Machine Learning is Fast Becoming Business Imperative for Marketing, Writes Vian Chinner

Vian Chinner is the founder of SA startup Xineoh, which specializes in the application of mathematical modeling and machine learning to ad technology. The "machine" in question here isn't quite the kind we might imagine though, but rather a clever algorithm used to monitor consumer's behavioral patterns, mining important data so as to anticipate purchasing decisions and offer relevant recommendations likely to have shoppers reaching deeper into their wallets. But while for years' machine learning has been the territory of a limited few, it's now fast becoming an imperative for businesses looking to understand and maximize the impact of their carefully monitored marketing spend. Where once we might have been amazed by Amazon.com's As AI starts to filter into our day-to-day lives, influencing everything from the music we listen to, to the coffees we order, it's becoming difficult for more traditional businesses to compete with their artificially assisted counterparts, who are better able to capitalize on shrinking attention spans and widespread time poverty.