Using AI in digital marketing
AI is making waves in digital marketing, changing how businesses target, engage, and convert customers. It’s automating time-consuming tasks, analysing vast amounts of data, and delivering personalised experiences at scale.
But while AI is a powerful tool, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are areas where it makes marketing more efficient, but there are also clear limitations.
At Brand Twelve, we use AI where it genuinely adds value, but we also know when a human approach is irreplaceable. Here’s where AI can help and where it falls short.
Where AI gets it right
Automating the repetitive stuff
AI is brilliant at handling the kind of tasks that slow marketers down. It can schedule social media posts, optimise ad bidding in real time, and trigger personalised email sequences based on customer behaviour.
These processes, which once required constant manual intervention, can now run almost effortlessly in the background. This doesn’t just save time - it allows marketing teams to focus on higher-value work like strategy, creativity, and problem-solving rather than getting lost in admin.
Used correctly, AI doesn’t replace marketers. It simply makes them more effective.
Analysing data fast
One of AI’s biggest strengths is its ability to process and interpret huge amounts of data almost instantly. It can track customer behaviour, measure campaign performance, and uncover insights that would take a human analyst days or weeks to identify.
By recognising patterns in the data, AI helps businesses refine their targeting, adjust messaging, and make smarter marketing decisions on the fly.
For example, AI-driven analytics can highlight which audience segments are most likely to convert. Businesses can then reallocate budget to the best-performing channels.
The key benefit isn’t just speed - it’s the ability to make more informed, data-backed decisions with minimal guesswork.
Personalising content without the effort
AI has made personalised marketing scalable. Instead of sending out generic emails or serving the same ads to every customer, AI can tailor content based on real-time user behaviour.
It can recommend products that match a customer’s browsing history, adjust ad creative dynamically, and even personalise subject lines to improve open rates.
This level of customisation used to require extensive manual segmentation, but now AI-driven platforms can do it almost instantly.
A well-run eCommerce store, for example, can use AI to suggest the right products at the right time, increasing both customer satisfaction and sales.
The challenge is ensuring that personalisation feels natural rather than automated and impersonal.
Handling customer queries
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants have transformed customer service, making instant responses possible 24/7.
They can answer common questions, provide order updates, and even guide users through the buying process. This is particularly useful for businesses dealing with high volumes of inquiries, as chatbots can handle basic requests while human support teams focus on more complex issues.
However, chatbots still have their limits. They work best for straightforward interactions, but as soon as conversations require nuance, critical thinking, or empathy, AI struggles to deliver the same experience as a human.
While AI improves efficiency, businesses still need a balance between automation and real customer support.
Where AI falls short
It can’t tell a great story
AI is capable of generating content, but it lacks the emotional intelligence and creative instinct that makes storytelling compelling.
It can produce blog posts, social captions, and even ad copy, but the results often feel flat, generic, or too formulaic.
AI can process data and predict which words might perform well, but it doesn’t truly understand human emotions, cultural nuances, or brand identity.
This is why AI-generated content often lacks personality. It may be grammatically correct, but it doesn’t spark engagement or build genuine connections.
Businesses that rely too heavily on AI for content creation risk sounding robotic and losing the human touch that makes great marketing stand out.
It doesn’t think big picture
AI is exceptional at optimising specific tasks, but it doesn’t have the ability to step back and think strategically.
It follows patterns and analyses data, but it doesn’t understand the broader market landscape, long-term brand positioning, or the psychology behind customer behaviour.
Successful marketing isn’t just about reacting to data - it’s about anticipating trends, identifying opportunities, and building a narrative that resonates over time.
AI can assist with campaign optimisation, but the overall direction, brand voice, and strategic decision-making still need human oversight.
Brands that rely too much on AI-driven decision-making risk being reactive rather than proactive.
It struggles with context
AI has come a long way, but it still struggles with understanding context.
It can misinterpret sarcasm, fail to grasp cultural differences, and make errors when applying language trends. This is particularly noticeable in AI-generated social media posts, which can sometimes sound unnatural or even inappropriate.
AI doesn’t understand intent in the same way a human does, which is why content created purely by AI often requires manual editing to make it feel natural.
This is also why AI-generated customer interactions can occasionally come across as tone-deaf.
While AI can assist in content creation, final approval should always come from a human who understands the brand’s audience and tone of voice.
Privacy and ethics can get messy
AI is powered by data, and that comes with significant ethical considerations.
Businesses using AI for marketing need to ensure that they are collecting and handling customer data responsibly. There have already been cases where AI-driven algorithms have resulted in biased targeting or unintentional privacy breaches.
Regulations like GDPR and CCPA are in place to protect users, but as AI continues to evolve, businesses need to stay on top of compliance.
The risk isn’t just legal - brands that misuse AI in ways that feel intrusive or unethical could lose customer trust.
AI is a powerful tool, but it needs to be used with transparency and responsibility.
The best approach – AI and human expertise
AI is changing the game in digital marketing, but it works best when combined with human creativity and strategic oversight.
The smartest brands are using AI to handle automation, data analysis, and personalisation while keeping people in charge of storytelling, branding, and strategy.
AI should be seen as an assistant rather than a replacement. It can help streamline processes and uncover insights, but it can’t replace intuition, experience, or creative thinking.
The most effective approach is to let AI do the heavy lifting where it makes sense while ensuring that the final decisions, messaging, and brand voice remain in human hands.
Final thoughts
AI is a valuable tool, but it’s not a solution for everything.
Used well, it can improve efficiency, refine targeting, and help businesses make data-driven decisions. But it still has clear limitations, particularly when it comes to creativity, strategy, and human connection.
The brands that succeed in the future won’t be the ones using AI to replace their marketing teams, but the ones using it to support them.
The key is knowing when to automate and when to rely on human expertise.
Want a marketing strategy that combines the power of AI with real-world experience? Let’s talk.
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