Marketing AI: what is it & which AI tools actually add value for marketers?

What is Marketing AI?

"Marketing AI will radically change marketing" those are the first results you see when you look up "Marketing AI. Perhaps expressed a little too strongly, but it certainly offers potential. Even within the marketing world.

Numerous AI tools proclaim to be able to enhance the work of marketers. I took the test!

OpenAI

That artificial intelligence tools seem to be popping up like mushrooms has largely to do with research labs OpenAI making. This artificial intelligence initiative was co-launched by Elon Musk in December 2015. Their goal? To promote or develop "friendly AI" that benefits humanity.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is no longer active in the company on a day-to-day basis and mainly Microsoft - through an investment of $ 1 billion in 2019 - is a major partner.

1. DALL-E 2

OpenAI's most well-known project is undoubtedly 'DALL-E 2'. With this "AI Image Creator," you can have a unique image generated via artificial intelligence based on a few (silly) keywords.

In reality, not every image generated is actually usable, but it offers incredible potential anyway! For example, Microsoft recently announced it was integrating the technology into its Microsoft 365 products. This under the name "Microsoft Designer.

2. ChatGPT

Another interesting development within OpenAI is ChatGPT. This intelligent chat service was launched in December 2022 and allows users to have a text-based conversation. The response to ChatGPT was so positive that OpenAI's servers became overloaded and the developers decided to temporarily take the app back offline.

GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer. A language model that uses deep learning to create texts. ChatGPT - unlike Siri, for example - is not a virtual assistant. You won't get an answer to the question "Who is the president of America?" for example. The algorithm is trained to conduct dialogues, not specifically to look up information online.

What is ChatGPT trained for?

• Answering questions
• Writing or reformulating texts
• Translating text
• Generate or review programming code
• Convert meeting notes to written summary
• Writing recipes
• …

In short: the potential is - almost frighteningly - huge! Especially when you realize that ChatGPT is "self-learning" and thus getting smarter every day.

3. Copy.ai

The same deep learning technology is found in so-called "AI Copywriters. For a ready-made blog article via artificial intelligence, it is still a bit too early. But there are certainly good providers on the market.

Copy.ai example. This AI Copywriter can give you as a marketer the necessary (extra) inspiration to write a great article. Based on some keywords, this "AI Writer" looks up some info and puts together a text. Not perfect, but certainly not bad either.

Currently, Copy.ai already supports more than 25 different languages. Including Dutch.

4. CreatorKit

Since Copy.ai helps marketers create written content, does CreatorKit this for making videos. Or at least that's what the developers claim. In CreatorKit, you can generate a video based on a template or through your own content.

Personally, I find the app slightly lacking in artificial intelligence. For example, I expect an "AI Video Creator" to be able to identify a logo and adjust colors accordingly. Such intelligent suggestions I am missing at the moment.

5. Soundraw.io

Whereas with CreatorKit I was unenthusiastic about the AI content, I am all the more so with Soundraw. This 'AI Music Generator' works really nicely! Based on a few parameters (length, genre, mood, ...) Soundraw composes the requested song for you. An audio fragment that you can also modify to your liking. Any downside? Without a paying subscription ($16.99/month) the options are very limited.

6. Writesonic

An alternative to Copy.ai is Writesonic. This 'AI Writer' helps you write social media posts, blog posts and e-mailings, among other things. The interface works more or less the same as the colleagues of Copy.ai, however, the features are a lot more extensive.

In the example below, by entering just a few keywords, I obtained a fully written, "SEO-friendly" blog post. Again: it will be some time before artificial intelligence takes the place of a traditional copywriter. But as far as I'm concerned, 'AI Writing Tools' certainly do add value.

7. Play.ht

Converting a text - artificial intelligence generated or not - to an audiobook or podcast can be done via 'Play.ht'. This 'AI Voice Generator' converts textual input into a downloadable audio clip. In doing so, you can choose from 142 (!) supporting languages and 1,000 AI-generated voices.

Of course, Play.ht also supports the Dutch language. Within the 'Flemish' category, you have about 10 voices to choose from. Among these, 'Dena' and 'Arnaud' are my personal favorites.

Good to know: Play.ht also features a WordPress plugin to "translate" text from your website into audio in no time.