CMOs are putting the pressure on agencies for higher performing campaigns and experiences and the result is that agencies will need to transform. "In 2020, agencies will either reassemble their process, workforce, and capability to amplify audiences, activate campaigns, and build experiences with results or find themselves falling further into irrelevance," a new report from Forrester has found. The report found that a new generation of CMOs pressured to drive growth and disruptions through marketing will become the spark that ignites agencies to reorganize or retreat. In the age of automated tools, AI and machine learning, new skill sets will be required within these shops. New agency leaders will emerge next year to take on these issues to create more value for CMOs.

Marketers and businesses are increasingly using AI to automate functional processes as well as customer interactions. AI has been shown to help brands understand their audience better, reach them at the right times, improve the accuracy of marketing campaigns, and enrich user experience, ultimately leading to cost savings and better ROI. The question marketers are failing to ask, however, is "Are consumers satisfied with the buying experience?" The paradox of today's data-driven, AI-driven marketing is that despite a large number of channels that provide information and customer service (Hello, chatbots!), consumers are craving more human experiences. In a report titled Are You Listening?

Implementing AI in a marketing strategy is becoming the new standard. In fact, 70 percent of business leaders expect marketing AI to be critical for the future success of their businesses. In addition,69 percent of early adopters have seen moderate-to-significant value as a direct result of AI's implementation. However, the greatest struggle with implementing AI is how. It is critical for marketers to educate themselves on properly merging this technology into their marketing strategy.

Advances in machine learning and AI are revolutionizing all aspects of business and industry, but most marketers have only scratched the surface of the potential applications of this technology. In the U.S. alone, there are over 300 million potential consumers. Multiply that by the number of possible branded products in a given category, considering all different variants and configurations that are available for purchase. Then, think about how those purchase decisions are affected by previous brand interactions, time of day, weather, type of device, personal preferences, language, sentiment and more. There is no way a person could access all of these variables, integrate them into actionable insights and roll out any activity in real-time.

The role of AI in marketing has increased rapidly in the last 5 years. AI-powered marketing is making many marketers work easier by delegating a heavy load to machines while giving marketers the opportunity to refocus their efforts on purely marketing matters, hence, allowing them more time to address any sort of challenge that comes their way. AI is continuously evolving, and with it, marketer's ability to construct highly insightful campaigns. Data-driven decision making is the way forward for many organizations to achieve business goals. Research conducted by the MIT Center for Digital Business, revealed that companies that are data-driven had 4 percent higher productivity and almost 6 percent higher profits than the average. This should not come as a surprise since the decisions are made on the basis of verified and empirical data instead of impulsive guesses.

Today, the amount of data companies collect can be overwhelming. This is especially true in marketing, where teams can get so bogged down with big data they may decide to shrug it off as futile--and in the age of AI, that's a mistake. Utilizing the right data is important. When properly implemented, data-based decisions can drive nearly every part of marketing, from content and messaging to focus areas and investments. Sifting through what is important and creating a signaling system for your sales team is where the magic lies--and this where most marketers are stalling.

As AI begins to shape our daily lives, brands must consider how they shift their behaviors and interactions to meet customers' evolving expectations. Consider how many marketers suddenly thought they absolutely needed a mobile app. Sure, that was a misconception--but it ushered in the importance of simplicity and utility in brand experience. The app mentality forced complicated brands to take a hard look at their products and services and shape them to be fast, nimble and mobile-focused. What will future brand experiences look like when we as consumers become used to (and expect) incredible simplicity, fewer interfaces to interact with and an incredible amount of personalization?

The stats make the case: 84% of marketing organizations are implementing or expanding AI and machine learning in 2018. Seventy-five percent of enterprises using AI and machine learning enhance customer satisfaction by more than 10% and three in four organizations implementing AI and machine learning increase sales of new products and services by more than 10%, according to Capgemini. The study also found that 79% of organizations implementing AI generate new insights and better analysis. Organizations are using AI for a number of strategic purposes including supporting new products, generating leads, creating highly target marketing activities, and identifying lookalike high-value customers. The Capgemini report also identified key technologies that fall under the AI umbrella such as language learning, measurement of human characteristics, analysis of image and video content and digital assistants.

The term artificial intelligence (AI) may bring to mind scenes from a sci-fi movie, but in reality it's already transforming many industries, including marketing. AI is gaining widespread traction as a way to solve seemingly impossible problems and accomplish tasks that previously could only be achieved with great effort, time and resources. In a marketing context, AI has the potential to make marketers better at what we've been hired to do. Here are five common challenges marketers face today and how AI can help. Gartner forecasts that 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide by the end of 2017, up 31 percent from 2016, and will reach 20.4 billion by 2020.

Like it or not, the machines are claiming new territory. And by "machines" I mean artificial intelligence (AI). Our business and personal lives are touched by AI every day. That friendly lady who took your information and looked up your account when you called your insurance company? That helpful service on Netflix that recommends new shows to watch?