Over the past few years, generative AI has emerged as a game-changing technology. As of early 2025, it’s estimated that between 115 and 180 million people use generative AI every day – as many as 40% adults aged 18-64 use AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Midjourney. And the use of generative AI is only growing.
In digital marketing, AI can perform a wide range of tasks from brainstorming content ideas to coding your website. However, just because generative AI can handle these tasks doesn’t necessarily mean it should. While AI can be a very useful tool, the current models can’t replace the experience, creative talent, and critical thinking skills of a marketing professional.
For today’s blog, we’re talking about the pros and cons of AI in digital marketing. We’ll review the unique benefits of this technology, as well as its limitations and pitfalls. This can help you use generative AI more effectively in your marketing campaigns.
How to Use Generative AI for Digital Marketing
While it sounds high-tech (and it is!), AI tools aren’t just for coding and engineering. People can use AI for everything from wording a sensitive email to planning a trip to Palm Springs.
Digital marketing professionals often lean on AI for brainstorming at the start of a campaign. AI can be a very helpful assistant for research about target demographics, competitors, and industry trends. Think of it as a tireless intern who can dig up all the background information you need to guide your strategy.
AI is also used in digital marketing for tasks such as:
- Social media captions
- Blog post outlines
- FAQ responses
- Generating schema markup
- Keyword research
- Image and logo creation
- Videos and podcasts
- Predictive analysis of historical KPI data
- A/B testing
- Stress-testing UX and accessibility
If you’re a solo entrepreneur or a small team, AI can speed up basic tasks and improve your workflow. But don’t outsource all your digital marketing to artificial intelligence platforms before you learn the full pros and cons.
Pros of AI in Digital Marketing
AI tools aren’t a magic bullet that can replace your marketing team or agency. However, they do provide many benefits that can support your campaigns. Some of the advantages of using AI for digital marketing include:
Faster Ideation
If you’re on a tight deadline, AI tools can help you brainstorm ideas. Instead of waiting for inspiration to strike, you can type a prompt like “slogans for a construction company” and receive a list of ideas to get you started. While the ideas generated by AI are often generic or stale, they provide a great starting point to kickstart your creativity.
Cost Efficiency
The cost of hiring new employees or contractors can quickly add up. With generative AI, you can automate many small tasks at little to no cost. For example, instead of paying a freelance writer to draft meta descriptions for a client’s website, you can have AI generate the text and revise them.
Multi-Channel Iterations
Digital marketing campaigns often require using the same assets on multiple channels, which means adapting your creative to fit the constraints of these channels. Generative AI tools are an effective way to produce multi-channel iterations quickly. You can upload your original work and ask the AI to revise it. For example, generative AI can review a blog article that you’ve written and produce social media captions based on the content.
Provide Data-Driven Insights
AI tools can also analyze customer demographics and sales data, then use this analysis to provide data-driven insights. Although you will need to verify this against your own knowledge and observations, the AI’s ability to detect patterns is a strong jumping-off point for digital marketing strategies.
Cons of AI in Digital Marketing
So what are the downsides of generative AI tools for your digital marketing? Despite its benefits, current AI models are still limited. Here are some of the reasons why you should think twice before outsourcing your marketing to an artificial intelligence instead of a human team.
Generic (or Weird) Creative Content
Generative AI is great at quantity – but quality? Not so much. Most AI text outputs sound bland and generic. They may provide lots of useful information, but it will be presented in a way that doesn’t engage a human reader. You’ll need to edit and rewrite any text content before using it on your website or in your campaign.
Additionally, generative AI still struggles with images. Visuals created by AI often have tell-tale signs like shadows that defy their light source, humans with too many fingers, or gibberish text on signs. This “weirdness” can look unprofessional and off-putting to users. If you need visuals for your digital marketing campaign, it’s often better to use stock photographs or create your own graphics on a platform like Canva or Figma.
Inaccurate Information
One of the biggest cons of AI in digital marketing is the risk of inaccurate or outdated information. Generative AI tools don’t always browse the web in real time, so they may pull from sources that are obsolete. Some AI models also “hallucinate” and generate information that’s nonsensical or factionally incorrect. So although AI is a useful research tool, you can’t take its results at face value. Always do your own fact-checking.
Cultural Biases
In principle, AI is a technological tool that can’t have biases. However, it can reflect the biases of its engineers and the training data used to shape its responses. This can lead to unintentional stereotyping or cultural insensitivities. If you’re developing a digital marketing campaign to target a specific demographic, such as an ethnic group, make sure you review any AI outputs carefully.
Training Time
Speaking of training, AI tools start as a one-size-fits-all platform – which isn’t ideal for digital marketing. Often, you’ll type a prompt and receive an answer that’s irrelevant, or doesn’t meet brand guidelines for tone and voice. You and your team will need to train the AI to your specifications. This can involve a lot of trial-and-error, eating up valuable time for you and your clients.
Reduced Skills
Another one of the main cons of AI in digital marketing is the potential to become too reliant on these tools, which can lead to a reduction of skills. After all, creative thinking is a bit like a muscle; if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. In fact, a recent study by MIT found that relying too heavily on AI for tasks like writing reduces brain activity and memory recall.
Using AI Effectively in Marketing Campaigns
Like most technologies, generative AI is a useful tool when used effectively. When you understand the pros and cons of AI in digital marketing, you can use it to fuel new ideas and boost efficiency. Just make sure you understand AI’s limitations and don’t become too reliant on its output.
At Mandzok Marketing, we use all the latest technologies to help our clients succeed. From PPC to email campaigns, we’ll bring more customers to your website and boost your business. Contact us today for a free consultation.
