Audience targeting
Marketing · Paid Media Specialist
“Audience targeting” (Marketing) was largely replaced by AI in 2024, after AI entered in 2016.
AI enters
2016
Largely replaced
2024
Replacement progress
100%
Technology / key factor
Platform auto-targeting
What this task is
Marketers decide who sees an ad, choosing segments by age, location, interests and purchase behavior, then run repeated tests to find the combinations that perform best.
How AI replaces it
From 2016, major ad platforms introduced auto-targeting and lookalike audiences, letting algorithms find likely customers from conversion data. By 2024, audience targeting is mostly automated by the platforms.
What stays human
Marketers supply high-quality seed audiences and accurate conversion data to train the algorithms, and guard brand safety so ads do not appear next to inappropriate content or in the wrong places.