The arrival of ChatGPT has created a furore, with marketers and the likes scrambling to figure out how they can use artificial intelligence to their advantage. While AI technology has been around for the past decade, ChatGPT has showcased just how much it can do. To ensure you’re not left behind, we break down everything you need to know about AI technology from the pros to the cons.
What is AI technology?
Artificial intelligence technology is simply when machines can do the tasks or jobs that are commonly thought to be done only by humans. AI technology has been a part of financial marketing for a while now, predominantly in the form of chatbots or voice recognition.
However, as technology continues to improve so do the ways in which AI technology can be integrated into your financial marketing tactics. In a recent study, 41% of marketers reported enhanced performance and a rise in revenue growth as a result of using artificial intelligence in their marketing operations.
Speaking to Andrew Frith, Research and Social Media Director at The Dubs, he explains, “AI has the potential to transform financial marketing by providing advanced analytical capabilities, personalised customer experiences, and automated decision-making.”
How can AI improve financial marketing?
There are a number of ways artificial intelligence can improve financial marketing. As previously mentioned, the use of chatbots and voice recognition have been great contributions to the overall customer experience and helped streamline problem-solving capabilities.
When asked, Andrew notes four other ways artificial intelligence can improve financial marketing.”Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionise financial marketing by providing advanced analytical capabilities, personalised customer experiences, and automated decision-making.
“AI can help financial institutions stay ahead of the competition and provide superior service to their customers.”
There are four key areas AI can help financial marketers:
- Predictive analytics: Artificial intelligence algorithms can analyse vast amounts of financial data to identify patterns and predict future outcomes, allowing financial institutions to make informed decisions on customer behaviour and market trends.
- Personalised customer experiences: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can offer personalised recommendations and support to customers, based on their specific needs and preferences. Around 95% of marketers believe that artificial intelligence will improve their ability to personalise user experiences.
- Risk assessment: Artificial intelligence can help financial institutions to better assess and manage risk by analysing data and identifying potential areas of concern.
- Marketing automation: Artificial intelligence can automate marketing campaigns, including targeted advertising, email marketing, and social media outreach, helping financial institutions to optimise their marketing efforts and maximise return on investment.
Pros for financial marketers
When integrated effectively and innovatively, artificial intelligencecan have vast benefits for financial marketers.
“Integrating AI into financial marketing can offer significant benefits to financial institutions, enabling them to provide superior customer experiences, increase efficiency, and achieve a competitive advantage in the market,” Andrew says.
“ 41% of marketers reported enhanced performance and a rise in revenue growth as a result of using AI in their marketing operations.”
Here are four ways in which artificial intelligence can benefit your brand and finance business:
- Improved customer engagement: Artificial intelligence can provide personalised customer experiences, tailored to each customer’s individual needs and preferences, leading to higher levels of engagement and customer loyalty.
- Increased efficiency: AI-powered tools can automate many of the repetitive and time-consuming tasks associated with financial marketing, such as data analysis, reporting, and campaign management, freeing up staff time to focus on more complex and strategic activities.
- Enhanced targeting and segmentation: Artificial intelligence can analyse vast amounts of customer data to identify patterns and segments, enabling financial institutions to target specific customer groups with highly relevant and personalised marketing messages.
- Faster decision-making: Artificial intelligence can process large amounts of data quickly and accurately, enabling financial institutions to make informed decisions faster and respond more effectively to changing market conditions.
- Greater cost savings: Artificial intelligence technologies are projected to help reduce marketing costs by 30% across industries. Artificial intelligence can primarily reduce costs associated with traditional marketing methods, such as print advertising and direct mail, while also improving the return on investment of marketing campaigns.
Cons for financial marketers
While artificial intelligence can be a big help and support for financial marketers, it’s not a perfect solution. Just like with anything, it still requires someone to oversee what’s occurring in order to prevent any issues.
Artificial intelligence utilises algorithms and past data to complete its tasks. This means things such as context or nuance can be lost in the milieu of information it’s processing. Checking answers and ensuring you keep tasks simple and straightforward remain necessary for you to get the best results.
Just like you see in those scary sci-fi horror movies, artificial intelligence doesn’t have human empathy. While it may seem obvious, AI technology lacks a ‘human touch’ which can be necessary to build trust and rapport with your clients. Ensure AI isn’t utilised or limited in cases where empathy is paramount for maintaining good customer service and engagement.
Finally, artificial intelligence isn’t suitable for complex tasks such as providing financial advice where personalisation is a priority. Every client and financial situation is different. Speaking to real people who are experts is paramount in these types of situations.
While artificial intelligence is amazing, it’s not a perfect solution for every scenario and should only be utilised in appropriate settings to ensure you maximise results.
Concerns
While AI is amazing, it shouldn’t be trusted 100% of the time. Just like people, AI can make mistakes that, if not identified, can impact your financial marketing strategy to a significant extent.
When speaking to Andrew, he noted six key areas of concern. “Data privacy and security, bias and fairness, transparency, human oversight, integration with existing systems, and skills.”
“Financial marketers should be aware of these considerations when utilising AI technology, and take appropriate steps to mitigate risks and ensure AI is being used effectively and ethically to benefit customers and the institution,” Andrew says.
To explain in further detail, here is what you need to look out for when utilising AI technology such as ChatGPT and other systems:
- Data privacy and security: Artificial intelligence relies on vast amounts of customer data to provide personalised experiences and insights. Financial institutions must ensure they have robust data privacy and security measures in place to protect customers’ sensitive information and comply with relevant regulations.
- Bias and fairness: Artificial intelligence algorithms can perpetuate existing biases in data sets, potentially leading to discriminatory outcomes for certain customer groups. Financial institutions should be aware of these risks and take steps to ensure AI is used in a fair and unbiased manner.
- Transparency: Artificial intelligence can sometimes generate results that are difficult to explain or interpret, raising concerns about transparency and accountability. Financial institutions should ensure AI-powered tools are transparent and can be audited to ensure they are producing accurate and reliable results.
- Human oversight: Although artificial intelligence can automate many tasks, it still requires human oversight and intervention to ensure it’s being used effectively and ethically. Financial institutions should have appropriate governance structures in place to ensure AI is being used in a responsible and ethical manner.
Integration with existing systems: Financial institutions must ensure AI-powered tools can be integrated effectively with their existing systems and workflows, avoiding disruptions or compatibility issues. - Skills and expertise: Financial institutions must have the appropriate skills and expertise in place to manage and implement AI-powered tools effectively. This may involve hiring specialised staff or partnering with external vendors with expertise in AI and financial marketing.
Looking to the future
While artificial intelligence has improved drastically in the past few years, it will continue to do so. If you don’t want to be left behind, it’s important you stay up to date on the latest trends and happenings in this arena. In fact, 56.6% of marketing experts believe artificial intelligence will have the largest impact on the industry by 2025.
So what can artificial intelligence teach us about the future of financial marketing? As Andrew explains, “The increased use of AI technology in financial marketing teaches us the future of marketing is likely to be increasingly personalised, data-driven, and technology-enabled.”
He adds, “Financial institutions that embrace these trends and invest in AI-powered tools and capabilities are likely to gain a competitive advantage in the market and provide superior customer experiences”
As we mentioned, while artificial intelligence is awesome and can be a big support for financial marketers, there still remains a level of concern when using it. Artificial intelligence isn’t perfect and should always be monitored, tested and overseen to ensure it doesn’t impact your brand negatively.
