AI and ML not being utilised enough in the digital marketing sphere -- Gartner

A lack of artificial intelligence and machine learning usage in digital marketing is causing a significant issue for marketers looking to deliver personalised experiences to customers, according to Gartner. In its new report, the analyst firm revealed that almost two-thirds (63%) of digital marketers struggle with this issue, from a survey of 350 marketing leaders from November 2020 through December 2020. One of the main problems is that digital marketing leaders are scaling their use of AI and ML to align with customer retention and acquisition goals rather than across the marketing function. This contrasts with another statistic: 84% of digital marketing leaders believe using AI/ML enhances the marketing function's ability to deliver real-time, personalised experiences to customers. Gartner says many digital marketers believe bringing automation, scale and efficiency to marketing activities across channels is the greatest value of AI/ML tools. "A comprehensive personalisation strategy and roadmap can be deciding factors in the results marketers achieve from their personalisation efforts, yet most marketing organisations lack an effective personalisation strategy – let alone one that is explicitly linked to desired business and customer goals," says Gartner for Marketers vice president analyst Noah Elkin.