Artificial intelligence has moved from being a futuristic marketing trend to becoming a daily part of how businesses plan, create, launch, measure, and optimize campaigns. In 2026, the best AI tools for digital marketing are no longer limited to simple writing assistants. They now help marketers build content strategies, optimize SEO, automate email campaigns, manage social media, improve paid ads, analyze customer data, predict trends, and personalize customer journeys at scale.
For businesses, this shift is important. Digital marketing has become more competitive, more data-driven, and more expensive. Brands need faster content production, smarter targeting, better reporting, and stronger personalization. AI marketing tools help teams save time, reduce repetitive work, and make decisions based on real data instead of guesswork.
However, not every AI tool is useful for every business. A small e-commerce store may need AI email automation and product description tools. A B2B company may need lead scoring, CRM automation, and content planning. A digital agency may need AI reporting, campaign optimization, creative testing, and workflow automation.
This guide explores the best AI marketing tools in 2026 across content creation, SEO, social media, email marketing, advertising campaigns, analytics, automation, and agency workflows. It also includes comparison tables, free vs paid options, and a practical checklist to help businesses choose the right AI marketing stack.
Why AI Tools Are Changing Digital Marketing
AI is changing digital marketing because it solves one of the biggest problems modern businesses face: too much work, too much data, and not enough time.
Marketers today need to create content for websites, blogs, emails, social platforms, paid ads, landing pages, videos, and customer journeys. At the same time, they need to analyze performance data, understand customer behavior, optimize budgets, and keep up with changing algorithms.
AI tools help by automating repetitive tasks and improving the speed of decision-making. Instead of manually writing every first draft, building every report, or analyzing every campaign from scratch, marketers can use AI to create faster starting points and focus more on strategy.
The most important use cases include:
- Content ideation and writing
- SEO research and optimization
- Social media planning
- Email personalization
- Ad copy generation
- Campaign budget optimization
- Customer segmentation
- Predictive analytics
- Reporting and dashboards
- Lead scoring
- Creative testing
- Marketing automation
The biggest advantage is not only speed. AI helps marketers test more ideas, personalize more experiences, and understand campaign performance more clearly.
How AI Is Improving Marketing Performance and Automation
AI improves marketing performance by helping businesses move from manual execution to intelligent automation. This means campaigns can become more responsive, more personalized, and more efficient.
For example, Google says Performance Max uses Google AI across bidding, budget optimization, audiences, creatives, attribution, and other areas, based on the advertiser’s goals, creative assets, audience signals, and data feeds. This shows how paid advertising has moved far beyond manual bid adjustments.
Meta also describes Advantage+ as a suite of products that uses AI and automation to help enhance and optimize campaign performance across Facebook and Instagram advertising.
In email marketing, platforms like Mailchimp now promote AI-powered tools for creating targeted emails and using AI to help with marketing decisions and personalized content at scale.
In CRM and lifecycle marketing, Klaviyo describes itself as an AI marketing platform that unifies customer data and automates channels such as email, SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, and mobile push for personalized campaigns.
These examples show the same trend: AI is no longer a separate tool sitting outside the marketing workflow. It is being built directly into the platforms marketers already use.
Best AI Tools for Digital Marketing
The best AI tools for marketing depend on your goals. Some tools are better for content. Some are stronger for SEO. Others are designed for email, ads, analytics, social media, or full customer journey automation.
Here is a practical list of AI marketing tools businesses should know in 2026:
| Tool | Best For | Main Use Case | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Strategy, content, research | Drafting, ideation, planning | Teams of all sizes |
| Semrush | SEO and content marketing | Keyword research, SEO briefs, content optimization | SEO teams and agencies |
| HubSpot Breeze | CRM and marketing automation | AI assistants, content, sales, service workflows | SMBs and B2B teams |
| Jasper | Brand content creation | Campaign copy, blogs, ads, brand voice | Marketing teams |
| Copy.ai | GTM and sales content | Sales copy, workflows, campaign messaging | B2B teams |
| Canva Magic Studio | Visual marketing | AI designs, social creatives, presentations | Small businesses |
| Hootsuite OwlyWriter AI | Social media content | Captions, post ideas, social content | Social media teams |
| Buffer AI Assistant | Social scheduling | Caption generation and post repurposing | Small teams |
| Mailchimp | Email marketing | AI email content and automation | SMBs |
| Klaviyo | E-commerce lifecycle marketing | Predictive segmentation, email, SMS automation | E-commerce brands |
| Google Ads AI / Performance Max | Paid search and cross-channel ads | Bidding, creative, budget optimization | Advertisers |
| Meta Advantage+ | Facebook and Instagram ads | AI campaign automation | E-commerce and lead gen |
| Looker Studio + AI workflows | Reporting | Marketing dashboards and insights | Data-focused teams |
| GA4 insights | Analytics | Customer behavior and campaign performance | Website owners |
| Surfer SEO | Content optimization | SEO scoring and content structure | Content teams |
A good AI marketing stack usually combines several tools rather than relying on one platform. For example, a business might use Semrush for SEO, ChatGPT for ideation, Canva for design, Mailchimp or Klaviyo for email, Hootsuite for social media, and Google Ads AI for paid campaigns.
