How H&R Block is building AI and machine learning into marketing

Geoffrey Precourt

H&R Block, the tax-preparation service, is effectively making use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to enhance its marketing.

"We're doing something a little untraditional," admits Amy Hu, H&R Block's VP/Interactive Marketing and Online Experience.

And that break from legacy practices for the Kansas City-based tax-preparation company demands agility, as well as receptivity to unexpected findings.

"We're building our own ad-tech stack," Hu told delegates at the 2017 Ad Age Next Conference in New York. And a powerful driver in that construction process is the discovery that artificial-intelligence (AI) components in the marketing mix "are coming out of the box.

Amy Hu, VP/Interactive Marketing and Online Experience, H&R Block

"They don't clone exactly the way they say they're going...

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