Artificial Intelligence
and the Experience Platform
The evolution of the Experience Platform
The last five years has seen a dramatic change in the landscape of the software that underpins the majority of large-scale web sites.
The humble Web Content Management System (WCMS) is being replaced by the “Experience Platform” as large organisations outgrow a WCMS that acts only as a publishing tool for content.
The growing expectations of consumers — both online and offline — is having a major impact on business. The “Expectation Economy”(1) has created a need for digital platforms that do more than merely manage content.
Experience Platforms contain a much wider feature set than their WCMS predecessors. Content personalisation, deep analytics, customer profiling and multivariate testing are now standard features in many of these enterprise level platforms. They have taken a suite of horizontal products and created one, all-encompassing platform.
The resurgence of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is hardly a new topic. But recent advancements in computer science, including deep neural networking, coupled with the lowering costs of cloud computing and mass storage have ushered in an exciting new wave of interest in the area. Leading tech companies all have dedicated AI programs, including Google, Apple, Facebook, IBM and Microsoft.
Whilst the oft-quoted “technological singularity” may be a way off yet, breakthroughs are taking place at an increasingly rapid rate.
Take Google’s recent acquisition of DeepMind, who announced earlier this year that it had developed an AI capable of learning how to win a slew of classic Atari games. All without any inputs as to the rules or mechanics of how the games were meant to be played(2).
AI and Experience Platforms
We are already seeing the influence of AI in the latest versions of enterprise Experience Platforms. Features such as personalisation and automated digital marketing are becoming much more commonplace.
We are also seeing the inclusion of automated insights, which give marketers the ability to make key decisions on digital content — backed by large data sets.
But these features are only the beginning. Most still rely on pre-defined algorithms to personalise the experience.
Advancements in AI will see the Digital Experience Platform evolve in response to an organisation’s data sets and processes. By setting the ground rules with an “intelligent agent”(3), the platform will evolve over time to help the business increase its return on investment by providing insights into consumer behavior that can influence online and offline activities.
This learning is aided by the increasing size of the data sets available. Not just web analytics, but geo-location, social media feeds and other off-site activity. These platforms aim to blur the lines between traditional analytics platforms and digital content management with an end-to-end solution.
What does this mean for digital marketers?
The evolution of these platforms has a number of implications for digital marketers:
· Digital marketers can spend more time developing and executing digital marketing and content strategies and spend less time on operational activities (reviewing analytics, creating reports, writing and scheduling social media etc)
· Platform selection is critical — choosing the right platform that can grow with the business, that has a clear roadmap to continue to incorporate AI techniques into the platform
· Organisational structure — the relationship between marketing and IT continues to grow closer, with many organisations now employing digital customer experience professionals to bridge the gap between marketing and IT
· Budgets — we have already seen the shift of advertising budgets from traditional advertising into digital — we are starting to see more investment in the digital marketing infrastructure to drive customer experience.
Where to next?
Large vendors who have already invested heavily in developing their Experience Platforms will continue to invest more in AI R&D. Expect more acquisitions from the big players of start-ups in the AI space to integrate their service offering.
Could we expect new entrants in the space like Google or Amazon? What part, if any, can open source software play in this new era of the Experience Platform?
AI still has a long way to go, especially when it comes to natural language and creativity. Don’t expect to replace your content strategist with an upgraded platform in the near future. Similarly, human creativity is one area where artificial intelligence lags way behind.
As machine learning and data analysis continue to grow at pace, the Experience Platform will grow to become an increasingly important part in any organisation’s infrastructure.
The critical evaluation and selection of platform is a vital first step in any digital transformation journey. Organisations should invest only in those platforms that have a clear vision for incorporating advancements in AI technologies. Such platforms provide a foundation for future growth, and ultimately provide the best chance of creating truly customer-centric experiences.
1. Webby consumer research shows high tech service economy has created extraordinary expectations among consumers, The Webby Awards, November 2014. Retrieved May 2015.
2. Artificial Intelligence Goes to the Arcade, The New Yorker, February 2015. Retrieved May 2015.
3. Introduction to Intelligent Agents, Consortium on Cognitive Science Instruction. Retrieved May 2015.
