Artificial intelligence and predictive marketing: an ethical framework from managers’ perspective

Abstract

Purpose Artificial intelligence (AI) offers many benefits to improve predictive marketing practice. It raises ethical concerns regarding customer prioritization, market share concentration and consumer manipulation. This paper explores these ethical concerns from a contemporary perspective, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of AI and predictive marketing professionals. This study aims to contribute to the field by providing a modern perspective on the ethical concerns of AI usage in predictive marketing, drawing on the experiences and perspectives of professionals in the area. Design/methodology/approach The study conducted semistructured interviews for 6 weeks with 14 participants experienced in AI-enabled systems for marketing, using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Thematic analysis was used to explore themes emerging from the data. Findings Results reveal that using AI in marketing could lead to unintended consequences, such as perpetuating existing biases, violating customer privacy, limiting competition and manipulating consumer behavior. Originality/value The authors identify seven unique themes and benchmark them with Ashok’s model to provide a structured lens for interpreting the results. The framework presented by this research is unique and can be used to support ethical research spanning social, technological and economic aspects within the predictive marketing domain.