective (perhaps only possible) when driven by AI Marketing solutions like Emarsys AIM. Such solutions will allow marketers to focus on strategy, content, and creative, while AI executes, at scale, when and how you want it to. The AI will be invisible but more effective than human-only execution. Indeed, the whole will become greater than the sum of the parts: Humans (1) + AI (1) = 3.
AI Marketing solutions are necessary to empower mobile marketers to take further control of their interaction with customers, driving growth and engagement. AIM is also central to planning a roadmap for innovation in the future, including IoT, VR, M2M marketing, and many other tech-based business opportunities.
For more on how you can take advantage of AI and mobile technology to gain valuable insights into your customers’ behaviors and preferences, head here, or meet us at Mobile World Congress at Booth i09 in Hall 8.1, near the App Lounge in Section H.
Read More: