TMW #178 | The dying art of AB testing
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The dying art of AB testing
A different kind of industrial revolution
When the industrial age came about, there were countless professions that slowly and then suddenly went bust. By the mid-19th century, people who hand-made chairs, shoes, and stagecoaches were all subsumed by steam-powered machines.
Now in the Aification of everything, we’re seeing another kind of displacement. Not of physical, handmade craftsmanship, but of knowledge work. And one of the categories that could become a dying art is AB testing.
The idea that AB testing is a dying art is not controversial; it’s like saying that horses are not good cars. But I get that some of you might be upset by the idea. Experimentation is a major driver of the marketing technology industry, spawning huge companies like Optimizely, SiteSpect, and Contentsquare. Years ago, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerburg argued that AB testing was the main reason behind the early success of Facebook.
AB testing was also where I got my start – running AB tests for dermatologists and bike shops at a tiny CRO consultancy. It was fun, but grueling work.
With the emergence of Generative AI, we’re seeing the death of AB testing as we know it. Or are we? Will AI impact AB testing at all, or are we seeing a rebirth of a category that’s vital to digital performance into something completely new? Let’s find out.
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Want to share something interesting or be featured in The Martech Weekly? Drop me a line at juan@themartechweekly.com.