State of Marketing AI - 2023 Report - the top findings.

Dear reader,

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also changing the marketing landscape, presenting both complicated challenges and promising opportunities, just as it does within the Public Relations profession.

The recently published "2023 State of Marketing AI Report" by the Marketing AI Institute offers valuable insights, so I thought it would be good to share a quick breakdown…

Barriers to adoption: education and trust

A lack of education and training is the main barrier to AI adoption, according to 64% of respondents. Collaboration with educational institutions and comprehensive training programs can bridge this gap. 36% of respondents cited their fear or mistrust of AI, which emphasises the need for openness and moral AI use.

AI in action: beyond experiments

AI is no longer limited to experimentation (45%), but is actively integrated into daily workflows (29%). For 98% of companies using AI in some form, the focus is on reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks through automation.

Impact on the workplace: a changing perspective

There is growing concern about the impact of AI on jobs, with 40% believing that jobs will be eliminated. This reflects a shift from last year's more optimistic 10-year forecasts. To strengthen human skills such as creativity and strategic thinking, there needs to be a focus on upskilling and reskilling.

AI ethics: an urgent need

There is a significant gap in AI ethics policies, with 71% of companies having no formal policies, especially smaller companies (77%). This highlights the urgent need for comprehensive ethical frameworks and responsible AI practices.

How about the Public Relations profession?

The CIPR report, published earlier this year, offers valuable insights into the attitudes of PR professionals towards AI and suggests a pragmatic approach to this emerging technology.

While the report highlights the continued need for expert human intervention in the governance and management of AI tools within the PR sector, this emphasis on human expertise suggests a balanced perspective that values both people and technology.

The report discusses "AI augmentation," which suggests that AI is not meant to replace PR professionals but rather assist them.

This view advocates the role of AI in improving content creation and other tasks, allowing professionals to focus on more strategic activities. AI does not replace human skills, but is seen as an amplifier.

The report also emphasises the emergence of "prompt engineering" as a crucial future skill, highlighting how AI is influencing the changing PR landscape. As PR professionals need to create effective prompts to get the most out of AI tools, prompt engineering may soon become a core competency.

The CIPR report focuses on evaluating the long-term strategic effects of AI. It shows that the PR industry is actively considering and embracing the transformative power of AI.

According to the report, the industry wants to embrace AI as a complementary technology that human expertise can effectively control and manage.

Overall, these findings from the CIPR report suggest a pragmatic and strategic approach to AI within the PR industry. There seems to be more enthusiasm for the possibilities of AI as a tool than fear of its threat as a substitute for human skills and judgement.

My personal take on both reports.

What I read between the lines is that we (PR professionals) are again very slow in really integrating technology into our workflows. It took us years to understand the “internet” and again years to know how to work with “social media”…

Unfortunately, I don’t see a faster uptake of artificial intelligence, which, let’s face it, is not new at all. What are your thoughts?

Further reading:

• The full report - State of Marketing AI - can be downloaded here.

• You can view the webinar presenting the results here.

• The CIPR report on AI can be downloaded here.

PS: In my upcoming update this week, I will explore how podcasts can be used for crisis and emergency communication. Additionally, I will cover how AI can aid in the creation and distribution of audio content. Stay tuned!

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