My recent online customer experience with a brand caught the attention of the marketer in me. It had me wondering, was I targeted and marketed to by a robot (artificial intelligence) or was a human behind my exchange? I’d like to get your opinion!

Here’s the Backstory:

I posted a tweet about doing yoga. Within the hour, I received a reply tweet from a brand (with a relevant message) offering me a coupon for a healthy snack product, linking to where I can buy it on Amazon.com immediately. 

BAM! We went from Social Media Branding to E-Commerce with only a few clicks. This brand bypassed advertising the traditionally way (TV or print), bypassed the big box retailer to make the sale, and seized the opportunity to offer me a snack right after my yoga workout- when I’m thinking about it! 

Questions to Ponder:

• So, how did they find me? Was it a keyword search for “yoga”?
• Was their message automated? Or, did an actual person create the tweet message in real time?
• Was the e-commerce discount code already in place for other promotions? Or was it personalized to me?
• Are they following my Amazon activity to see if I actually make a purchase, or better yet- a repeat purchase?

My Theory:
With so many marketing trends pointing to the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to automate, personalize, and scale the marketing process, I suspect it was a sophisticated algorithm that brought this brand connection to me. 

What do you think?

Learn more about the Artificial Intelligence marketing trend:

• 5 Trends That Will Propel Brands Forward in 2018 and Beyond via ADWEEK
• 8 Ways Intelligent Marketers Use Artificial Intelligence via Content Marketing Institute
• AI Is Changing Marketing As We Know It, And That's A Good Thing via Forbes