Rules based vs AI based personalization

Rules-based Personalization 
(Adobe Target, Path Factory, etc.) 

AI-based Personalization 
(Episerver) 

Content tagging 

In order to personalize content, you first need to tag it. 

Manual tagging (who has time for that?) 

Automated tagging (complete and consistent) 

Buyer data 

In order to match content to an individual, you need to know their preferences. 

Third-party intent data, Account Intelligence, MAP data 

First-party intent data, and any other data (MAP/CRM/ABM) 

Granularity of data 

How does the system match content to buyer? 

Segment-based approach (by industry or account) 

1:1 matching of content to buyer (takes account of individual, emerging preferences) 

Timeliness 

How timely is the decision? 

Content options pre-configured before user session, not responsive to everchanging options and interests 

Content options and buyer data assessed in real-time user session, responding to dynamic preferences 

Channels 

Where does this work? 

Limited; usually just on web or email; each channel siloed and set up independently 

Seamless; works in synchronization across all digital channels