By Mike Kaput, Director of the Marketing AI Institute

We’re at the beginning of a major acceleration in the adoption of artificial intelligence across marketing and sales.

Seventy-five percent of executives surveyed by The Economist Intelligence Unit say AI will be “actively implemented” in their businesses within the next three years. Bank of America predicts the AI solutions and robots market will grow to $153 billion by the end of 2020, according to Bank of America.

However, only 24% of marketing and sales leaders surveyed say they have a strategy to implement artificial intelligence. Clearly there’s a gap between marketers’ desire to implement AI and their ability to do so. This implies the need for consultation and guidance in the market.

This begs the question: whom do you turn to for help understanding and implementing AI? For years, we’ve explored the implications of AI on the marketing and sales industries, and learned how to find partners who can help businesses effectively leverage artificial intelligence.

1. AI Solutions Providers

Some of the best people to give consultation on AI implementation and experimentation are the people who actually provide marketing AI solutions. Despite the acceleration in the market, marketing AI is still in its early days. That means most solutions providers are ready, willing, and available to work closely with potential buyers.

We’ve seen a high degree of openness on the part of solutions providers to walk buyers through AI implementation considerations, and direct them to the best tools for their needs. If you’re interested in a particular AI solution, reach out to the provider with your questions.

2. Marketing Automation and CRM Partners

Marketing automation companies such as Digital Alchemy are quickly incorporating artificial intelligence into their platforms. So are CRM systems. If you’re a customer of a marketing automation or CRM solution, their support and product teams can be valuable resources to begin roadmapping your organization’s AI implementation.

Marketing automation and CRM providers can give you a sense of how to use their AI capabilities, which is a low impact way to get hands-on experience with artificial intelligence. Most can also speak to how AI will be implemented in their marketing and sales solutions in the near future.

Want to learn what’s possible for yourself? Check out 17 Artificial Intelligence Courses to Take Online.

3. People Who Actually Use Artificial Intelligence

This point seems obvious, but you might be surprised to learn that there is a lot of AI commentary out there from people who haven’t actually experimented with the technology. This trend leads to a lot of hype and misinformation about what AI can and cannot do. Marketers who don’t understand how to separate fact from fiction run the risk of failed or ineffective AI implementations.

Look for companies, thought leaders, and websites that have a documented track record of using artificial intelligence.

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