Media Psychologist • Marketing Manager • Communications Professional • Educator • Researcher • Job: Austin Data Labs and Ever.Ag • Edu: FGU
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into digital marketing has not only energized the field with rapidly evolving technology, but has also deepened our understanding of customer psychology. When I talk about AI in marketing, I use the term AI as a catch-all for large language models (LLM), generative AI, machine learning (for predictive analytics), and much more .
At a time when businesses are competing for attention in a crowded digital space, AI’s role in deciphering and accounting for individual psychological profiles has given marketers a way to capture new value for their business and new levels of productivity for their teams.
Let’s examine the rise of AI in personalized marketing, focusing on its psychological implications, benefits, and ethical considerations. I’ll share insights on how this technology is reshaping the customer engagement landscape.
Psychological principles of AI-based personalized marketing
AI-powered personalized marketing transcends technological advancements and takes us on a journey into the human psyche. By analyzing large amounts of data, AI provides marketers with unprecedented insights into customer preferences and decision-making processes.
Additionally, AI discovers hidden gems in your own content archive and knowledge database, allowing you to more effectively use the data and content you already have. This data-driven approach leverages various cognitive biases and heuristics, subtly influencing customer behavior.
VSCognitive biases and decision makingg
One of the main aspects exploited by AI is confirmation bias, in which customers tend to favor information that reinforces their opinion. existing beliefs. AI algorithms, through targeted content curation, can help marketers present products and services that match users’ individual preferences and past behaviors. This, in turn, can increase the likelihood of engagement and purchase.
Likewise, the Anchoring effect plays a crucial role. Marketers can prompt AI to use initial insights as a “mental anchor” for customers when designing campaigns. For example, presenting a premium product first can influence the perception of subsequent offers. This strategic presentation of information guides customer perception and decision-making, often leading to more favorable outcomes for businesses.
EmOptional commitment and personalized cooperationintention
Emotionally Resonant Content is at the heart of successful marketing campaigns. An AI-augmented marketer’s ability to analyze emotional signals from customer data enables the creation of highly personalized content. Whether through language that evokes specific emotions or by aligning marketing messages with customers’ current mood, AI-augmented marketing helps a good marketer ensure that every interaction is emotionally appropriate and contextually relevant.
This emotional engagement is illustrated in AI-augmented content that adapts to individual moods and preferences (with the usual caveats to check your LLM AIs for hallucinations and plagiarism before using the content they help produce). For example, an AI system might recommend comforting products or services to a customer identified as needing a mood change based on their recent online behavior or social media activity.
Hyper-personalization and the need to feel valued
AI’s ability to help marketers deliver hyper-personalized experiences is valuable. These experiences, when done well, not only meet but often exceed customers’ psychological needs to feel unique and valued. By tailoring experiences to individual preferences, AI fosters a feeling of exclusivity and personal attention.
Hyper-personalized recommendations; timely and individualized communication; and personalized user experiences make each customer feel like the marketing message is designed specifically for them. This level of personalization improves customer satisfaction, builds trust and maintains brand loyalty.
Concrete example: concrete examples
Consider a possible use case for a leading online retailer that wants to use AI to personalize shopping experiences. Its AI system would analyze individual purchase history, browsing habits and customer reviews to recommend products perfectly suited to each buyer. This would not only simplify the shopping experience, but also make the customer feel understood and valued, which could lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat purchases.
Similarly, a streaming service could use AI not only to recommend content based on past viewing habits, but also to tailor its user interface to each user. The service would feature movies and shows in genres that match the user’s preferences, and even display artwork dynamically adjusted to suit individual tastes (in fact, that’s exactly what companies are doing like Netflix).
Guarding the Future of AI in Ethical Marketing
Going forward, all types of AI have potential impacts that marketers need to be aware of and work to contain. Besides the risk of hallucinations (lies), plagiarism (especially in visual AI programs), and data breaches (common across several types of consumer-facing technologies), there are other ethical concerns.
The potential impact on the workforce of creative and customer-facing roles will need to be addressed at a systemic level, although businesses can certainly work to mitigate this impact in the short term. Part of ethically using AI in marketing involves creating a process that puts human impact, diversity, inclusion, and privacy at the forefront.
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