• by Ray Schultz , June 16, 2023

AI can be a risky business, judging by a study from NP Digital, which surveyed 1,000 digital marketers.

The percentages are not large. But here are the risks seen by marketers:

• Content not optimized for SEO — 14.9% 
• Legal/ethical — 14.8% 
• Over-dependence on the tools — 14.5%
• Content sounding too robotic — 12.8%
• AI providing incorrect information — 11.8%
• Lack of personalization — 9.1% 
• Other — 10%

Legal and ethical concerns were cited by three major groups:

• Agency marketers — 16.71% 
• In-house marketers — 14.21% 
• Freelancers — 12.66%

The issue is this: "Just imagine: widespread use of AI technology in digital marketing only for laws to be enacted at a later point in time,” writes Neil Patel, co-founder of NP Digital. “While those laws may not be retroactive, entire digital marketing firms would be disrupted at the change in status quo.”

Patel also notes that "AI touches many aspects of digital marketing. For example, it’s used by email marketing platforms to collect customer data and personalize content. It’s also used by advertising platforms to optimize digital ad placements.

These groups also saw risks in incorrect information:

• Agency marketers — 13.79%
• In-house — 6.38%
• Freelancers — 14.41%

Marketers also fear over-dependence on AI, especially freelancers: 

• Freelancers — 21.8% 
• In-house marketers — 12.69% 
• Agency marketers — 11.94%

The percentages for various divisions within firms are:

• Freelancers — 11.35%
• In-house marketers — 13.96%
• Agency/Marketers — 12.47%