How to Use AI for Marketing to Drive Real Results

Does your brain feel like it’s on overdrive every time someone talks about artificial intelligence? You’re not alone. Scroll through LinkedIn or Twitter (or X, if we must), and it’s packed with self-proclaimed AI gurus and tech enthusiasts flaunting complicated, multi-step plans to hack algorithms or automate entire marketing campaigns.

But let’s be real—most of that noise isn’t practical for everyday marketers.

What is helpful? Understanding how AI can solve real-world marketing problems today. To get a clearer picture, I reached out to some talented marketers I admire and asked them how they’re actually using AI in their workflows.

The results? Absolutely inspiring. They shared actionable examples, tools, and prompts they rely on—everything you need to try their strategies for yourself. This is the kind of AI advice that makes a difference; no jargon or fluff is required.

How Does AI Help In Boosting the Marketing Efforts?

AI and marketing are a game-changing pair. With artificial intelligence, marketers sift through mountains of customer data and uncover valuable insights. These insights help tailor messages, ads, and product recommendations that feel like they were made just for you. The result? Happier customers and smarter campaigns.

Research shows that 72% of AI users personalise customer experiences while saving an average of 2.5 hours a day or 3 hours per content task. That time could be better spent elsewhere.

AI isn’t just about saving time; it’s about making marketing more impactful. It dives into big data to:

• Create personalised content at scale
• Automate email campaigns and ad placements

By making processes smoother and more targeted, AI lets marketers focus on strategy and creativity. No wonder 40% of companies are already hiring AI experts to help their teams tap into this tech for better results.

How AI Enhances Marketing Without Replacing the Basics

AI helps marketing teams scale up personalised customer experiences. Consumers get tailored, engaging interactions, and marketers produce more content without losing quality. This leads to better conversion rates and improved customer loyalty.

With AI-driven data analysis and predictions, marketers can take a proactive approach. It makes content more search-friendly and automates tasks from routine to complex, increasing efficiency and delivering stronger results.

However, the rise of AI in marketing raises challenges related to privacy, ethics, and data ownership. To address these concerns, businesses must handle customer data responsibly and ensure transparent practices.

Marketing expert Neil Patel emphasises that while AI can improve and refine many aspects of marketing, it’s not a replacement for traditional methods. Instead, it serves as a valuable tool to support and enhance existing strategies.

The Core Benefits of AI in Marketing Which You Must Know Ignore

AI has made its mark, and for marketers, it’s more of a blessing than a challenge. It simplifies the way brands connect with audiences and eliminates the need for time-consuming manual tasks. Let’s dive into seven ways AI is reshaping marketing:

1. Attract and Keep Your Customers Engaged

AI is a game-changer when it comes to understanding and reaching your audience. By identifying patterns in your best customers through techniques like lookalike modelling, AI helps you find others who share similar traits. This means your efforts are focused on the right people—those who are more likely to connect with your products or services.

2. Spot Trends and Insights with Data Analytics

If you lack the data needed to make informed decisions, AI steps in to refine your data collection methods. It processes vast amounts of information and pinpoints patterns that might not be immediately visible to human eyes.

AI also provides advanced reporting and real-time insights into campaign performance. Armed with this information, you can make data-backed decisions to improve your strategies and see better results.

3. Get Smarter with Time

AI adapts to your needs the more you interact with it. By using natural language prompts, marketers can train AI to better understand specific requests. This interaction enhances the value of the insights generated.

AI also supports retargeting by engaging with customers multiple times using smarter, refined messaging. It learns from every interaction, ensuring future content is tailored, relevant, and compelling.

4. Boost Efficiency in Your Workflow

AI handles repetitive tasks, giving marketers the freedom to focus on creativity and high-priority activities. With AI, teams can:

• Extract actionable insights from data
• Experiment with AR and VR technologies
• Optimise for voice-based marketing
• Focus on sustainable and ethical practices
• Develop highly targeted influencer campaigns

By shifting their focus to strategy, marketers can drive more repeat business and improve their overall ROI.

5. Adapt to Diverse Customer Groups

AI streamlines processes and helps brands communicate better with different audiences. Generative AI allows for the creation of inclusive and culturally sensitive content, ensuring messaging resonates across diverse demographics and improving the reach and effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

6. Create Captivating Content

AI uses insights about customer behaviour and trends to produce meaningful, engaging content. From PPC ads to social media posts and even SEO strategies, AI ensures campaigns are consistent and effective.

In the future, generative AI will push boundaries by creating videos, music, and visuals that deeply connect with target audiences, making marketing efforts even more impactful.

7. Drive a Better ROI

AI’s ability to analyse data, personalise messaging, and improve efficiency directly impacts conversion rates. It strengthens relationships with customers by delivering tailored content and retargeting messages that are effective.

All these advantages come together to maximise your marketing ROI. When you know your audience better, work smarter, and improve operations, the results are clear: increased revenue and sustainable growth.

