The advertising industry has been changed by data. It is no exaggeration to state that reliable user data has become a must-have for any organization trying to prosper. Recent events have placed some possible barriers in the way of marketers’ ability to collect and use that data. However, when it comes to creating and measuring the efficacy of modern advertising, the business is increasingly reliant on data.

H Robotics was founded by Pippa Malmgren, who is also a former Presidential Advisor, Economist, and Author. She claims that artificial intelligence (AI) is the breakthrough technology that will ultimately deliver on the promise of digital advertising in her book ‘The Leadership Lab,’ which she co-wrote with Chris Lewis. Marketers will be able to personalize advertising based on user data and offer it in ways that take context into account using machine learning:

“It isn’t a lack of data that is one of the key difficulties here. It’s figuring out how to make sense of them.

“Artificial intelligence foresees what buyers desire even before they do.” It has the ability to find customer insights and patterns in order to provide predictive service. In advertising, AI can personalize ads by changing portions of them based on the viewer, such as changing the music or other material.”

Pippa Malmgren is scheduled to speak at LEAD ’19. A Salesforce research of 3,600 marketing professionals indicated that high-performing brand leaders are twice as likely to use AI in their day-to-day operations, according to Malmgren and Lewis. According to the report, marketers expect their AI use to increase by more than 50% in the next two years, allowing them to deliver “more targeted campaigns, smarter personalization, and higher ROI.”

It’s no surprise that a slew of startups are vying for the title of de facto AI marketing platforms. Each provides a unique user experience and functionality, but they all agree on the benefits of AI marketing: saving time and money, sending more accurate personalized messages, and ultimately generating revenue.

Despite this, and despite Jeff Bezos’ assertion that machine learning can improve any institution in the world,’ AI remains a tool. Rather than being a creator, it is a facilitator of advertising. In that sense, the role of the individual artist or agency remains crucial; putting together some of the more emotional advertisements on behalf of businesses requires human imagination and gut instinct.

In many aspects, AI’s application in marketing is similar to its application in news media. AI technologies are routinely used by publishers as diverse as the Washington Post, newswires like Reuters, and even smaller publishers to write text around financial and sports results, freeing up journalists to focus on analysis that truly provides value to their customers.

Furthermore, AI is still in its early stages. A number of high-profile recent examples of machine learning based on human behavior and biases have demonstrated the importance of having a human hand on the tiller. Keith Eadie, VP and General Manager of Adobe Advertising Cloud, says:

“In advertising, outstanding creative that evokes an emotional response necessitates a human element. What AI can do is free up people’s time to focus on the issues that humans excel at.”