Generative AI can save marketing pros 5 hours per week, according to research

According to the latest research from salesforce.com, marketing professionals are bullish on the impact of generative artificial intelligence but still learning about the safety and effectiveness of the technology

In a survey of over 1,000 marketers representing companies of a variety of sizes and sectors in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, over half of them are currently using generative artificial intelligence.

There is a complicated impact of generative artificial intelligence on productivity.

Generative skills and trusted first-party data are important requirements for successful use of artificial intelligence. Given the current state of output can be inaccurate and potentially biased, the importance of human oversight in the execution of generative artificial intelligence in its respective roles is also required.

It's easy to create new content using big language models. It is difficult to create new content using artificial intelligence.

Generative artificial intelligence means more productivity.

Business leaders need to consider trusted data, hybrid models that can be automated, and a single platform with security and governance built-in if they want to take full advantage of generative artificial intelligence.

The power of generative artificial intelligence is unlocked.

1. Reliable and trusted customer data to build a harmonized customer profile. Connecting clean data is critical to unlocking AI capabilities. Only with reliable and trusted data, pulled together on a single platform from service, sales, and other relevant sources, can AI even perform as intended. Remember: Good in, good out.  The amount of data generated each day continues to increase. By 2025, there will be 100 zettabytes of data in the cloud with the amount forecasted to double by 2026. To realize the full value of your data, you need to go from data collection to data that drives action by: 1. Harmonizing your data into a consistent format to create a unified customer profile, 2. Connecting your customer profile to the engagement layer your customers care about, and 3. Using your data to enable your organization to deliver great experiences.
2. Pre-built, custom, or public AI models -- ideally a combination of these -- to feed your data into, so insights can be leveraged into automated actions. To deliver this type of impact through automation, you need to:

• Be able to connect to all your systems -- cloud, on-premises, hybrid, or legacy -- even with the average number of apps rising (the average number in 2023 is 1,061 apps with only 26% integration).
• Activate RPA to extract data from legacy systems and assets, like docs and images, that would otherwise require manual work to access.
• Make it possible to reuse existing data and integration components, such as APIs and connectors.
• Enable the use of low- and no-code across your organization so even non-developers can participate in self-serve automation projects.

Anyone can be a developer with low-code platforms.

There are three. The platform has security and governance built in to enable both innovations and increased customer trust. How to enable all this securely is the only steel thread that needs to be present. Ensuring complete visibility into data governance across the enterprise is important.

• Have a space for your developers to work effectively without affecting production or inviting security risks, making it easy to track changes, seamlessly integrate with version control, and effectively handle release management.  
• Mask data and leverage security best practices like end-to-end data encryption to secure sensitive information (like de-identifying PII) giving your developers realistic datasets to test, without compromising security.
• Employ tools like universal API management to enable consistent data governance across systems and users.

An expert says the 5 biggest risks of generative artificial intelligence.

The generative artificial intelligence in marketing research findings are important.

1. Generative AI's impact on marketing will be substantial. More than half of marketers (53%) say generative AI is a 'game-changer', and 60% of marketers say generative AI will transform their role. In fact, 51% are currently using or experimenting with generative AI at work.
2. Generative AI is transforming how marketers personalize, build, and plan campaigns. Here is how marketers are using Gen AI today -- 57% -- create groups or segments for marketing campaigns, 55% -- create marketing campaigns and journey plans, 54% -- personalize messaging content, 53% -- conduct copy testing and experimentation, and 53% -- build and optimize SEO strategy.
3. Marketers are more productive because of generative AI adoption. Marketers estimate generative AI can save them over 5 hours per week -- the equivalent of over a month per year -- to focus on more meaningful work. The survey found that: 71% believe generative AI will eliminate busy work, 71% believe generative AI will allow them to focus on more strategic work, and 70% believe generative AI will increase their productivity.
4. Generative AI skills and proficiency in marketing are low. Most marketers (66%) believe generative AI will transform the skills they need at work. Nearly half (43%) do not know how to get the most value out of generative AI. More importantly, 39% of marketers say they don't know how to safely use generative AI at work. And 34% say they don't know how to effectively use generative AI at work.
5. Content accuracy and quality are marketers' number one concern with generative AI. Here are the top marketing concerns with generative AI: Accuracy and Quality (31%), Trust (20%), Sills (19%), and Job Safety (18%). The majority of marketers (73%) believe generative AI lacks human contextual knowledge, 66% worry generative AI outputs are biased, and importantly, 76% worry generative AI introduces new security risks.
6. Human oversight, skills, and trusted customer data is a current requirement to power generative AI. The survey found that 63% of marketers say trusted customer data is important in successfully using generative AI as a marketer. The majority, 66% of marketers, also said human oversight to ensure brand voice is important in successfully using generative AI as a marketer. This means proper training is required -- 54% believe generative AI training programs are important for them to successfully use generative AI as a marketer. And lastly, 72% expect their employer to provide them with opportunities to learn how to use generative AI.

I've tested many artificial intelligence tools. These are five of my favorites.

With the trusted customer data, pre-built, custom, or public artificial intelligence models that can power automation and smart workflows, a single platform with security and governance built-in to enable both innovations and increased customer trust, and proper staff training, generative Artificial Intelligence can empower marketing organizations to

The customer experience will be transformed by the use of artificial intelligence.