AI agents: A new interaction model for marketing

The marketing industry is facing a major shift. AI agents – models that can perform complex tasks with no human intervention and take independent action are changing how businesses interact with customers and manage their sales and marketing activities.

What are AI agents?

These aren't your garden variety Q&A chatbots. AI agents use advanced techniques underpinned by generative AI, to understand context, learn from interactions, adapt on the fly, and take an independent action the way humans normally would. Unlike older systems that follow strict rules, AI agents can deal with unpredictable situations with greater flexibly.

The market for AI agents is booming. PitchBook data shows AI agent startups pulled in a surprising $8.2 billion in funding over the past year, spread across 156 deals. That's an 81.4% jump from the previous year [1]. This surge in cash and investment highlights just how important AI agents are becoming across industries.

Tech companies are leading the charge in adopting and integrating AI agents in their business processes. Salesforce recently unveiled Agentforce, a set of AI agents focused on customer service, sales, and marketing [2]. HubSpot has rolled out AI tools like ChatSpot.ai, which can handle various CRM tasks on its own [3]. Amazon is exploring AI agents that could interact with shoppers and recommend products, add items to carts, or even make purchases based on what users like [4].

Where are we seeing AI agents in action?

AI agents are emerging in many industries with popular use cases in:

• E-commerce: personalizing shopping experiences
• Professional services: analyzing data and streamlining processes
• Financial services: detecting fraud and generating risk assessments
• Healthcare: managing appointments and patient records

How will AI agents change marketing?

Hyper-personalized customer interactions
AI agents can analyze incredible amounts of customer data in real-time, allowing for highly personalized experiences. They can adjust their communication style to match individual preferences or emotional states.

Content creation and curation
AI agents are getting better at generating and curating content. This helps marketing teams produce content faster, resulting in a consistent flow of fresh material consistently.

Predictive analytics and customer insights
AI agents can spot patterns and trends that humans might miss. AI agents can use predictive analytics to process large amounts of data in real time, forecast customer behavior, identify potential churn risks, and highlight upsell or cross-sell opportunities.

Automated customer service
AI agents provide always-on support and handle complex customer interactions without human intervention. Salesforce's Einstein Service Agent, for instance, can understand and take independent action on a wide range of service issues [2].

Sales process optimization
Sales AI agents can qualify leads, execute follow- up actions, and even handle parts of the negotiation process. This level of automation allows sales teams to focus on high-value, strategic customers and activities.

Responsible AI

While the promise of AI agents is incredibly attractive, we all need to tread responsibly and keep these elements top of mind:

• Data privacy and security: protecting sensitive customer data is non-negotiable.
• Ethics and transparency: keeping an eye on transparency, accountability, and potential bias in AI systems.
• Human-AI collaboration: ensuring a balance between AI automation and human creativity and oversight.

Are you AI agent ready?

To keep your team at the forefront, here are steps you can take:

1. Educate your team: invest in AI literacy.
2. Start small: begin with pilot projects to test AI agents.
3. Focus on data quality: make sure your data is clean and well-organized.
4. Develop an AI strategy: create a plan that makes sense for your business goals.
5. Stay informed: keep up with new developments and best practices.
6. Prioritize ethics: develop guidelines for the ethical use of AI in your organization’s marketing.
7. Foster innovation: create an environment where it's okay to experiment, learn and sometimes fail.
8. Customers at the centre: ensure AI agents are additive to the customer experience.

Future forward

AI agents will change a lot of what we do and how we do it in marketing. They offer new ways to personalize, improve efficiency, enhance communications, and engage customers in new and surprising ways. As this technology continues to accelerate, marketers who understand and know how to work with AI agents will be in a prime position to deliver great customer experiences and drive growth.

The question isn't whether AI agents will change marketing, but how quickly marketers will adapt to this new reality. The future is ours to shape.  Are you AI ready?

[Editor's Note: This article is for informational purposes only. The Canadian Marketing Association does not endorse any specific technology or vendor.]

References:

[1] "Agents are the future AI companies promise — and desperately need", The Verge, 2024,
[2] "Salesforce Unveils Agentforce–What AI Was Meant to Be", Salesforce, 2024,
[3] "Working Smarter, Not Harder: HubSpot CRM Introduces New AI-Powered Tools to Boost Productivity and Save Time", HubSpot, 2023,
[4] "Amazon Dreams of AI Agents That Do the Shopping for You", Wired, 2024,
[5] "The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI's breakout year", McKinsey & Company, 2023,
[6] "Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA) Companion Document", Government of Canada, 2023,