Summary: AI is transforming trade promotion management and deduction management, but success lies in balancing automation with human expertise. While AI enhances efficiency, speeds up deduction processing, and improves trade spend insights, it can't replace strategic decision-making. Trust in AI depends on transparency, accuracy, and its role as a support system—not a standalone solution. Promomash’s human-in-the-loop (HITL) approach ensures brands get the best of both worlds: AI-driven speed and expert-driven accuracy. As AI-powered solutions flood the market, CPG brands must ask the right questions to ensure they choose technology that truly adds value.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s here, reshaping industries and transforming how businesses operate. For CPG brands navigating the complexities of trade promotions and deductions, AI represents both a valuable tool and a source of scrutiny. Trust in AI isn't black and white; it’s nuanced and evolving, offering opportunities for brands that use it responsibly and effectively.
Optimism Meets Skepticism
As AI adoption grows, so does consumer scrutiny. A 2024 survey reveals that 55% of global consumers trust AI to collect and combine product information, but that trust drops for more critical tasks, such as providing legal advice, where fewer than 25% of consumers feel confident relying on AI.
Additionally, over 75% of consumers worry about AI's potential to spread false information, according to a Forbes Advisor survey, emphasizing the importance of transparency in AI deployment. Interestingly, trust in AI is closely tied to trust in the companies using it. Globally, only 26% of consumers trust brands to deploy AI responsibly.
Why Humans + AI = Success
At Promomash, we acknowledge the power of AI as a tool to improve efficiency, scale operations, and deliver deeper insights—and we use it to its fullest capacity in several areas of the company, from product development to success and marketing. In fact, we’ve been proactive about the appropriate adoption of AI wherever possible as part of our laser focus on delivering maximum value and efficiency for our clients. We’re proud to say that we’ve been doing this for years, well before AI was the hot topic it is today.
But we also know (and have always known) that AI alone isn’t enough. Our success, and our clients' success, lies in the combination of advanced technology that helps us work faster and human expertise that keeps us smarter.
For instance, our deduction management service relies on AI to process deduction invoices faster with technology; from there, our team of deduction specialists interpret, correct, categorize, and contextualize the outputs - and then convert the harmonized, verified data into actionable insights that help CPG brands make smarter decisions. This is our “human in the loop” (HITL) approach to AI-assisted deduction management. It’s the best of both worlds - real human expertise and leading-edge technology - that produces better data our clients can rely on to make better decisions, faster.
AI Buyer Beware
In a market as complex as trade promotion management and deduction management, where vendors with “.ai” in their names and URLs are seemingly appearing daily, it’s important to understand how large of a role AI really plays in any potential solution. The more tech or AI-heavy the solution being marketed; the more questions are probably in order. Specifically, questions such as:
- “Do I need to dedicate a person or a team to run this solution?”
- “What skillset or support is required from the brand to support this solution successfully?”
- “How are the AI insights generated by this solution sourced?”
- “What’s the accuracy rate of the data generated by this solution?”
While AI is no doubt a powerful add-on to any CPG team, it can’t solve all trade and deduction management problems on its own (and probably never will) without expert human intervention.
The Promomash Difference
With the proliferation of solutions being marketed as AI-enabled, it would be a mistake to lose sight of the value of human expertise as part of the solution – especially if it’s a solution geared for CPG businesses. At Promomash, our secret sauce is and always has been our people – from the experts who’ve lived past CPG lives and assist our clients each day with their challenges, to the back-office specialists who live and breathe deductions.
AI is how we make our platform and services work faster and better. However, it’s not the reason our products and services are superior. What truly sets us apart is our ability to combine the best technology with deep expertise to maximize value for our clients. Here’s how we stand apart:
- Expertise-Driven Solutions: Our experienced team of trade promotion specialists ensures that the tools we provide are not just functional but optimized for your unique business needs.
- AI as a Support System: We use AI to scale our services efficiently, enabling us to support more clients while maintaining high-quality service.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Our technology and insights empower clients to make better decisions with their data, driving efficiency and profitability.
- Human-Centric Approach: We pride ourselves on personal touch, providing hands-on support and strategic guidance tailored to each client.
Trust and Confidence is Key
For CPG brands, trust and transparency are as critical as the tools they use. AI plays an important role in our solutions, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. By pairing cutting-edge technology with human expertise, we ensure our clients have the confidence and capability to succeed in today’s competitive landscape.
This balanced approach is what makes Promomash more than just a technology provider—it makes us a trusted partner for CPG brands looking to streamline their trade promotions, deductions, and overall business operations.
What’s your perspective? How do you see the balance between technology and human expertise driving the future of trade management? Let’s discuss below!
Sources for Reference:
Statista, "Consumer trust in AI for various activities globally, 2024".
Forbes Advisor, "AI and Consumer Sentiment: Concerns about Misinformation".
Statista, "Global trust in brands using AI, 2024".
