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Introduction
Janet Jaiswal, VP of Marketing:
Welcome, everyone. We're glad you're here for today’s session on AI in marketing. I’m joined by Maniam Mallela, our Chief AI Officer and Co-Founder, and Eric Gordon, our Principal Solutions Consultant. Before we dive in, a quick reminder: the recording and slides will be sent to all registrants. Feel free to use the Q&A box during the session, and we’ll try to address your questions live or in follow-up.
Opening Remarks & Agenda
Janet Jaiswal:
Blueshift was founded 11 years ago, headquartered in San Francisco, with global offices in Europe and Asia Pacific. We’re proud to be recognized on the Gartner Magic Quadrant for CDP and Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 from 2020 to 2023. We offer a Customer Engagement Platform that combines a CDP, cross-channel marketing hub, and patented AI to help marketers personalize engagement at scale.
Today’s agenda:
- Evolution of AI in marketing
- Customer AI and its role in the marketing function
- Introduction to AI agents
- Demo and live Q&A
The Evolution of AI in Marketing
Janet Jaiswal:
Earlier this year, we partnered with an independent research firm that surveyed 300 U.S. marketers. One key finding: 80% of marketing leaders believe AI-driven cross-channel marketing improves customer lifetime value.
AI has evolved in four major ways:
- Automates tasks like segmentation and personalization
- Improves decision-making with more data context
- Enables one-to-one personalization
- Streamlines repetitive or time-consuming tasks
Janet: And that’s helping marketers focus on strategy rather than manual processes.
Emerging AI Trends for Marketers
Janet Jaiswal:
We’re seeing significant momentum in AI-powered tools:
- AI Assistants & Agents are helping streamline workflows.
- Innovation across the MarTech stack is happening—both in traditional tools like email and in new AI-native platforms.
Take Nike, for instance. They use AI to personalize product recommendations and messaging, which has resulted in a 35% increase in conversion rates.
We’re also seeing breakthroughs in:
- Generative AI for content, images, and video
- Predictive AI for customer behavior forecasting
- Voice interaction and dynamic media generation
Considerations for Responsible AI Adoption
Janet Jaiswal:
As marketers integrate AI, we must also consider trust and transparency. If your chatbot is AI-based, disclose it to users. Mistrust can damage customer relationships.
Poll Question: Does your cross-channel marketing platform provide advanced AI capabilities (predictive AI, agents, etc.)?
Audience responses showed that while some platforms are already in use, many are still evaluating options—highlighting we’re still in early adoption stages.
Real-World Use Case: Testing Then vs. Now
Eric Gordon:
Twelve years ago, when I worked with marketers on win-back campaigns, the typical approach was:
- Email only
- Triggered by inactivity
- Minimal personalization
Fast forward to today:
- AI helps detect churn risk before customers disengage
- Campaigns span multiple channels, coordinated in one journey
- Predictive scores and channel affinity inform which message goes where
- Content recommendations are personalized based on browsing, purchase, and engagement behavior
This is what Blueshift enables today. And it’s just the beginning.
Introducing: Campaign Optimizer Agent
Eric Gordon:
Let’s talk about the latest AI advancement: our Campaign Optimizer Agent.
Marketing teams constantly hear: “Test everything.” But testing can be time-consuming:
- Ideation and setup take hours
- Monitoring results is manual
- Interpreting outcomes can delay next steps
Our Campaign Optimizer Agent breaks this cycle. It:
- Generates subject lines, preheaders, and creative variations using your data
- Uses multiple LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) to build personalized content
- Guides you to approval, then launches tests and auto-optimizes based on real-time results
Eric: Think of it as having an assistant that not only suggests but executes testing, so you can focus on high-level strategy.
Demo: Meet Dan from BluBlulemon
Eric Gordon:
Dan is a digital marketing director managing several campaigns. He uses Blueshift for:
- Predictive send time optimization
- Cross-channel journeys
- A/B testing
But even with these tools, testing takes effort. Here’s where the agent steps in:
- Identifies campaigns lacking tests
- Suggests subject line variations
- Writes personalized Liquid code (e.g., loyalty point references)
Dan can:
- Choose an optimization goal (clicks, purchases, etc.)
- Provide context (e.g., make it summer-themed)
- Approve content variations
Once launched, the agent continuously reallocates based on performance and surfaces actionable insights.
Customer Success Story: Zumper
Maniam Mallela:
Zumper, a top rental marketplace, had many campaigns running but struggled to test at scale. After piloting our Campaign Optimizer Agent:
- They increased from ~2 tests/month to 20+
- 16 of those tests drove meaningful results
- Lead conversions improved
Why it worked:
- Agent leveraged renter preferences (location, price, amenities)
- Personalized emails reflected each user's search intent
- Higher inbox placement and lower spam rates followed
This is AI not just recommending but taking action with measurable impact.
Understanding the 3 Types of AI in Marketing
Janet Jaiswal:
To summarize, here are the key types of AI marketers should know:
- Predictive AI: Anticipates customer behavior and segments accordingly
- Generative AI: Creates text, images, and media content at scale
- Agentic AI: Executes tasks like testing and optimization with minimal human input
Stat: 89% of marketers said AI-powered recommendations drive more repeat purchases.
Audience Q&A
Q: Difference between AI assistants and agents?
Eric: Assistants help you execute a task. Agents do the task for you, like writing subject lines or launching tests.
Q: How do you keep AI content compliant and on-brand?
Maniam: The agent is grounded in journey context, user profile data, and brand tone. Guardrails prevent sensitive or inconsistent output.
Q: Can this work beyond email?
Eric: Yes, push, SMS, and in-app are in the roadmap.
Q: What if I don’t have a ton of data?
Eric: The agent scales based on your volume. It runs until results are statistically significant.
Q: What’s next for Blueshift’s AI agents?
Maniam: Audience creation and reporting assistants are on the way—to help with segmentation and share-ready reports.
Q: Does the agent understand prior messages in a journey?
Maniam: Yes, it knows where in the journey each message lands, ensuring continuity and relevance.
Closing Thoughts
Janet Jaiswal:
AI is here to stay—but it’s not just about hype. Predictive, generative, and agentic AI work best together when integrated into marketing workflows. It’s not a one-off campaign fix. It’s about sustainable, scalable intelligence.
We’ve shared two resources with attendees:
- A research report on marketer priorities and AI
- A customer AI overview that explains how predictive, generative, and agentic AI come together in Blueshift
Thanks for attending. We’ll follow up with the resources and recording.
