Marketers today are under pressure to fix real problems like data silos, underperforming campaigns, or lack of personalization at scale. In a landscape filled with hype, demos, and buzzwords, the challenge isn\u2019t whether to adopt AI. It\u2019s how to make clear, confident decisions about where and how would fit into your martech stack, and what impact it would have on your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Choosing the right AI means that you\u2019re not just buying a feature set, you\u2019re buying momentum. But beware the efficiency trap. If you\u2019re only chasing time savings, your AI project may be \u201capproved but unloved\u201d, the kind that gets quietly shelved when priorities shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To identify the right AI features and functionalities look at<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- How can you prove value early, without getting locked into a roadmap that underdelivers?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
In a recent report, The State Of AI For Cross-Channel Marketing Hubs<\/a>, Forrester noted that \u201cBeyond the hype, AI marks a martech paradigm shift. But aligning AI use cases with your customer obsession vision demands a thorough understanding of business requirements, organizational readiness, data and technology prerequisites, and the current functionality of AI tools.\u201d [The State Of AI For Cross-Channel Marketing Hubs. How Marketers And Martech Vendors Are Driving AI Innovation, Rusty Warner et al.; September 17, 2025;]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what should you, as a buyer, do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Buyers Need to Know<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Align AI to Business Goals<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
The flashiest platform isn\u2019t always the most valuable, and does not guarantee that the AI buzz will turn into real customer outcomes. Once again, think beyond efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it’s important to choose a tool you can confidently operate, that alone won’t guarantee success. Adding a user-friendly AI to your martech stack will only deliver a strong ROI if it also helps you achieve your bigger business goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before you start comparing vendors, be clear on your goals, and make sure that the platform can deliver on them. Think about whether you want to increase retention, drive conversions, or cut campaign costs? And what are the use cases that will power this growth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buyer takeaway: <\/strong>Define 2\u20133 measurable KPIs, such as increased retention, higher AOV, or conversion in personalized campaigns. Make sure to ask the vendor: \u201cHow does your AI move the needle on these goals?\u201d Define the most impactful use cases and make sure that the vendors can not only support them, but also scale them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Predictive + Generative = Value That Lasts<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Although internal efficiency should not be the end goal, it is an essential part of the evaluation. Marketers benefit from predictive AI (spotting patterns and behaviors) and generative AI (creating content, summaries, working from prompts). The real ROI magic happens when the two work together, giving marketers both the \u201cwhat\u201d and the \u201chow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buyer takeaway: <\/strong>Ask vendors how predictive and generative AI connect. Can the system identify opportunities and act on them, or are you stuck stitching things together manually?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Focus on Impact on Customer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
AI should make you faster, help you write content, build segments, generate reports, and run better campaigns. But speed alone won\u2019t create lasting differentiation. The real opportunity lies in using AI to craft better customer experiences with smarter personalization, adaptive journeys, and more relevant engagement. The real value lies long-term in deeper customer relationships, stronger loyalty, and sustainable growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buyer takeaway<\/strong>: Push vendors to show value beyond time savings, focus on business impact in personalization lift, conversion rate growth, reactivation results. Choose vendors who treat AI as part of a roadmap, not a one-off feature. You need a partner who can grow with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Trust, Safety, and Control Will Define the Winners<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
AI is only useful if marketers trust it enough to use it. Transparency isn\u2019t a compliance box; it\u2019s the difference between adoption and avoidance. Especially in enterprise settings, marketers won\u2019t fully commit until they feel protected. Make sure that by mistake, AI won\u2019t cause a consent<\/p>\n\n\n\n
breach or populate incorrect information into customer communication. Having reliable and compliant AI is a must, as it directly impacts your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The AI in the tool should be able to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Explain why a decision was made<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Review and approve before publishing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Protect customer data at every step<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Buyer takeaway<\/strong>: Prioritize systems that are transparent, governed, and auditable<\/strong>. Ask about privacy, PII handling, approval workflows, and prompt-level oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Great AI Actually Looks Like<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Great AI should be optimized for seamless execution while delivering real impact. For buyers, focus on whether the AI<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Understands your business goals<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Combines predictive + generative capabilities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Respects privacy and governance<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Delivers lift, not just efficiency<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
At Bloomreach, we see AI as an enabler of long-term innovation. But we also know that having AI is not enough, it needs to be usable for internal teams, and most importantly, it needs to deliver the value to your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI is a means to a goal, and the goal is excellence in customer experience. And strong businesses optimize internally for streamlined processes, to ensure delivering value to customers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
To help marketers explore the range of possible AI solutions, Forrester researched AI adoption trends among marketers and asked leading martech vendors, including Bloomreach, to share their current and planned AI capabilities. B2C marketers should use this report to benchmark their AI plans against available functionality and vendor roadmap commitments. The report is available to Forrester clients or for purchase here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/in-article-blog-_1-1-1024x537.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AI has become one of the hottest topics in marketing technology. Nearly every platform claims to be \u201cAI-powered,\u201d but not every solution will actually move the needle for your business. AI-driven efficiency is just the starting line. The true ROI comes from how that efficiency is translated into better customer experiences. In the long run, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":72765,"template":"","ew-regions":[],"ew-solutions":[],"library_type":[75],"library_blog_tag":[362],"industry":[],"channel":[],"topic":[283],"class_list":["post-72772","library","type-library","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","library_type-blog","library_blog_tag-ai-and-innovation","topic-ai"],"acf":{"library_blog_banner_content":"","library_blog_banner_cta1_text":"","library_blog_banner_cta1_href":"","library_blog_banner_cta1_new_tab":false,"library_blog_banner_cta2_text":"","library_blog_banner_cta2_href":"","library_blog_banner_cta2_new_tab":false,"library_blog_banner_bg_color":"#EAF7FE","library_blog_banner_cta_text_color":"#FFF","library_blog_banner_cta_bg_color":"#019ACE","library_blog_banner_cta2_text_color":"#000","library_blog_banner_cta2_bg_color":"#FFF","library_blog_chatgpt_content":"","library_blog_chatgpt_cta_href":"","library_blog_chatgpt_cta_text":"Ask ChatGPT"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library\/72772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/library"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library\/72772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72779,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library\/72772\/revisions\/72779"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ew_regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ew-regions?post=72772"},{"taxonomy":"ew_solutions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ew-solutions?post=72772"},{"taxonomy":"library_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_type?post=72772"},{"taxonomy":"library_blog_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_blog_tag?post=72772"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=72772"},{"taxonomy":"channel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channel?post=72772"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=72772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Trust, Safety, and Control Will Define the Winners<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- Focus on Impact on Customer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- Predictive + Generative = Value That Lasts<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- Align AI to Business Goals<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n