By embracing AI, marketing teams can achieve more without overloading themselves, ensuring every campaign has the potential to deliver standout results.

How to Use AI for Marketing

1. Create AI Marketing Videos to Build Your Brand

Marketing videos are a powerful way to make your brand memorable. They help viewers retain 95% of a message and can boost organic traffic from search engines by 157%. Generative AI takes this a step further, enabling you to create personalised, engaging videos at scale while cutting your workload by 60-70%.

With advanced technology, generative AI opens up endless possibilities for video creation:

• Natural language processing (NLP): Automatically generate scripts tailored to your message.
• Machine learning (ML): Edit and optimise video content for the best impact.
• Computer vision: Dynamically add visuals that resonate with your audience.

These tools make it easier for marketing teams to produce high-quality videos quickly and efficiently. From creating localised content to scaling video production for global audiences, AI ensures every video is on-point and cost-effective.

Whether you're aiming to increase brand awareness, boost engagement, or reach new markets, AI-powered video creation helps you achieve more while staying efficient. The result? Compelling content that connects with viewers and leaves a lasting impression.

2. Create Ads and Marketing Content That Work

AI makes creating marketing content easier and smarter. With natural language generation and machine learning, AI can analyse past campaigns, predict what will resonate best, and suggest tweaks for better results. The payoff? Leads can increase by as much as 50%.

AI doesn’t just help craft more engaging ads—it scales personalised content creation for different demographics and adapts messaging based on consumer behaviour. This means your brand can speak directly to its audience, no matter who or where they are.

For inspiration, think about Coca-Cola’s AI-driven ad, which beautifully combines artistic styles and cultural elements to showcase its global identity. It’s a masterclass in using AI to make a campaign stand out.

Another standout example is the Messi Messages campaign. This interactive project featured Lionel Messi delivering personalised video messages to fans in their language. It’s a brilliant example of how AI can make content feel personal and globally relevant.

Must-Try AI Tools for Marketing

• AdCreative.ai: A popular choice for generating ad content, tracking competitors, and creating data-driven reports to guide your strategies.
• Copy.ai: Perfect for crafting ads, emails, and social posts that hit the right notes and boost engagement.
• Persado: Uses AI to fine-tune the emotional appeal of your messages, making content more impactful across all channels.
• Jasper: A versatile tool for scaling content in multiple languages, whether it’s ad scripts, blog posts, or SEO-friendly materials.

With these tools, your marketing efforts can be smarter, faster, and more connected to your audience.

3. Boost Lead Generation and Keep Prospects Engaged with Chatbots

Chatbots have become an essential tool in AI marketing, helping brands connect with potential customers in real-time. By analysing customer behaviour, chatbots can start conversations, suggest personalised recommendations, and offer tailored deals—all of which increase the chances of turning prospects into customers. They also act as guides, answering questions and smoothly directing users through the sales funnel, whether to marketing materials or a sales representative.

Powered by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML), these conversational tools continuously learn from interactions. This allows them to get better at understanding customer needs and responding more effectively over time. Plus, they’re always available—day or night—to provide real-time engagement that keeps customers connected and interested.

Adding chatbots to your marketing strategy doesn’t just streamline the customer journey; it makes interactions more personal, boosts sales, and builds stronger brand loyalty.

Top Chatbot Tools to Try

• Intercom: Perfect for websites and apps, Intercom chatbots engage users automatically, offer personalised support, and capture leads effectively.
• Drift: Focused on conversational marketing, Drift’s chatbots handle tasks like booking meetings, answering queries instantly, and guiding users toward a purchase.
• ManyChat: Designed for social media interactions, ManyChat’s bots make it easy to connect with audiences on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

With these tools, chatbots can become a valuable part of your AI marketing playbook, helping you connect with customers in meaningful and efficient ways

4. Keep Your Brand Reputation in Check with AI

Your brand's reputation can make or break its value—accounting for as much as 63% of market worth. AI steps in as a proactive watchdog, keeping tabs on online conversations and alerting businesses when sentiment takes a turn or when trends start to emerge. This way, brands can tackle issues head-on before they grow into bigger problems.

AI tools use technologies like natural language processing (NLP) to analyse sentiment from social media, reviews, and news articles, while machine learning (ML) picks up on patterns to detect shifts in public opinion. Many of these tools also come with automated alerts, ensuring companies stay ahead of any potential risks.

Popular Tools for Reputation Management

• Brandwatch: Tracks online chatter from social media to blogs and news sites, offering detailed insights into how people feel about your brand. Its robust analytics make it a great choice for large-scale monitoring.
• Mention: Keeps an ear to the ground with real-time tracking of brand mentions across the web and social platforms. It also has handy AI-powered tools like Instagram caption generators and LinkedIn summary creators.
• Resolver (formerly Crisp): Focused on risk intelligence and crisis management, Resolver identifies threats to your brand’s reputation across digital channels, helping businesses act quickly.

