Interview: Neil Patel on the role of AI in Asia's marketing future

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Search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential for brands and marketers navigating the constantly evolving digital landscape. With the power of artificial intelligence (AI), distinguishing oneself from the competition has become increasingly achievable.

In an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE at the Digital Marketing Asia Singapore 2024 conference, Neil Patel, a digital marketing expert and co-founder of Neil Patel Digital, highlighted that legal implications are one of the factors contributing to hesitancy in AI adoption.

That said, Patel said that companies are working on alleviating these fears, adding that the Asia region has great potential to excel by leveraging available technologies, including AI.

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MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What is the hesitancy in embracing AI?

Patel: The biggest hesitancy that we see in corporations when it comes to leveraging AI is that they're worried that their data is going to get everywhere - which you can control - and legal issues.

They're worried about getting sued, but there are a lot of companies that are working on solving this. For example, Getty can provide you with AI generated images and ensure that you're not going to get sued for it, right?

There are corporations that are helping solve some of the problems, and as time goes on, you'll see more and more solutions to the fears that companies have.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: You have been on an Asia tour. What about the region has stood out for you?

Patel: What stood out for me the most in Asia is that a lot of people are saying, "Hey, we're behind the Western world when it comes to marketing and strategies and technology. What should we do?".

You guys are smart, you guys are hardworking. You have access to the same technologies and knowledge that we do. There's no reason why in Asia, they can't be doing everything we're doing just as well, if not even better.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Google is predominant in search. Do you think it will change because of the shifting habits where people are now searching on TikTok, Instagram and marketplaces?

Patel: It will change, but it'll change similarly to social media.

Instagram and TikTok did not kill Facebook. Google may be the predominant player, but similar to social media, people still use Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, X, etc.

You're going to start seeing them use Google, Perplexity, ChatGPT, and the list goes on. Instead of just using one platform, they're going to use many platforms.

It's not going to be the death of Google. It's going to be people being used to using different platforms for different use cases.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What can marketers in Asia teach those in the West such as the US and the UK?

Patel: One of the things that they can teach is how to generate sales and traffic in revenue from multiple regions.

Even though Asia has a few big regions in population such as China, India, and Indonesia, there are a lot of smaller countries, and they speak many different languages. Yet, marketers here are efficiently able to expand their geographical footprint and profitably attract new customers and revenue.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What are some of the gravest mistakes we make when it comes to search?

Patel: The biggest mistake that people are making in APAC when it comes to search is that they optimise for Google or Baidu instead of optimising for all the platforms.

Search has changed to search everywhere, and SEO is no longer just optimising for Google.

Optimisation is optimised for Google, the AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, as well as for Facebook, Instagram and the list goes on and on.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What's the gravest mistake in marketing in general?

Patel: In marketing, I would say one of the biggest mistakes is data and analytics. It's boring, it's ugly, but if companies here in Asia set up a good data and analytics foundation, their marketing campaigns would be much more effective.

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