'How AI will redefine marketing jobs'

How is AI replacing jobs? Will AI replace your job? Will your marketing job be given to a robot?

No one can answer these questions for sure but we all know that AI is advancing rapidly across all industries. AI is already everywhere around us. Simple repetitive tasks are being automated. We all have AI voice assistants Siri and Alexa and self-driving cars are not science fiction any more. Artificial intelligence and automation will continue to impact our lives.

We need to start rising questions about our businesses, industries, and our jobs in the coming age of AI.

Which roles and industries will be most impacted? How might AI redefine marketing jobs?  How can we get prepared?

Marketing is definitely one of the industries that are becoming increasingly dependent upon automation technology. In the coming years, businesses will need to compete in the artificial intelligence space in order to stay competitive and succeed.

With AI solutions, marketers are now better able to target the right customers, learn the needs of current and potential customers, better engage with customers, to quickly anticipate and quantify future trends and develop personalized and more effective marketing strategies.

As there are more and more marketers implementing these new technologies and automation solutions, so comes the expected fear of job losses. If certain tasks are being replaced by robots and automation, what will that mean for the people who do them today?

We think these scenarios are possible in the future:

Artificially intelligent future

Marketing automation and AI technologies are definitely here to stay. In the near future, you can expect AI to massively speed up the processes between your intent and final results. AI is likely to change how we interact with content, how we find products, and how we buy. You can expect to think of a grocery shopping and find your online shopping cart already full thanks to AI smart predictions.

AI solutions in marketing will work in the backstage to collect data, analyze, perform, and predict while many repetitive tasks will be automated. Marketers will not need to spend hours on collecting and organizing data or setting and monitoring email and social media activities. They will have the technology to that for them. They will use their newly available time for the strategic and creative actions that drive results. There will be more and more specialized roles and marketers will need to adapt accordingly.

Artificially augmented future

The second scenario goes a step further and you won't just use services and tools with AI but AI will be your real coworker or, in some cases, your boss.
E commerce, for example, will be significantly automated. You can expect robots navigating the space to collect products and process customer orders. Imagine these orders being then sent or even delivered to customers automatically, with autonomous drones and cars.  Salespersons and physical stores will lose importance and we are getting close to scenarios where consumer A.I. agents negotiate with Retailer AI agents.
This may sound sci-fi, but it is actually fairly likely to happen.

Many tasks handled by mid level marketing managers will be automated. A demand for marketing managers who manage day-to-day campaigns and staff will drastically decrease. Instead, companies that have a marketing manager who manages and integrates marketing AI systems, will have a competitive advantage as they will be able to identify faster rich opportunities.
AI will disrupt and eliminate many existing jobs but also create many new roles. We can already see new roles evolving in the market such as AI copywriters, AI trainers, AI-enabled marketing and product managers…
As a marketer, you should start to understand where you fit in currently and look at how you might move into an area where AI empowers your role rather than eliminates.

Artificially dominant future

This third scenario is very unlikely and sounds more sci-fi but it is worth addressing as it would be completely disruptive if it happens. It is not impossible that AI gets incredibly good at things. Some AI systems are capable of improving themselves without human intervention. During the process, they can learn how to achieve goals and improve themselves within their specific domains and they can do this very fast. One example for this is AlphaGo Zero AI system.
Does this mean that in the future AI systems can learn how to write better than humans? Could they learn by themselves how to drive perfectly within city limits? What if they can learn how to sell or code better than humans? Is it possible that a machine could learn your job better than you? This scenario would mean that automation would massively eliminate millions of jobs.

It is not possible to predict what the future will bring, how big the changes will be and how our lives and jobs will be impacted. What is certain is that we should talk about it more and get more prepared for changes.

The jobs with the biggest automation potential are the warehouse, retail, and service positions. Some content generation jobs are also being removed due to the use of AI. AI can also be used to manage large email campaigns and personalize emails. Automated ads are becoming more popular, however, people are also needed to design, write, and monitor those automated ads. We believe that AI will create a demand for new skills rather than take over jobs completely.  
We know that AI and automation will continue to impact marketing roles and in the future we will definitely see more evolving roles and specialties empowered by AI. For example, there will be needs for highly skilled professionals to monitor, manage and train the complex AI systems and also to ensure their integrity, security, objectivity, and proper use.  

Fearing that robots will eliminate critical marketing roles isn’t necessary. The roles will change and develop, some will be eliminated, but marketing will always be a spot for the analytical and creative brains of marketing teams. The most important for marketers is to be proactive, keep their skills updated and to follow the changes and new trends in technology.