Artificial intelligence (AI) in strategic marketing decision-making: a research agenda

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to review literature and thinking about the application of AI in strategic situations and to identify the research that is needed in the area of applying AI to strategic marketing decisions. Design/methodology/approachReview of literature and consultation with marketing experts who were invited to contribute to the article. FindingsThere is little research into applying AI to strategic marketing decision-making. This is needed as the frontier of AI application to decision-making is moving in many management areas from operational to strategic. Given the competitive nature of such decisions and the insights from applying AI to defence and similar areas, it is time to focus on applying AI to strategic marketing decisions.There are strong implications for all businesses, particularly large businesses in competitive industries, where failure to deploy AI in the face of competition from firms who have deployed AI to improve their decisionmaking could be dangerous. Social implicationsThe public sector is a very important marketing decision-maker. Although in most cases it does not operate competitively, it must still make decisions about making different services available to different citizens and identify the risks of not providing services to certain citizens, so this article is relevant to the public sector. Originality/valueThis is one of the first articles to probe deployment of AI in strategic marketing decision-making.

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