Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology that will transform all industries in the years ahead by optimizing every aspect of business operations. When computers are fed data about everything that a business does, this information can be leveraged by Artificial Intelligence to find opportunities that would be difficult for a human to discover.

Manufacturing businesses, for example, will use AI to predict when machines will need to be repaired. Digital marketing already relies on data to monitor and optimize campaign performance, but AI will enable a level of optimization in marketing campaigns that would be impossible using existing technology. Marketers should, therefore, start preparing for AI to earn a competitive advantage in the years ahead.

Understand What AI Means

Artificial Intelligence has been a common theme in movies and science fiction for over 50 years. Many people who think of AI recall what they saw in fictional media and assume that AI means cyborgs will be joining their team in the office. In reality, AI will come in the form of software packages run on existing computers and servers. AI will discover opportunities for optimization based on existing haystacks of data and new feedback received on a regular basis.

Marketers are already relying on data to make decisions, so the implications of AI in marketing will lead to better use of existing data and a higher incentive to collect information. You should ensure that everyone in your organization understands what Artificial Intelligence means so that they will be prepared to utilize it to achieve business goals.

Focus on Collecting Data

Businesses that succeed with AI will rely on a large pool of data. You can prepare for AI by improving how your organization collects data related to marketing activities. If you are not already using advanced analytics tools to monitor customers throughout your digital presence, you should implement these systems now so that you will have enough data to be ready for Artificial Intelligence in the future.

You can discover opportunities to improve data collection by talking to leaders throughout your organization to consider how sets of data could be combined or how data relevant to marketing could be gathered from other areas of your business.

Organize Data in an Effective Way

Data will not be useful for AI unless it is organized in an understandable way. Many businesses have their data scattered across a wide variety of storage media, and it is not uncommon for some of these data sources to be inaccessible from the Internet. You should ensure that your organization is storing updated data in the cloud so that future AI applications will be able to access this information with ease.

It is also a good idea to go through existing data to organize it in logical ways. Taking the time to prepare your data for AI will yield the additional benefit of helping your organization make better use of data to drive decision-making.

Prepare to Give Machines Feedback

The success of your organization’s AI applications will depend on the quality of feedback you give to machines to help them learn. Without good feedback, Artificial Intelligence will struggle to understand whether changes yielded improvement or whether new opportunities for optimization have emerged. Your organization should begin to incorporate data analytics into almost every activity that it conducts.

You should also ensure that your analytics applications are capable of feeding raw data to AI systems and consider replacing applications that make accessing your data difficult.

Refine Business Goals

Artificial Intelligence will aim to optimize processes in accordance with your organization’s goals. Unless your goals can be explained in a clear way, it will be difficult for AI to yield efficiency gains. You can prepare for AI by making sure that your organization’s goals have been clarified at all levels.

The overall business strategy should be clear, and your marketing organization should have its own goals that are aligned with the company’s objectives. Goals should also be defined for each function, such as analytics or ad buying. Clear goals will help your organization make a seamless transition to AI without extensive restructuring.

Invest in Technology

Investment in Artificial Intelligence to integrate with existing products and services of companies would be an ideal approach for future. Marketing those would be the next goal to capture growth & ROI for the company. For example, automobile giant like Ford has integrated their SYNC (integrated in-vehicle communications and entertainment system) with Amazon Alexa in their latest models, which is gradually becoming the main focus of their marketing campaigns.

Track your Results

Acquiring and processing data related to the activities of your organization is difficult without the right tools for the job. If you are not already using analytics tools to gather rich insights about customers, you should upgrade your analytics systems now so that you will be ready for the growth of Artificial Intelligence.

Data should be gathered from all channels that your company uses, such as websites, social media channels, and email campaigns. You should also start making use of tools that track the work of your digital marketing team since this data could help future AI applications improve the efficiency of your organization.

Prepare for a New Buying Process

AI will transform the way that customers find information about the products they wish to purchase. Future buyers will use tools similar to Microsoft Cortana, Google Home, or Apple Homepod to learn about your company and its products. Some customers might rely on information from your digital presence that has been filtered by AI systems.

For example, a customer might ask an AI system what the benefits of your product are, and it will answer that question using information that you have published online. It will be important for your website to provide clear answers to common questions that buyers ask so that AI systems will be able to convey compelling product information to new and existing customers.

Getting Ready for a Future Driven by AI

Advances in hardware technology, device manufacturing, and machine learning make it inevitable that Artificial Intelligence will begin to have a major impact on all aspects of life in the near future. Marketers who embrace AI at an early stage will earn a significant advantage over companies that lag behind with this new technology.

Additionally, businesses that prepare for Artificial Intelligence by gathering data on a wide range of activities will be the first to improve their efficiency once AI products hit the market. You should focus on encouraging your marketing organization to take significant steps toward preparing for AI so that you will be prepared to dominate the market once machine learning becomes a key driver of success.