Emerging Trends in AI for Digital Marketers: What You Need to Know

Understanding AI's Role in Digital Marketing

Digital marketing keeps moving. AI is a big part of that.

Personalisation can lift revenue by 5 to 15 percent and marketing ROI by 10 to 30 percent. [S1]

“Improve performance and provide better customer outcomes.” [Q1]
Our job is to turn that uplift into everyday practice.

Example: An e-commerce brand that shifted from batch emails to AI-personalised recommendations saw faster repeat purchases.
Action: Audit where you send the same content to everyone - replace with AI-driven targeting.

AI-Driven Content and Personalisation

We use AI to plan smarter, write better and adapt in the moment.
Consumers spend an average of 36 percent more with brands that personalise. [S3]

“Today’s customers want more of this.” [Q2]
Think offers that feel timely and useful, not noisy.

Example: A travel site dynamically adjusts homepage deals based on recent searches—flights for one user, hotels for another.
Action: Start with one channel (email or onsite) and test simple rule-based personalisation before scaling.

Predictive Analytics

Predictive models help us prioritise segments and budgets.
Average marketing budgets held at 7.7 percent of company revenue in 2025. [S7]

“CMOs must prioritise the highest-yield opportunities.” [Q3]
It’s how we do more of what works.

Example: A subscription service used predictive churn models to offer discounts only to high-risk users—saving budget and reducing cancellations.
Action: Run a pilot model on churn or lifetime value before expanding into broader predictions.

AI-Powered Chatbots and Customer Support

AI agents handle the routine so teams can focus on high-value moments.
Conversational AI reduces cost per contact by 23.5 percent and lifts annual revenue by 4 percent. [S8]

“Chatbots present the option to reduce 24×7 staffing expenses.” [Q4]
A virtual agent answers FAQs in seconds; humans step in for complex choices.

Example: A telecom provider cut support waiting times from 10 minutes to under 1 by deploying an AI agent for common billing questions.
Action: List your top five FAQs and train a chatbot on those before rolling out more complex workflows.

Voice Search Optimisation

Assistants change how people find you.
Four in ten UK households had a smart speaker in Q1 2025. [S10]

“Use words that people would use to look for your content.” [Q5]
We write answers people actually say, then mark them up.

Example: A recipe blog doubled traffic from Google Assistant by rewriting titles into question-and-answer format.
Action: Optimise one blog post around a spoken query (e.g. “What’s the best way to clean trainers?”).

The Future of AI in Digital Marketing

AI is shifting personalisation from reactive to predictive.

Eighty-six percent of leaders expect that change. [S12]

We’ll keep testing what works, share what we learn and build practical AI into everyday marketing.

Example: Retailers are already trialling AI that predicts demand spikes weeks in advance, reshaping promotions.

Action: Keep a quarterly “AI pilot slot” in your marketing plan—reserve time to test and learn before competitors.

AI isn’t about robots replacing marketers. It’s about giving teams sharper instincts, faster insights and more time for the creative work that matters. The tools are here. The real advantage comes from how boldly we choose to use them.

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Sources
[S1] McKinsey. “What is personalization?” 2023. The explainer with core ROI ranges. 

[Q1] McKinsey. “What is personalization?” 2023. Exact line: “Personalization has also been shown to improve performance and provide better customer outcomes.” 

[S3] Twilio. “The AI advantage: Taking personalized marketing to the next level.” 1 May 2024. 36 percent spend uplift stat. 

[Q2] McKinsey. “Unlocking the next frontier of personalized marketing.” 30 January 2025. Quote: “Today’s customers want more of this.” 

[S7] Campaign. “Marketing budgets hold at 7.7% in 2025: Gartner CMO survey.” 4 June 2025. Latest budget benchmark. 
Alternative primary snapshot: Gartner. “2025 CMO Spend Survey Data Snapshots.” 

[Q3] Gartner. “2025 CMO Spend Survey Data Snapshots.” Line used: “CMOs must prioritise the highest-yield opportunities.” 

[S8] IBM Think. “The future of AI in customer service.” 5 June 2025. 23.5 percent cost-per-contact reduction and 4 percent revenue lift. 

[Q4] IBM Think. “Unlocking the power of chatbots: key benefits.” 18 January 2024. Quote on staffing expenses. [S10] Ofcom.

“Media Nations 2025: UK report.” 30 July 2025. Smart speaker ownership at 40 percent. 

[Q5] Google. “Search Essentials.” Guidance line on using people’s words. 

[S12] Twilio. “Announcing The State of Personalization 2024.” 18 June 2024. 86 percent expect a shift to predictive.