If you know about artificial intelligence mostly from movies and books AI probably seems like this vague label for any machine that could think like a human Fiction writers like to imagine a more generalized AI One that answers any question we might have and do anything a human can do However that's not the most realistic way to think about it By definition artificial intelligence refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and act like humans By using vast amounts of data and algorithms AI technologies are able to achieve two important techniques machine learning and deep learning Both terms fall under the broad category of AI However machine learning is a subfield of artificial intelligence that uses algorithms to parse data learn from that data and make informed decisions based on what it has learned On the other hand deep learning is a subfield of machine learning that structures algorithms in layers to create an artificial neural network that can learn and make intelligent decisions on its own with even greater accuracy The easiest example to differentiate both techniques is to think about Amazon Alexa which recognize your voice commands without training and the voice to type applications of a decade ago which required users to train the program by speaking scores of words to the system before use Besides these simple examples AI has been used more than ever across different jobs and industries In fact we are in touch with it every day even if we don't notice it Whether we are watching our Netflix movie suggestions or unlocking our phone with Face ID AI is present and it has been allowing businesses to become more innovative flexible and adaptive than ever But how can it be applied in marketing Starting with Social Media Social Media advertising is one of the marketing areas where artificial intelligence was effectively implemented by utilizing AI and machine learning Platforms such as Facebook or Instagram can examine their users' information and interests which allow them to personalize the content and ads that show on users' feeds This technique is also being used by streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube and retailer websites such as Amazon which use past purchases or viewing history to improve their recommendation engines Then comes Chatbots Chatbots are assisting online stores by providing 24-7 customer service They've been improved over the years and by using machine learning and AI Chatbots are now able to give human-like replies to basic questions in real time Lastly comes Predictive Analytics One of the main advantages of AI in marketing is its ability to predict sales and foresee customer behaviors With big data companies can now foresee future results and adjust their marketing strategies and tactics based on those which can lead them to better outcomes