What Are the Pitfalls of Using AI for Marketing

AI has already become one of the fastest adopted tools in the history of marketing. What started as "Have you ever used ChatGPT?" a year ago quickly evolved into an entire industry of professionals leveraging AI to quickly pump out content and campaigns that used to take teams months to create.

We're not here to scare you off AI boogeyman style. It has many pros that (for now) outweigh the cons of using AI in marketing, but that doesn't mean there aren't inherent risks in turning over your entire brand and marketing plan over to the machines for optimization.

Here's a list of pitfalls and dangers you may run into if you let AI take the marketing wheel without any human oversight. Like most things in life (and marketing) it's about moderation and finding the right balance that fits your company, brand, and goals.

1. Everything Looks the Same - Just a few years ago, it would take a good designer time to come up with a flyer or brochure that was ready to print or post. Now, anyone with a link and a prompt can come up with something that has all of the info they need and looks decent. But therein lies the problem - everyone has access and the results generally look the same. If you're trying to stand out in a crowded industry like HVAC or real estate, generating something with AI is probably not the way to go.

2. Copyright Issues - Right now, much of the AI-generated content and images are not protected under IP and copyright law. That means someone else might be able to swipe that fancy new logo you spent time and tokens using. This issue is likely to evolve too over time as more and more brands turn to AI. Make sure to turn to our friends in the legal department for more information on how to protect your marketing.

3. Yes, Even AI Can Be Wrong - AI is fast. Like really fast. But with that speed can come mistakes. If you're trusting AI to quickly build content and other important marketing pieces, you'll want to fact-check before posting. AI may grab the wrong date or hours for your location or an event, which could be catastrophic for success if you don't check important info first.

4. Potential Privacy Risks - Did you just paste your company's entire financial review into ChatGPT? Not great! Uploading confidential and private information into free AI tools is never a great idea and will make your IT department very angry. Make sure to read through any Terms of Use or Privacy Policies before blindly dumping sensitive information into your AI tool of choice.

5. Not a One Stop SEO Fix- Right now, Google doesn't appear to be penalizing AI-generated content strictly for being AI. However, if you think the fast track to increase site visits is churning out a bunch of AI-generated content that looks and reads like AI-generated it to increase site visits... you're likely going to take a hit. You can use AI as heavy guidance on topics, but Google wants to see that the content is genuinely helpful for visitors, not built for the bots.

The Bottomline for AI in Marketing

AI is a great tool for many aspects in marketing (heck, we used it a little bit in this blog post). It can be a muse, a way to beat writer's block, or a tool to just get something simple done quickly so you can get back to more meaningful tasks.

However, the most effective kind of marketing is still going to sound like YOUR brand, geared toward your audience - which is likely human. While AI is tolerated and a lot of people are using it, that doesn't mean potential customers want it more than actual, real content.

Looking for ways to leverage AI in your marketing or thinking your current AI-generated content isn't cutting through the clutter? Contact us to schedule an appointment and we'd love to discuss.