Sometimes, when we reflect on digital marketing, a thought quietly sneaks in: “Why haven’t robots replaced us yet?” People say this often—and not just in relation to online marketing. There’s no doubt that automation is becoming increasingly popular, causing many to see it as a threat to their jobs. We can’t say for sure if the technological singularity will arrive in the next few years, but the fact that robots—bots, call them whatever you like—are already replacing people in many areas, and will continue to do so, is undeniable.
When it comes to digital marketing, automation is a powerful tool that helps you do more in less time. Recently, marketing bots have become a popular form of automation. Bots are essentially software programs that can be programmed to perform specific sets of actions. Kind of like wind-up toys—you give them the instructions, wind them up, and let them run on their own. And this saves you time by completing more tasks.
If a bot is properly programmed, you no longer need to worry about human error. But how do you tell if you're chatting with a bot or a real person? Is it in the phrasing? The tone? The small missteps or overly casual interactions?
In general, we already discussed bots (chatbots) back in May , so we won’t go into too much technical detail here.
Bots weren’t trendy for a long time, and even now—despite the tech boom in internet and social media—their capabilities are still being explored. But there are already several ways to integrate bots into digital marketing, which are used with varying frequency by different companies. That’s what we’ll dive into today.
Research
When interacting on forums and blogs, we write hundreds or even thousands of messages each year. This process can be optimized—especially if the posts are mostly topical and follow a shared structure. Each of us also reads and analyzes articles, data, news, and more to decide what to post, where to read, and what to research. In this case, GrowthBot can be a great assistant. It can analyze statistics, report on brand or competitor performance, and more—all in real time. It works with Slack, Facebook, Messenger, and Twitter.
Analyzing Google Analytics and HubSpot data daily or weekly for traffic and brand growth is exhausting. So why not hand off some of that to a bot? GrowthBot can do that and more—it’s worth getting to know.
Of course, if you rarely use tools like Google or Yandex to solve business problems, then this bot might not be for you. But if you regularly check up on competitors, hunt for new content, and need to respond quickly to trends, this bot will be worth its weight in gold.
Working with Potential Clients
That’s right. These bots can handle your potential customers for you—which is incredibly convenient for sales. Marketing management in e-commerce can be overwhelming: time-consuming, high-maintenance, and full of responsibilities. But the payoff is worth it.
So why not let a bot lend a hand?
You can feed the bot specific questions to help it identify which of your leads are actual potential customers. In fact, clients often don’t even realize they’re talking to a bot instead of a person.
A great example is the Driftbot by Drift . It looks like a live chat, so users are happy to interact with it. The best-case use is offering users a choice between chatting with a bot or a real person.
A bot can identify a customer’s interests and needs, then suggest the right product—just like a store associate would. You describe what you’re looking for (this type of mascara, that kind of laptop), and they show you the options that fit your needs, preferred brands, and price range.
It’s easy to implement and works well with existing marketing strategies.
Personalizing the User Interface
More than half of users prefer personalized content, ads, and even website layout. If your marketing strategy doesn’t focus on personalization, your brand could be losing a significant number of customers.
Again—why not let the bots handle it?
One simple method: a quiz or a few fun questions. For users—it’s a mini-game. For businesses—it’s useful data to turn into personalized experiences.
For example, the CNN bot delivers personalized news based on user-selected topics and preferences. That’s one of the reasons it’s the most popular bot in the world. Facebook Messenger bots are built the same way.
The idea is to offer users a set of options. Based on their choices, the bot provides the relevant content. Ask for the user’s name and use it in conversation—it adds a layer of personalization.
Bots aren’t evil or trying to replace humans entirely. They’re simply helpful tools you can use to achieve your goals.
Product Sales
The integration of chatbots in sales is incredibly useful. It overlaps with other bot use cases, but here, the idea is to create a fully autonomous bot that can close a sale without any human involvement. It interacts with the customer, helps them find a product, and even processes the order directly through the chat interface.
Fashion brand H&M uses a bot via the Kik messaging platform to sell products. It asks simple questions like age, gender, and style preferences—but also chats casually to keep things friendly. There’s nothing robotic about it. It feels like a helpful friend giving you fashion advice.
Once you’ve found the right look, you can instantly go to H&M’s site from Kik, check the product info, and complete your order.
The bot handles nearly every marketing and sales task—without your involvement.
Demographics and Psychographics
You’ve probably realized by now that a bot is an amazing way to gather insights about your customers. But here’s what makes it special: users never feel like they’re taking a survey. It all feels like casual conversation.
People love talking to bots, and they appreciate personalization—so they’re willing to engage. In fact, many users are more comfortable sharing confidential info with bots than with real agents. It sounds strange, but for many, bots feel like a safe space.
You’ll learn not just what your customers want to buy, but why they want to buy it. And that’s gold in marketing. Users offer all kinds of data during chats—super relevant information for your brand. Just look at the Nordstrom bot for proof.
After collecting the data, the bot can store and export it.
What else do you need? It can track each client’s purchasing behavior, store the data for future use, and improve personalization for every user.
Understanding your customers is a vital part of any marketing strategy. Unfortunately, many marketers assume general rules apply to everyone. But if you take initiative and really get to know your audience, you’ll be able to offer better product recommendations and make more meaningful sales. Not just for the sale itself, but so the customer returns—knowing you understand what they actually need.
Engagement
For decades, advertisers have tried to find the perfect way to start a conversation with customers. Typically, we do it through advertising—we craft a message that’s persuasive and relevant, then… cross our fingers. It works, but it also makes marketers wonder: is there a better way? Is there a simpler and more reliable alternative?
With bots, you can also initiate conversations. You can configure a bot to be the first one to reach out to a visitor.
Take the Drift website again. If you open their pricing page, you’ll see a small notification in the bottom-right corner.
This bot behaves just like a retail associate greeting you in a physical store. Except in this case, you’re a digital customer visiting an online shop.
The bot casually asks a specific question.
This is where psychology matters. Think about the thoughts a customer might have when entering a store. Many don’t talk to salespeople at all—they just grab what they need and head to the checkout. If the associate doesn’t say hello as the customer walks in, there’s likely to be no interaction at all.
That’s why using bots to start conversations is so effective. You’re almost guaranteed to get a response, which means the user moves further down the sales funnel.
But it doesn’t stop there. If the bot asks the right questions, it can replicate the feel of a real face-to-face conversation. The key point is: bots shouldn’t be passive. They can take the first step—and close a lot of sales for you.
Social Media
Bots are also highly useful when integrated into social media platforms. But we’ve already covered this topic in a separate article (linked at the beginning). Just to recap: bots can message users, send emails, run polls, engage with visitors, and more.
Conclusion
If you had told us ten years ago that digital bots would be able to do all this, we’d have laughed. It’s amazing how far the tech has come in just a few years—especially for digital marketing.
But… some things never change.
Customers will always want personalization and meaningful experiences. Even if everything is automated in the future, nothing can replace the need for a thoughtful, human-centered user journey. We can automate large portions of our marketing workflows using bots—but that doesn’t mean we should make those experiences cold and impersonal. Quite the opposite.
Marketers need to keep thinking about their customers at every step. Only then will tools like bots truly unlock their full potential. So if you’re considering using bots in your marketing strategy—definitely give it a try!
Just don’t let bots ruin your digital marketing. They’re capable of amazing things, and it’s exciting to see that their future in e-commerce is undeniable. At the same time, be sure to explore other bots and tools out there—you might be surprised at what they can do for you.