By using these tools, you can ensure your brand stays on top of public sentiment, maintaining trust and loyalty while addressing issues before they spiral

5. Making Sense of Data with AI

The sheer amount of data marketers deal with can feel like a mountain to climb. But AI steps in to make sense of it all, processing huge datasets at lightning speed. This not only helps you uncover valuable insights but also uses past data to predict future trends and customer behaviours.

AI doesn’t just stop at crunching numbers. It can spot anomalies, identify patterns, and even highlight opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed. Pairing AI with data analytics unlocks hyper-personalisation, allowing you to understand your audience on a deeper level. When you know what your customers want, you can fine-tune your messaging and approach to connect more effectively.

Take retail as an example—AI can help manage inventory smarter and improve customer service by analysing data for patterns and optimising processes accordingly.

If you’re looking for tools to dive deeper, ChatGPT’s Advanced Data Analysis plugin is a great choice. You can upload spreadsheets and let them do the heavy lifting, extracting meaningful insights and helping you make informed decisions.

At its core, leveraging AI in data analysis is all about turning information into actionable insights, making your strategies sharper and your results stronger. It’s about finding what works for you and using it to drive success.

6. Boost Your Email Marketing with AI

Email marketing remains a key player in any strategy, offering one of the most reliable ways to convert leads and engage with customers. Adding AI to the mix can save time while taking your email campaigns to the next level.

Here’s how AI can elevate your email marketing efforts:

• Optimise Performance: AI analyses past campaigns to uncover what works, like which subject lines drive higher open rates.
• Triggered Workflows: Set up automated email sequences triggered by specific user actions, ensuring timely and relevant communication.
• Detailed Analysis: Dive into campaign and workflow data to understand what’s driving results and what needs tweaking.
• Tailored Copy: Craft messaging that speaks directly to your audience, hitting the right tone and addressing their needs.
• Content Personalisation: Segment your audience and deliver personalised content that resonates with each group.
• Dynamic Content: Use AI to adjust email content in real-time based on the recipient’s preferences or behaviour.
• A/B Testing Made Easy: Test different versions of your emails to find what performs best without the guesswork.

AI also takes the hassle out of managing email lists. It can evaluate the value of each email address or list by analysing engagement metrics, helping you focus on high-performing contacts. Need to refine your email schedule? AI tracks the results of each email and helps you decide the best times to send it for maximum impact.

And here’s an interesting tidbit: 63% of users trust AI-generated emails but prefer to review them, while 25% are fully on board with letting AI handle everything, according to Selzy.

By letting AI handle the heavy lifting, you can focus on strategy and creativity, ensuring your email marketing stays effective and impactful.

AI Tools That Make Digital Marketing Smarter

While ChatGPT might grab most of the attention, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. A whole range of AI tools are out there, helping marketers with everything from content creation to automation, SEO, design, and beyond.

Here’s a roundup of some of the best AI tools available today:

• Writer: A top-rated content generator that repurposes content and includes a handy AI writing assistant to make your messaging spot-on.
• MidJourney: Turn simple language prompts into visually stunning images with this generative AI tool.
• Optimove: A powerful customer data platform with AI-driven marketing features to enhance your campaigns.
• Zapier: Streamline workflows by connecting the apps and services your team relies on, automating repetitive tasks.
• ManyChat: Boost customer interaction on platforms like WhatsApp using natural language processing to provide real-time, personalised responses.
• Evolv.ai: Uses AI and machine learning to refine and improve customer experiences in real time.
• Surfer SEO: A go-to for on-page optimisation, analysing your content and comparing it with top-ranking pages on search engines.
• Mailchimp: Perfect for email campaigns, Mailchimp predicts the best times to send emails and personalises content for better engagement.
• Perplexity: A research-friendly alternative to ChatGPT, offering web-cited responses for deeper insights.
• Drift: Enhances lead generation and customer communication with its intuitive AI-powered chatbot.
• Buffer: A reliable tool for managing social media, with features for post-scheduling, analytics, and content curation.
• Tableau: Simplify data analysis with this AI-powered tool, turning raw information into actionable insights and stunning visualisations.

With tools like these, marketers can take their strategies to the next level, saving time, improving precision, and delivering campaigns that truly connect with their audience.

Wrapping It Up: Making AI Work for Your Marketing

AI is a practical and powerful tool that can transform your marketing efforts. From personalising customer experiences to automating repetitive tasks and uncovering actionable insights, AI simplifies processes and amplifies results.

It’s not about replacing your creativity or instincts. Instead, think of AI as your marketing partner, handling the heavy work so you can focus on strategy and building genuine connections. Whether it’s tailoring email campaigns, optimising ads, or analysing customer data, AI helps you achieve more with less effort.

The best approach is to start small. Try a few AI tools, adapt them to your needs, and expand as you see results. With AI as part of your strategy, you can save time, improve efficiency, and create campaigns that truly resonate with your audience.

At its core, AI is here to support what you do best: sharing your brand’s story in ways that connect with your audience. So, take the first step and see how AI can elevate your marketing.