Are Marketers Overrelying on AI? Strategies to Steer Clear of Common Missteps
Marketing professionals are experiencing a revolution in how they conduct research, craft content, and make strategic choices, all thanks to AI tools. However, this increasing dependency on automation may carry significant drawbacks. Despite the incredible capabilities of AI, its preeminence could potentially erode essential critical thinking and strategic abilities.
The surge of AI in marketing and search
A notable study emerged in late December that might have escaped attention amidst the holiday rush. Previsible, an SEO consulting firm, revealed that traditional Google search is “essentially plateauing and is beginning to lose its dominance.” What’s the reason behind it? Many users are now turning to AI-enhanced search options due to their improved functionality and ease of use.
Platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, Co-pilot, and even Google have made AI-powered search more widely available. Unlike conventional search methods, which often depend on keyword matching, AI search utilizes sophisticated algorithms to comprehend the context and intent of users’ queries. This evolution has the potential to yield more relevant and tailored results, theoretically speaking.
Further reading: For the first time since 2015, Google’s search market share dips below 90%
How AI is influencing user experience
The evolution of AI capabilities and user behaviors serves as a warning sign about the dangers of over-reliance on such technology. With AI drawing from extensive amounts of data, users often blindly trust the outputs as the optimal answers or recommendations.
In contrast, traditional search engines provide a variety of links to the most likely solutions, requiring users to invest effort in analyzing the results, sifting through information, and forming conclusions.
This discrepancy presents a potential concern.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, mentioned during the recent earnings call that we are “just starting a new era of foundational models capable of reasoning and long-term thinking.”
Cognitive scientist Gary Marcus suggests the current AI technology we are developing is akin to “System 1 thinking,” referencing the acclaimed book “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman.
What System 1 and System 2 thinking means for marketing
Kahneman’s work delineates the two types of human cognition.
- System 1 is quick, intuitive, and operates automatically; this is one reason Kahneman believes humans often make poor choices.
- System 2, on the other hand, requires focused attention and cognitive effort, typically for more complex tasks or those that demand calculations.
In straightforward terms, System 1 represents instinctive or “gut feelings,” whereas System 2 embodies analytical thinking.
If, as experts suggest, we are constructing AI models that align with System 1 thinking, users could risk replicating the same mistakes they might make in everyday decision-making. Younger marketers, in particular, seem especially susceptible to this phenomenon.
The dangers of excessive dependence on AI tools
During the holidays, my son shared that his classmates are leveraging ChatGPT to condense their coursework and prepare presentations. Alarmingly, they do so without questioning the AI’s suggestions; they accept the outputs entirely to “save time.”
B2B marketers frequently rely on AI for research, writing, and strategizing, drawn in by their rapid outputs and assumed accuracy. Having matured in an environment that prioritizes scalability and efficiency, many have not gained the experience or inclination needed to call into question the precision of AI-generated content.
What does this imply for the future? When all these factors converge, we may see a significant rise of a “groupthink” mentality where marketers either lose their creative and strategic capabilities or entirely abandon them out of a learned trust in AI.
Generative AI has already infiltrated creative roles, exemplified by Omnicom’s recent acquisition of IPG. If marketing leaders do not implement strategies now to manage AI’s role, we may soon find “Hal” replacing executives in the CMO seat.
How marketing leaders can tackle this challenge
What should marketing directors do in response to this challenge? Kahneman might propose emphasizing the development of skills that foster System 2 thinking. Educate your team on the significance of sustained critical and strategic thought.
Leverage the utility of AI’s System 1 thinking to empower your staff while complementing it with training focused on higher-level System 2 efforts such as competitive intelligence—an area that seems to be diminishing—market intelligence, and strategic development.
The rationale for revisiting these foundational marketing strategies is clear; performance has noticeably declined across various channels and initiatives in 2024. It is time to refocus on strategy. Rapidly producing more content that merely adds to market noise will not suffice as a viable strategy.
Further reading: Reducing generative AI risks by incorporating human oversight
Enhancing strategic insight with AI
Back in 2017, I authored an article about how Amazon became the go-to search engine for consumers looking for specific products, based on our studies of shopping behavior. I predicted that this trend would lead Amazon to encroach upon Google’s advertising stronghold. At that time, Amazon controlled only 1% of the global ad market. By 2020, that figure jumped to over 10%. This year, it is expected to reach 14%, with projections suggesting it could exceed 17% by 2026.
I observe a parallel trend with AI encroaching upon marketing departments—not due to the technologies themselves but because of the behavioral shifts they foster (reminiscent of my observations regarding Amazon and consumer behavior). It’s crucial to understand that the technology may not be the root of the threat, but rather the changes in behavior it incites.
To maintain value within your organization, focus on employing AI tools to enhance better decision-making rather than deferring to them as the sole decision-makers.
As my son’s professor eloquently stated, “Leverage them to improve your skills as a student, not to replace the learning process.” Keep in mind, they operate solely on System 1 reasoning. 😉
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