Marketers struggle to balance AI, creative personalisation

A recent report from Optimizely indicates that a significant proportion of UK marketers are finding it challenging to balance artificial intelligence with human creativity in their campaigns, while many consumers feel that AI-generated content lacks a personal touch.

The Optimize Everything report, based on a survey of 100 marketers and 1,000 consumers in the UK, reveals ongoing difficulties in integrating AI into marketing strategies in a way that resonates with consumers. According to the findings, 30% of UK marketers say their organisations grapple with striking the right balance between leveraging artificial intelligence and maintaining human creativity in their major campaigns.

The study highlights a disconnect between marketers' increasing reliance on AI and consumer perceptions of content generated using these tools. While 78% of marketers plan to increase their use of AI-generated content for seasonal campaigns, more than half of surveyed consumers (57%) describe such content as 'impersonal' and 'repetitive.' Furthermore, 56% believe brands depend too heavily on AI and do not provide a truly personalised experience.

This sentiment is not only echoed by consumers but also acknowledged by marketers themselves. Almost a quarter (24%) of marketing professionals admit that AI-driven decisions frequently lack sufficient human oversight, which results in inconsistencies. Additionally, 16% of marketers state that AI outputs often fail to match their brand's tone of voice, adding another layer of complexity to effective campaign management.

Consumer demands for personalisation in digital experiences continue to rise. The report notes that 84% of marketers agree that customer expectations for personalisation are at an all-time high during major campaigns. Encouragingly, a majority of consumers—62 %—say that their website experiences feel personalised, with 60% voicing similar satisfaction for email communications, marking a 6% improvement over last year.

Despite these gains, other areas in digital marketing are not meeting consumer expectations. Less than half of respondents rate personalisation in conversational channels positively, and 16% describe these experiences as 'poor' or 'terrible.' The situation is similar for online advertisements, with 15% of consumers giving a 'poor' or 'terrible' rating for personalisation in this category.

The data suggests an opportunity for marketers to improve by refining how AI is used. Nearly half (46%) of consumers express willingness for brands to use AI if it results in more relevant and personalised content, pointing towards a preference for enhanced rather than reduced human oversight in content creation.

Integration of AI systems remains a pain point for many businesses. Currently, only 24% of marketers report having a well-integrated system for managing digital campaigns. However, the research finds that one in five marketers are actively working to consolidate their technology stacks to address this deficiency.

Improving the cohesion of AI within existing marketing infrastructure is viewed as a significant opportunity. According to the report, 41% of marketers see better integration of AI with their marketing tools as the most significant area for optimisation in the coming year, and more than half (53%) are seeking a more unified system that combines AI, content, personalisation, and experimentation functionalities.

The report concludes that AI can help shape more personalised and authentic consumer experiences, provided it is applied and integrated effectively within marketing strategies.

"Marketers today are being asked to move faster and do more with less. AI has incredible potential to help, but it's not a magic wand. It needs to be paired with thoughtful experimentation, creative direction, and constant fine-tuning. The brands that are truly standing out are the ones blending AI with personalisation and bold, data-driven experimentation—creating digital experiences that feel fresh, relevant, and unmistakably on-brand," Tara Corey, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Optimizely, said.

The Optimizely platform aims to address these challenges by offering marketers access to a suite of tools that combine AI, real-time experimentation, and personalisation to simplify technology stacks and improve decision-making across various digital touchpoints.