3 Reasons Your 2024 Marketing Strategy Needs Conversational AI

You can’t do anything in marketing today without hearing about artificial intelligence (AI). From writing blogs to analyzing data to creating chatbots, it seems like AI can help with it all. And with conversational AI, you can add a human touch to marketing tasks as you complete them faster.

But is conversational AI worth the investment, or is it a fleeting trend? Read on to learn more about what conversational AI is, how it’s used and its impact on your marketing strategy.

What Is Conversational AI?

If you’ve ever used Siri or Alexa, you’ve already dabbled with conversational AI. It’s a type of artificial intelligence that understands, processes and responds to human conversation – just like you and me.

But not all virtual assistants and chatbots are created equal. Traditional tools use predefined scripts or decision trees to answer your buyers’ questions. 

This means that if an input doesn’t match the tool’s programming, the user gets an unhelpful response. Or worse, they end up stuck in that frustrating cycle of redundant Q&As and no solution to their problem. 

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants, on the other hand, can understand the intent behind their messages and send appropriate responses.

3 Benefits of Using Conversational AI in Marketing

Many marketers obsess over conversational AI, and for good reason. Conversational AI can turn generic marketing messages into personalized experiences that feel like talking to another person. When done right, it acts as an extension of your team, helping you delight your buyers during every interaction. 

What does that mean for your business? You’re able to speed up your conversations and sales cycles without overburdening your team. Here’s how.

1. Create Personalized Experiences That Convert

Today’s B2B buyers expect B2C buying experiences, and conversational AI tools deliver them. When someone lands on your website, conversational AI can offer content related to their unique buying needs.

For prospects, this might look like blog posts on common B2B topics or links to your solutions pages. Customers might get content based on their industry or personalized product and service recommendations. 

In each case, conversational AI can help tailor messaging and better nurture buyers throughout their experiences with you. And the personal touch pays off – outstanding experiences make buyers two times more likely to choose you over a competitor, according to a McKinsey & Company survey.

2. Provide Support When Your Buyers Need It

As amazing as your team might be, they can’t be online 24/7, which means you’re potentially missing out on opportunities. With conversational AI, a chatbot can intelligently respond to website visitors after hours, so your business is always available to connect with engaged buyers.

It also removes friction from their experiences, since visitors can get help right away instead of having to wait hours or days to reach you. Whether they’re looking for a resource or the answer to a common question, a conversational AI chatbot can help steer them in the right direction. It understands queries, generates dynamic responses and guides people to the best content for their needs.

In some cases, conversational AI tools can even route visitors to the right sales rep or service agent to solve complex issues. The best part is that conversational AI learns from each interaction, so its responses get better – and more human – with time.

3. Get Game-Changing Insights at Your Fingertips

Data is the foundation of all AI technology, and with conversational AI, you’re focusing more on your buyers. You now have a better understanding of the voice of your customer, including insights like where they came from and what topics they’re interested in. 

Conversational AI tools can also show you where to optimize your go-to-market plan to make the most impact on your bottom line. You’ll have the data to refine existing campaigns, adjusting the messaging and actions to reflect how buyers are engaging with you. You can identify content gaps as well and create new offers that better support the buying journey. 

Overall, conversational AI reveals exactly what your buyers want, so you can feel confident about your marketing strategy and have more meaningful conversations.

What's Next for Conversational AI?

AI is here to stay. Companies will continue enhancing their conversational AI tools to improve accuracy and performance. You’ll see solutions that offer more automation and richer conversational data to help you strengthen your buyer relationships. After all, conversational AI is meant to take the guesswork out of marketing, so you and your team can focus on doing your best work.