How to Use AI for Digital Marketing: The Tools That Actually Work

The reality is, AI in digital marketing doesn’t need to be complicated. At CRKLR, we’ve tested countless AI tools (so you don’t have to) and cut through the tech-industry hype to find what actually works.

In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to use AI for digital marketing, whether you’re running social campaigns, writing content, or trying to understand your customers better. 

Trust us, once you know how to use AI properly, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it!

Getting Started with AI in Marketing: The Basics

When getting started with AI for digital marketing, you don’t need a million different tools. Many marketers waste money subscribing to everything under the sun, when really you only need a few solid options to get started. Here’s what we actually recommend day to day:

For Quick Marketing Tasks

• Gemini (Free, £7.99 for Pro) – Brilliant for content ideas, research and basic marketing tasks.
• ChatGPT (Free, £20/month for Plus) – Great all-rounder, especially good with marketing strategy.
• Claude (Free, £20/month for Pro) – Exceptional at analysis and longer content.

Content Creation Tools

• Copy.ai (£36/month) – Specifically built for marketing copy, great for ads and emails.
• Jasper (£39/month) – Solid for longer content, includes basic image creation.

For Marketing Visuals

• Midjourney (£8/month) – Best for creating original marketing visuals.
• Canva Magic Studio – Built into Canva Pro, perfect for quick social media graphics.

We recommend beginning with the free AI marketing tools. Gemini and ChatGPT will handle 90% of your basic marketing needs. If you find yourself using them every day, think about the paid tools.

Pro tip: The secret to getting good stuff out of any AI tool is being specific with what you want. Don’t just ask for “social media post ideas.” Instead, try “Write 5 Instagram posts for a coffee shop, targeting young professionals, focusing on our new oat milk lattes, with a casual but sophisticated tone.”

The tools themselves matter less than how you use them. Think of AI as an intern who’s incredibly fast but needs clear direction. The more context you give it, the better your results will be – trust us.

3 Clever Ways AI Can Transform Your Content Strategy

Gone are the days of staring at a blank page, struggling with endless reports or spending hours on repetitive tasks. Let’s look at three ways AI can actually make your marketing life easier.

Content Creation and Brainstorming

If you’re tired of content planning headaches, this is where AI shines. Start with a simple prompt like “Create a content plan for [your industry] covering [topic].” Take what it gives you, then layer in your expertise and brand voice. Works brilliantly for blog topics, social posts and email marketing campaigns.

The key is balance. AI is your research assistant, not your writer. Use it to gather facts, outline structures and generate angles. The magic happens when you blend AI efficiency with human creativity.

Best AI for content creation: Claude or ChatGPT Plus for long-form, Gemini for quick research (all under £20/month).

Social Media Management

Social media is where AI really proves its worth. Use it to:

• Turn long-form content into punchy social posts
• Generate multiple angles from a single piece of content
• Create weekly content calendars in minutes
• Write engaging captions that actually sound human

The best part about AI for social media is the time it saves. What used to take hours now takes minutes. But always add your personal touch – social media needs personality to perform!

Best AI tools for social: Later.com with AI features or Hootsuite’s OwlyWriter AI. For visuals, try Canva’s Magic Studio.

SEO and Performance

Want to stop guessing what content will work? AI can:

• Analyse top-performing content in your niche
• Find keywords you can actually rank for
• Suggest content improvements that impact rankings
• Track what’s working (and what isn’t)
• Spot new opportunities before your competitors

Best AI tools for SEO: Semrush‘s AI features (from £119/month) or stick with good old Google Search Console (free) paired with ChatGPT Plus for analysis. At CRKLR, we use these SEO tools on a daily basis, and we can’t recommend them enough.

Understanding Your Customers Better with AI 

One of our favourite ways to use AI in digital marketing is to actually understand what makes your customers tick. Not just surface-level data, but proper, actionable insights that’ll make a difference to your marketing.

The clever thing about modern AI tools is their ability to spot patterns in your customer data that you’d probably miss (or spend weeks trying to find). We’re talking about everything from website analytics and social engagement to purchase history. Take our word for it, it’s all goldmine stuff when AI gets its hands on it.

Here’s what you can actually learn:

• The exact content that converts visitors into customers
• Where customers drop off in their buying journey
• Which marketing channels give you the best ROI
• Customer behaviours that predict future purchases

Don’t fall into the trap of collecting data for data’s sake. The goal isn’t to build the world’s biggest spreadsheet. It’s about understanding your customers well enough to give them exactly what they’re after.

We recommend starting small. Pick one customer segment you really want to understand better and let AI dig deep into their behaviour. You’ll get far more value from properly understanding a specific group than having lightweight insights about everyone.

For example, say you’re running an online fitness shop. AI might spot that your most valuable customers tend to buy supplements on Sunday evenings and watch your workout videos on Monday mornings. That’s the kind of insight you can actually use – maybe by timing your email campaigns perfectly or tailoring your content calendar.

Best AI Tools for Customer Analysis:

• Google Analytics 4 (Free) – Now with AI-powered insights
• Mixpanel (From £20/month) – Perfect for tracking customer journeys
• Amplitude (Free plan available) – Great for behavioural analysis

Automating the Boring Bits: AI Tools for Daily Tasks

Marketing is creative and strategic. But let’s be honest, some tasks are repetitive and time-consuming. This is exactly where AI comes in handy, taking care of the repetitive stuff so you can focus on the work that actually needs your brain.

Here are the key tasks you can (and should) automate:

Email Marketing 

No more spending hours on email campaigns. AI can:

• Build customer segments that actually make sense
• Write subject lines people can’t help but click
• Send emails when each subscriber is most likely to open them
• A/B test everything automatically

Best for email: Mailchimp‘s AI suite (from £25/month) or Klaviyo (from £30/month). Both integrate with most e-commerce platforms.

Reports (Yes, Those Ones You Dread) 

Instead of wrestling with spreadsheets every month, let AI:

• Combine data from Google Analytics, social, and ads
• Turn raw numbers into clear visualisations
• Spot unusual patterns instantly
• Write performance summaries in plain English

Best for reporting: Google Analytics 4 (free) paired with Looker Studio (free). For deeper insights, try Supermetrics (from £39/month).

Market and Competitor Research

Let AI track your market and competition:

• Monitor competitors’ content performance
• Find gaps in the market you can target
• Track pricing changes across your sector
• Spot trending topics before they peak

Best for research: Semrush’s AI tools (from £119/month) or try a combo of Google Alerts (free) and ChatGPT Plus (£20/month) for basic monitoring.

Pro tip: Don’t try to automate everything at once. Pick the task that eats up most of your time, automate that first, then move on to the next one. Small wins add up fast.

Final Thoughts: Making AI Work for Your Marketing

Using AI for digital marketing isn’t just about following the latest trend. It’s about working smarter, not harder. We’ve shown you how to automate the tedious stuff, spark fresh ideas and spot opportunities you might have missed.

AI is brilliant at the boring bits, but it’s not going to replace your marketing team anytime soon (thank god, we quite like our jobs!). Instead, it frees you up to focus on what really matters: creative work that moves the needle for your business.

Need help with your digital marketing? Get in touch with CRKLR today. We’re a full-service digital marketing agency in Brighton, ready to help your business grow.