Turn your app idea into a reality with our Ultimate Starters' Guide.
Learn how you can turn your app idea into a reality with our Ultimate Starters' Guide.
In today’s world, technology is constantly outrunning us. So, how do we catch-up?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one way to stay ahead of the competition. Brands are using AI to reach consumers wherever they are. Digital upgrades can make the biggest difference in increasing your consumer base. Consumers are looking for the easiest and fastest results. Our once manual society has quickly transformed into one of instant gratification. People are no longer waiting around for results, they have immediate answers right at their fingertips. The creation of mobile phones has given us the ability to search the web from anywhere. In doing so, it has given brands the ability to build deeper, longer lasting relationships with their customers. AI gives brands the ability to not only reach consumers but to also appeal to their interests on a more personal level. Artificial intelligence is an excellent way for brands and companies to learn more about their customers by using the data they have acquired in an efficient and effective way. Times are changing, and as leading companies, we owe it to the consumer to keep up.
If you’re struggling to understand what exactly artificial intelligence is, you’re not alone (trust me). To the tech world, AI is just another word for a human robot, but to anyone outside the tech industry, it can sound much more confusing than that. Basically, AI is the idea that computers/machines can interpret data like a human would, only much more effectively and efficiently. That doesn’t sound so bad!
Using mobile maps, like Google Maps or Waze, are prime examples of AI. AI gathers the information from these sites, like areas of higher traffic, potential hazards like active construction sites and vehicle accidents, and then sends you that information to your phone in real time, as alternate routes or approximate arrival times. Additionally, Waze has the ability to update drivers, in real time, of any advisories and alerts that they may encounter of their current route. This is one instance demonstrating the ability for AI to interact with users intelligently as a human operator would.
AI is still so broad and has the ability to cover so many areas, that we have not even begun to scratch the surface. With the continued advancements in mobile technology and AI simultaneously, it will be important for brands to stay ahead of the game and learn ways AI can aid them in reaching their target market.
Mobile devices are like billboards but in your pocket. Always on the go, always advancing, always surfing the web.
Take customer x, for example, he is on his commute home from work, passing time by searching the internet for a new pair of shoes. He finds a couple he likes and clicks the link to your website. Customer X makes it home before he purchases his shoes. That’s it, customer x didn’t close the deal, so his business is gone, right?
Wrong.
AI has collected all this data from customer x, what size shoe he wears, what style he likes, what color, and even what site he was just on. As a result, the next time customer x surfs the web, even if it is for something completely unrelated to shoes, he will see a small advertisement on his screen with the exact shoe he was just previously looking at. Creepy, right? This is the new age of mobile marketing. Smartphones have given brands the upper hand in their marketing strategies and AI has now made that hand a royal flush.
The minefield that consumes brand and customer loyalty data is so extensive, a person would never get through it all. People are constantly on the go and more likely than not they are taking their music with them. Record players and walkmans have become prized antiques instead of sources of music. Today, there are tons of music streaming platforms available like Apple Music, Spotify, Audiomack and Pandora, that people are using to listen to their favorite artists right on their mobile devices. These mobile music applications, like Spotify, benefit immensely from the use of AI. For example, when you listen to a song on Spotify, it usually suggests other songs you might like. This is an example of AI drawing on data that you have given it, just by listening to a song and predicting your future behavior. Having suggestions for users is just one way a brand can show a personal relationship with them.
Even though AI is still in the beginning stages, many brands have taken advantage of its broad and diverse capabilities, giving them a leg up in the marketing world and increasing the consumer expectation.
Businesses can use AI to generate ads and “click here’s” catered to each customer, personally, like customer x. As a result, customer x now feels like your brand really cares about their interests. AI has the ability to bring an emotional component to your brand. By using generated ads based on a consumer's previous history, AI is able to predict future behaviors of that consumer. When you integrate AI into mobile devices, your brand has the potential to be untouchable. As a brand, you begin to be able to predict the behaviors of your customer base before they actual customer. When combining mobile marketing and AI, brands now have the ability to not only personally reach billions of consumers wherever they may be, but also anticipate your success in the market based on previously collected data.
Donald Coolidge, Founder and CEO of Elemental Path, knows first hand the capabilities of artificial intelligence. He and his team have worked on integrating AI into both mobile apps and a toy, yes, a children’s toy!
I asked Donald how he uses artificial intelligence to enhance the consumer experience, his response,
“We were the first company to launch truly intelligent talking toys for kids. We created and still own the space with our growing line of Friendgine AI-powered CogniToys. However, our end user is a kid so we treat data, privacy, security and AI in general very seriously. The Friendgine AI is trained to curate and create amazing voice-based experiences while integrating human traits and characteristics like personality, humor, opinions and more to create a more natural, more interactive and more engaging experience. AI shapes all of that! However, we also make sure to slow and guide the process of machine/computer learning by the AI so that every experience is positive, friendly and safe for a kid. Without AI we wouldn’t be able to have half the positive impact the CogniToys have made.”
Artificial Intelligence has made great strides from where we were five to ten years ago, but what does the future hold?
Donald Coolidge has an idea in his head of where he thinks AI could go,
“Everywhere! And I am only half joking. Artificial intelligence is already impacting parts of our daily lives, even when we don’t know it. I think there is a common misperception that AI is this big, bulking thing – it’s not. Artificial intelligence is and should be seamlessly integrated – which you see in a lot of “tech” products like our facebook feed, curated shopping recommendations and more.
I think the big EUREKA moment is when AI becomes a noticeable, important part of our daily life. When consumer AI becomes ubiquitous beyond the limited scope of an Alexa or Siri. When we have AI companions, robots, friends etc.”
Like anything, there is always going to be room for improvement, and that exists within AI as well. In the future, I think we can expect to see improvements within the functions of AI error handling. In a way where error handling will become more natural and seamless; instead of just shutting down when it encounters something out of its area of expertise. Technology is constantly upgrading and developing. It seems like once a month there is a new IOS software update, and a new iPhone to go along with it.
As Donald said, the future of AI is extremely open and with new technology being discovered every day, the future for both AI and mobile marketing is looking incredibly bright.
Can you keep up?
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