Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way organisations do business, and it gives marketers deeper insights into customer behaviour than ever before!
As we chase innovation and efficiency, it’s important to pause and think about how we use these insights responsibly. Ethics play a crucial role in this, and since AI is here to stay, we need to clearly define how to work with it ethically.
We’re going to explore what AI is, how it’s used in marketing, and evaluate its relationship with ethics.
So, what is AI?
Artificial Intelligence, often known as AI, is the process of designing computer systems that can solve complex problems in a way that is similar to human reasoning. Basically, it involves ingraining a form of “intelligence” into a computer system that allows it to “think” and make informed decisions all by itself.
AI works by learning from a lot of data and improving itself over time, similar to how people learn from their experiences. AI includes areas like machine learning and deep learning, where it continually improves its skills to make accurate guesses or sort data based on the information it has processed.
How do marketers use AI?
AI has become a powerful tool in the marketing industry, helping teams operate more efficiently and make smarter choices. Did you know…
- 90% of marketers in 35 countries used AI tools to automate customer interactions from 2021 – 2022
- 98% of business leaders agree that companies need to better understand the potential of AI for long-term success
- 96% of business leaders agree that AI can help companies significantly improve decision-making processes
These statistics demonstrate the critical role of AI in maintaining and actively enhancing business operations, and here are a few examples of how AI can support marketers like you:
- Content creation
- Customer service
- Copywriting
- Personalisation
- Email marketing
- CRM management
- Data Analytics
- Automation
… and the list goes on.
A real-world example: Spotify’s Daylist
AI enables personalisation at scale.
By analysing user behaviour and preferences, it can customise content, recommendations, and marketing messages for individual users.
Spotify leverages this really well.
They use AI models to recommend music, podcasts, and playlists to their listeners (anyway), but their most recent venture and a prime example of how to elevate your marketing with AI, is their “Daylist” feature.
If you don’t know about the Spotify Daylist Playlist, get to know (our team is obsessed).
It’s a playlist that has been carefully curated just for you based on your listening habits at certain times of the day each week. The playlist refreshes every morning, afternoon, and evening. Spotify’s data scientists and music editors selected specific words and phrases to describe their listeners’ moods, such as “chill,” “nostalgia,” “main character,” etc.
Matthew Luhks, Spotify’s Senior Director of Global Marketing, has said that the Daylist is now a prominent feature in some of the brand’s marketing efforts, including organic and paid influencer content.
81% of Spotify users said what they like most about Spotify is their use of personalisation, and you can understand why!
Are there issues when using AI?
Now we know what AI is and how to use it, let’s consider the ethical challenges that can come with it. As with any new technology, we’re still on a learning journey, and we have to consider the potential risks.
Whilst AI can come with lots of benefits, marketers need to stay informed and be aware of the ethical considerations related to AI– because ethical missteps can have irreversible impacts on both the user(s) and the industry.
Let’s uncover what ethical aspects we need to be aware of:
Privacy
AI thrives on big data (the more data it has, the better it works). However, this can lead to invasive data collection practices where user consent may not always be clear or fully informed. Marketers need to prioritise consent and privacy to avoid breaching trust and regulatory compliance. If you fail to do this, your organisation can be fined, and under UK GDPR, fines can go up to £17.5 million or 4% of the annual global turnover of the company, whichever is higher.
Bias
AI systems learn from existing data which can contain biases. These biases can be perpetuated and amplified in marketing campaigns, which can lead to stereotypes or exclusion. Marketers need to audit their AI tools regularly to detect and correct these biases to ensure fair representation.
Copyright issues
AI can generate content by learning from vast amounts of existing materials, sometimes without proper attribution or respect for copyright laws. This can result in legal challenges and ethical breaches. Marketers always need to review their work as well as their AI systems to ensure they’re compliant with copyright law.
Disclosure and transparency
Consumers have the right to know when they are interacting with AI like chatbots. Marketers should always disclose whether AI is involved in their interactions with customers and anyway, by being transparent, you can only enhance trust and credibility with your customers.
Inaccurate information
AI might generate incorrect or misleading information when trained on flawed data. This can harm brand credibility and consumer trust, so it is absolutely essential that marketers continuously monitor and verify any and all AI-generated content and data insights.
Best practices when using AI in your marketing
We can’t ignore the ethics of AI in our marketing strategies.
The goal is to become more efficient in our work, and to enhance the customer’s experience, not to deceive them. As we continue to advance and embrace AI in our marketing efforts, maintaining an ethical standard is non-negotiable.
Here are some key points to remember:
1. Always proof your data
Accurate, relevant data is essential for effective marketing strategies. High-quality data ensures that the insights and strategies derived from AI are reliable and reflect current customer behaviours without perpetuating outdated or irrelevant trends.
2. Regular data audits for bias
AI systems reflect the data they’re trained on, and if they’re trained on flawed data, it can lead to biased outcomes. By regularly auditing your AI tools and CRM’s, you can identify and correct biases and other flaws to ensure your marketing practices are fair, inclusive, and accurate.
3. Balance privacy and personalisation
AI can help us create personalised marketing messages. However, we must be careful not to invade customer privacy. For example, marketers can use their customer’s browsing history to suggest products, but personal details, such as health or financial status, should be off-limits unless explicit consent is given.
4. Keep up-to-date – in your knowledge and your data
AI will continue to grow and evolve. It’s important that you remain informed about the latest developments and ethical standards. Staying updated ensures that your marketing practices not only comply with regulatory requirements but also align with best practices for data use and customer privacy.
5. Create an ethical framework
Developing a framework for using AI in marketing helps with consistency and accountability. This framework should include guidelines on data handling, bias prevention, and transparency. To ensure the framework is effective, it should be updated regularly to adapt to new challenges or technologies.
To sum up….
Ultimately, the ethics of AI should interweave into your marketing strategies.
It’s about respecting your customers’ privacy and a commitment to fairness while elevating the customer experience. Being honest, ethical, and transparent when we use AI is a necessity, especially if you want to build lasting trust with your customers.
You don’t need to be scared of AI—it has now become a crucial part of our world and our way of working. Just consider Spotify’s Daylist or the many other examples you might encounter online or use every day.
AI can help us create amazing things, especially in marketing – it can give us back some of our time and allows us to focus on our more important tasks. However, it’s vital to consider the ethics of AI in every marketing activity that you do and take accountability.
As marketers, how we handle data is incredibly important because data handling is a large part of our roles, and with that comes great responsibility.
By having a solid understanding of AI and good data management practices, you are on the right path to maintaining respect for your customers, the industry, and wider society.
If you’re curious about AI and how it’s changing the marketing landscape, you won’t want to miss this episode of The Girls in Marketing Podcast.
In ‘Is AI Going To Take My Marketing Job? Chat GPT, Bard, and More’ the team answer that question and talk more about all things AI.
