AI can help businesses understand customers better—and sell them more

Anticipating a customer’s needs and selling a bespoke solution is an ideal scenario for any company.

The widespread enthusiasm among Canadian business leaders for integrating artificial intelligence systems into their operations could turn that dream setup into standard operating procedure.

By embracing what AI systems do best—efficiently aggregate vast data sets and provide clear, tangible takeaways—businesses can more accurately understand customer demands and address them in the most effective manner.

This isn’t an instantaneous solution, particularly as the advertising industry faces an identity crisis, nor is it a novel concept—using consumer data to customize online ads is a long-standing practice.

The opportunity lies in leveraging AI systems with intentionality to more quickly analyze the wealth of customer data and inform where a business should direct its ad spending or marketing efforts.

A mutually beneficial arrangement

This shift in focus to maximizing potential customers’ online data comes as businesses and advertisers refine how they can sell the most to the right buyers.

Traditional broadcast viewership continues to decline due to increased viewership on streaming services, meaning companies are redirecting their selling efforts to focus on where their customer base spends more of their time.

That’s where AI systems can benefit businesses and customers alike. But how?

Building customer profiles through available information is a fundamental principle of selling—only now, using technology like AI, the fit of an ad or a product for a consumer can be tailored more precisely.

Customers, meanwhile, already use the internet to search for what they want and are accustomed to receiving instantaneous responses due to the proliferation of AI chatbot services that address a variety of needs. In some respects, customers’ growing understanding that whatever data someone puts online will be gathered comes with the expectation that they will indeed receive answers to satisfy their needs.

There currently is a delay in this seemingly alchemical conversion, in which a consumer searches for a product online and then sees an ad for that product while using a streaming service—but more efficient developments are on the horizon.

In the meantime, businesses should consider using AI systems to comb through this growing stockpile of consumer data and gain tremendous insights into potential customers’ needs.

What businesses do with that information could benefit customers, who may feel that their needs are being intuited—as well as businesses, which can translate those insights into more personalized offerings, stronger customer relationships and greater profitability.

Security is a competitive advantage

That exact situation may seem dystopian to some, which is why establishing data security protocols—and articulating that information to customers—is an ethical imperative and a potential differentiator in a competitive market.

Think of it like showing your work to solve a math problem: by outlining the process, you can build trust with customers and demonstrate that your methods are meant to address their needs in the most effective way.

AI systems require human due diligence to ensure they abide by security guardrails. Beyond these privacy considerations, businesses should pay close attention to the directions they give these programs as part of the data-gathering process.

At this stage in AI’s evolution, hyper-precise instructions and limitations are integral to allow for the right information to be gathered. The misapprehension that AI is a set-it-and-forget-it solution could result in inaccurate data collection and flawed conclusions by businesses.

That’s where intentionality with AI strategy, along with critical human intervention and the appropriate security guardrails, can be a key advantage. Supporting AI systems’ data-synthesizing efforts with finely tuned boundaries serves as another means of ensuring buyers and sellers alike get what they need.