3 Things Marketers Can Do Faster With Generative AI

It’s no secret that marketers are under immense pressure to do it all: tailor campaigns to customer demand, build strong data-driven strategies, and think of outside-the-box ideas – fast. That’s why generative AI for marketing is so powerful. It can take care of many of those things in seconds, allowing you to focus your time on strategic and creative thinking.  

As General Manager of Marketing Cloud at Salesforce, I have a front row seat to the evolution of generative AI and its capabilities. In this early stage, it’s also crucial to understand marketers’ pain points and needs to push AI to deliver what they need. 

On this note, we recently asked marketers how they’re using and plan to use generative AI. The results were eye opening.

Here’s a look at what we found, and three solutions that illustrate how generative AI for marketing will create new opportunities.

1. You can gain instant analysis from trusted first-party data

With the end of third-party cookies on the horizon, 63% of marketers say trusted customer data is required for generative AI to work. And 31% deem it critical in the successful use of AI tools. Actionable customer insights based on accurate first-party data have evolved from being a supporting player to a fundamental component for businesses.

The generative AI for marketing solution: Generative AI can uncover hidden patterns and deliver recommendations, helping you be more efficient. Marketers will be able to fuel creativity with new experiences that “speak your language.” You’ll be able to ask almost any question about your customers, past content, future campaigns, ROI — you name it — and get an answer instantly from first-party data. But remember, your data needs to be unified (not siloed in disparate systems) for generative AI to work well.

2. You can save time by using automation to optimize campaigns

The top four marketing AI use cases revolve around automation: customer interactions, data integration, personalization, process optimization. They emphasize the significance of scaling up speed and effectiveness within existing resources. 

The generative AI for marketing solution: This technology will save countless hours on everything from researching customer opportunities and writing campaign briefs, to creating segments and content, to optimizing performance. Generative AI can help improve efficiency across the entire marketing campaign lifecycle. You’ll save time and customers will receive the personalized experience they desire. 

3. You can deliver the personalization that customers want

While 65% of consumers say they’ll remain loyal to companies that offer a more personalized experience, only 26% of marketers are confident that their organization has a successful strategy for personalization. Our latest research found that more than half (54%) of marketers say using generative AI for personalization would transform how they work. 

The generative AI for marketing solution: Generative AI will help marketers scale better personalization by using AI to help build customer journeys, create content, and offer  recommendations based on real-time customer profiles. It will be across every marketing channel and content format – and the broader customer experience across commerce, sales, and service. 

It’s a great time to start learning about generative AI for marketing

As businesses start using generative AI, we found that 71% of marketers say this technology will help their organization get more out of their other investments. And 51% of marketers are already using or experimenting with generative AI at work. Developing generative AI skills can help you get the most value out of this technology right now. 

We are excited about the future and how marketers can harness the next level of safely connected AI-assisted technologies to achieve more. We’ll share more information about this exciting technology at our upcoming Connections event — streamed live on Salesforce+.