The Growing Role of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing

 

Nearly 70% of marketing strategies now rely on artificial intelligence, and in the case of campaigns involving influencers this figure is almost half – according to research conducted by the Danish company Influencer Marketing Hub. AI supports processes such as selecting the right influencers, forecasting trends or analysing audience engagement. More and more brands are also using this technology to create content, and even to create their own virtual influencers. Although virtual characters are still a novelty on the market, they raise numerous questions about key aspects of influencer marketing, such as authenticity and trust.

AI supports the selection of creators

– Today, at the current level of development of artificial intelligence, the main benefit is supporting marketers in analytics, in the right selection of creators. Artificial intelligence is able to perform a huge number of calculations and give marketers recommendations on which creators to work with, how to select those creators so that the brand gets the maximum benefit from this cooperation – Adam Szudra, managing director of Friends & Brands, tells the Newseria Biznes agency.

A study conducted in 2023 on more than 500 marketers by Influencer Marketing Hub indicated that nearly half of them always use artificial intelligence when working with influencers. The most frequently used function is natural language processing. Importantly, almost 38 percent of survey participants assessed that AI had improved the results of influencer campaigns at their company.

– Artificial intelligence is both an opportunity and a threat in influencer marketing and marketing broadly understood. However, we should not be afraid of it if we approach its use sensibly. A lot is said today about risks in the legal context. Let us remember that where artificial intelligence sources information from is not yet fully regulated. We often hear, for example in the States, about lawsuits where artists or stars sue companies dealing with artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the greatest opportunity for artificial intelligence today is support for both creative and analytical processes, but we are still talking here about support, not about replacing them – explains Adam Szudra.

Data analysis and patterns

Artificial intelligence algorithms are able to analyse vast data sets to identify patterns and insights that could have been overlooked in manual analysis. Based on demographic data, location or follower engagement, AI is able to determine whether a given creator's target group overlaps with the campaign's target group. A tool that uses this method is, for example, HypeAuditor, whose algorithms identify ideal influencers for a given audience from more than 138 million accounts on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X and Twitch. Advanced AI systems can also assess the alignment between a brand's style and values and an influencer's content and audience.

Using AI technology, engaging and personalised content can also be created for individual brands or influencers. This is not only written content, but also images, sounds or videos. AI also analyses content for inaccuracies or potential audience interest. In addition, it can also be used to monitor and optimise influencer campaigns: tracking and analysing various metrics, examining effectiveness and, on that basis, adjusting content or target groups. Thanks to this, as the expert emphasises, greater flexibility in tailoring campaigns and higher returns on investment are possible.

According to the director of Friends & Brands, despite the growing role of artificial intelligence in influencer marketing, it will not replace people.

– Artificial intelligence is not yet at such a stage of development that it can fully replace human work. After all, we are talking here about creative processes, which the currently functioning artificial intelligence does not yet recognise and does not replace so well – argues Adam Szudra.

Some brands, however, are experimenting with AI influencers. An example is Lu do Magalu, created as a spokeswoman by one of the largest retail companies in Brazil, or Lil Miquela, who gained fame as a virtual robot and is now a model and fashion icon. According to experts surveyed by Influencer Marketing Hub who have dealt with virtual influencers, they assess that experience very positively. The main advantage of working with them compared with “traditional” influencers is control over the message (31.7 percent) and 24/7 availability (29 percent). Importantly, 40 percent of marketers believe that such technology will revolutionise the industry in the future. At the same time, a similar proportion have doubts about ethical issues related to AI influencers.

– There is a lot of talk about how virtual influencers may be the future of influencer marketing. There is a chance of that, nevertheless I wonder whether such characters, such creations, should still be called influencers. In the pursuit of novelties, of innovation, we forget what is the foundation of influencer marketing as such; after all, these activities are about authenticity and trust, and even the best artificial intelligence is not able to replace that – emphasises the director of Friends & Brands.

Issues related to AI are not fully regulated by law. The EU's AI Act establishes, among other things, obligations for providers to ensure that content generated or modified with the use of artificial intelligence (e.g. images, audio or video files) is clearly labelled. The point is for recipients of content to be aware when they come across it.

– Essentially, no one knows which way legal solutions will go. In my opinion, the key issue here is ethics and the fact that when we use artificial intelligence, no matter to what extent, we must remember full transparency; after all, recipients, consumers want to know whether these words were spoken by a real person, a creator they know and like, or whether they were generated by ChatGPT or any other solution related to artificial intelligence. As long as we remain transparent and ethical in using artificial intelligence, I see nothing wrong with it – assesses Adam Szudra.

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