How to Build Better, More Engaging Customer Experiences with AI

Iterable is an AI-powered platform that helps marketers create better, more unified customer experiences.

The platform uses proprietary machine learning models and data collected from over two billion customer experiences to help brands deliver more meaningful experiences.

We spoke with Anthony Chiulli, Senior Product Manager at Iterable, to learn more about this marketing AI solution.

In a single sentence or statement, describe your company.

Iterable is a cross-channel platform that powers unified customer experiences and empowers marketers to create, optimize, and measure relevant interactions and experiences customers love.

How does your company use artificial intelligence in its products?

Iterable incorporates proprietary machine learning models and data collected from over two billion customer experiences, created by 700+ of the world’s most innovative brands, to power incredible experiences at scale for our customers.

Our AI solutions, including Send Time Optimization and Brand Affinity™, are designed to enable customers to transform insights into smarter marketing decisions and deliver more meaningful experiences at every step of the customer journey.

What are the primary marketing use cases for your AI-powered solutions?

Our Iterable AI solutions offer marketers a variety of different use cases including:

• Predict the optimal time to send a marketing message across channels to increase engagement.
• Automatically classify how customers feel about a brand to maximize retention, nurture customers through lifecycle stages, and mitigate churn.
• Intelligently translate cross-channel customer engagement into dynamic user labels reflecting your customers’ brand sentiment.
• Maximize retention, help nurture customers through lifecycle stages, and mitigate churn before it happens.
• Optimize preferred channel selection based on individual preferences

What makes your AI-powered solution smarter than traditional approaches and products?

So many AI technologies lack evidence and aren’t measurable. Iterable AI is different. We set out to build easy yet powerful AI tools that complement today’s modern marketer, not replace them, to drive to customer goals, delivery results, and improve trust.

We have woven Iterable AI seamlessly into our platform, optimizing every step of the customer journey from discovering the perfect audience and crafting sophisticated workflows, to optimizing the sending experience, generating dynamic, and personalized content for each unique user. Iterable AI gives marketers superpowers, helping to achieve goals faster and easier than ever before.

Are there any minimum requirements for marketers to get value out of your AI-powered technology? (e.g. data, list size, etc.)

Iterable’s AI solutions are seamlessly integrated throughout the platform at no additional cost to customers, and designed to be intuitive and easy to use, requiring no data science skills or advanced learning.

At Iterable, we've always believed in the power of data—that's why our flexible data models and ingestion enable our customers to prioritize individualization while serving audiences of millions. And with that spirit in mind, Iterable AI is powered by data across two billion customer experiences across the world. New customers using Iterable AI can gain immediate value based on all the modeling that has been done, and the vast reach of audiences that Iterable, and our customers, serve.

Who are your ideal customers in terms of company size and industries?

Iterable partners with companies of all sizes and industries including retail, ecommerce, real estate, travel and hospitality, technology, automotive, financial services, healthcare, food and beverage, and media/entertainment.

We work with leading brands, like Zillow, DoorDash, Calm, Madison Reed, Fender, and Box, to power world-class customer experiences throughout the entire lifecycle.

What do you see as the limitations of AI as it exists today?

AI is arguably the most talked about, yet most misunderstood, technologies in digital marketing due to its complexity and “blackbox” mystique. Marketers often struggle with understanding how AI works, measuring the impact it has to overall marketing efforts, and how it can holistically benefit their business.

Technology vendors have a responsibility to educate the market and demystify the hype around AI to improve confidence, trust, and adoption of smarter technologies.

What do you see as the future potential of AI in marketing?

AI will play a critical role in the future of digital marketing. In fact, in a recent survey Iterable conducted, we found that 83% of marketers were likely to include the integration of AI technology as a part of their 2021 strategy.

Accelerating AI’s potential are the recent changes to data privacy and tracking behavioral data. These privacy changes will serve as a forcing function for brands to focus on zero-party data, which customers share proactively with a brand, and first-party data collected directly from customers. AI technology is well-positioned to accelerate brands ability to grow and deliver relevant, deeper experiences with their customers.

Any other thoughts on AI in marketing, or advice for marketers who are just getting started with AI?

Explainability is important when evaluating AI technology. Ask lots of questions, be curious, and understand how AI can benefit your specific use cases for your business. Behind the romantic messaging and buzzwords, not all AI is created equal.