AI adoption in marketing: A VP explores what comes next

Generative AI dominates the public consciousness these days. Every company is using it, every product has added sleek AI-powered features and every consumer comes into contact with it at one point or another. ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity – generative artificial intelligence is everywhere you turn.

 

But despite its popularity, generative AI only scratches the surface of the technology’s true potential.

 

The future of AI in marketing won’t rely on generative AI. It’ll rely on operational AI. Businesses that can adapt to using AI in foundational, infrastructural ways will gain a distinct advantage over those who rely on it for copy and images alone.

 

Generative vs operational AI: what’s the difference?

 

Generative AI is a tool that can generate copy, images and emails at a snap of your fingers. Think of it like a friend who helps you write: it speeds the day-to-day tasks on an individual level, but it’s more of an extra hand at work than a large-scale game-changer.

 

Operational AI uses that same intelligence on a completely different level. Think automated fraud detection based on pattern recognition, demand forecasting based on real sales data, and predictive maintenance to avoid site crashes. Operational AI is a true enterprise-level upgrade – powerful, scalable and efficient where you need it most.

 

If your marketing strategy were an ocean, generative AI would make ripples. Operational AI would make waves.

 

Operational AI in action

 

Let’s run through three examples of how operational AI can make a big impact – and give your marketing strategy the competitive edge:

 

Predictive content performance projection

• What it is: AI analyses your historical performance data across all channels and formats. Then it uses that data to predict future performance.
• What it does: Clues you into what content topics and formats convert best for your target audience, allowing you to prioritise content production by its ROI potential.
• Why it gives you the edge: Rather than just increasing content volume with generative AI, operational AI enables you to increase content value. This helps you invest in higher-impact projects, increasing efficiency and visibility at scale.

Content lifecycle management

• What it is: AI keeps track of your content’s performance, relevance, engagement metrics and SEO/GEO ranking from publication to retirement.
• What it does: Notifies you when assets need to be refreshed, optimised or taken down altogether based on the data-backed insights most important to your goals. It can be as broad as conversion rates or as narrow as blog articles that become dated by specific years being used in the title.
• Why it gives you the edge: Generative engines seek out fresh, high-quality, authoritative content ecosystems. Individual pieces of content that decay over time will hurt your chances. Enlisting AI to keep tabs on each one’s lifecycle is a scalable, time-efficient way to increase your content’s value for both generative search engines and human visitors to your site.

User journey optimisation

• What it is: AI collects and analyses behavioural data across all customer touchpoints. It’s then compared to your marketing automation strategy to provide suggestions for optimisation, and in some cases, apply automatic fixes. This could look like detecting the time of day with the best open rates, the most effective campaign triggers, and traits shared by high-intent prospects.
• What it does: Uses small details not obvious to the human eye to create a more accurate picture of your audience. It allows you to subtly but meaningfully improve their user experience, increasing their odds of conversion and retention.
• Why it gives you the edge: User journeys are increasingly non-linear and spread over countless channels. Leveraging operational AI to centralise that data helps you proactively deliver a better experience than your competitors – all behind the scenes.

Key takeaway: think bigger; think operational AI

 

Generative AI is an undeniably useful tool. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to give you any distinct advantage over your competitors. The new age of marketing relies on big-picture strategy. Operational AI will be the make-or-break investment for businesses hoping to make an impact on the grand scale modern markets demand.

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Is your marketing strategy ready for the next generation of AI? Take Storyblok’s AI Readiness Quiz today to find out.

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By Charlene Kale, VP of Marketing at Storyblok