Best AI Tools for Content Creation and SEO
Content and SEO are two of the biggest areas where AI can help marketers. AI tools can speed up keyword research, outline creation, content briefs, meta titles, article drafts, internal linking ideas, and content optimization.
Some of the best AI tools for content creation and SEO include:
- ChatGPT
- Semrush Content Toolkit
- Semrush ContentShake AI
- Surfer SEO
- Jasper
- Copy.ai
- Clearscope
- MarketMuse
- Frase
- Canva Magic Studio
- Grammarly
- Notion AI
Semrush says its Content Toolkit combines AI writing capabilities with real-time SEO data, which makes it more useful for SEO-focused content than generic writing tools alone.
Semrush also describes ContentShake AI as a tool that combines AI with competitor insights, helping users move from ideation to publishing and optimize content for organic traffic.
For businesses, the key is to avoid using AI only to generate generic articles. The best SEO results usually come from combining AI with search intent analysis, competitor research, original insights, real examples, expert review, and proper editing.
AI can help with:
- Keyword clustering
- Search intent analysis
- Blog outlines
- FAQs
- Meta titles and descriptions
- Content briefs
- Product descriptions
- Landing page copy
- Internal linking suggestions
- Content refreshes
- Schema ideas
- Topic gap analysis
The best approach is to use AI as a content assistant, not as a full replacement for editorial judgment.
Best AI Marketing Tools for Social Media Management
Social media marketing requires constant creativity, scheduling, engagement, and analysis. AI tools help social teams create posts faster, repurpose content, identify trends, and understand performance.
Some of the best AI tools for social media management include:
- Hootsuite
- OwlyWriter AI
- Buffer
- Canva Magic Studio
- Sprout Social
- Later
- SocialPilot
- Agorapulse
- Metricool
- Predis.ai
- Lately.ai
Hootsuite describes OwlyWriter AI as a social-first AI tool that generates captions and images, helps create content ideas, and supports posts based on current social media trends.
Hootsuite also positions its platform as a social media management tool that brings scheduling, content creation, analytics, social listening, and AI-powered summaries into one place.
For businesses, AI social media tools are useful for:
- Caption writing
- Hashtag ideas
- Post repurposing
- Social media calendars
- Trend monitoring
- Best time to post suggestions
- Comment reply drafts
- Social listening summaries
- Competitor analysis
- Performance reporting
However, social media still needs human taste. AI can suggest captions, but brand tone, timing, cultural context, and visual quality still require human control.
Best AI Tools for Email Marketing and Automation
Email remains one of the most profitable digital marketing channels, especially for e-commerce, SaaS, education, real estate, events, and service businesses. AI improves email marketing by making campaigns more personalized and automated.
Some of the best AI tools for email marketing and automation include:
- Mailchimp
- Klaviyo
- HubSpot
- ActiveCampaign
- Brevo
- Customer.io
- Omnisend
- Iterable
- Drip
- ConvertKit
- Ortto
Mailchimp promotes AI-powered tools that help businesses create targeted emails and make better marketing decisions.
Klaviyo is especially strong for e-commerce and B2C brands because it combines customer data, real-time signals, and AI-driven automation across multiple channels.
AI can improve email marketing through:
- Subject line suggestions
- Send-time optimization
- Product recommendations
- Predictive segmentation
- Churn prediction
- Customer lifetime value prediction
- Automated flows
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Win-back campaigns
- Personalized offers
- A/B testing
- SMS and WhatsApp automation
For small businesses, Mailchimp can be easier to start with. For e-commerce brands with more advanced data needs, Klaviyo is often a stronger option. For B2B companies that need CRM and sales alignment, HubSpot can be more useful.
Best AI Marketing Tools for Advertising Campaigns
AI is now deeply connected to paid advertising. Google, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other platforms increasingly use machine learning for bidding, targeting, creative delivery, and budget optimization.
For advertisers, AI can improve speed and efficiency, but it also requires better inputs. If tracking, creative assets, landing pages, and conversion data are weak, AI campaigns will not magically fix the problem.
AI Marketing Tools for Advertising Campaigns: Comparison Table
| Tool / Platform | Best For | AI Features | Best Business Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Performance Max | Cross-channel Google Ads | AI bidding, audiences, creative, budget optimization | E-commerce, lead gen, local |
| Google Smart Bidding | Search and shopping ads | Automated bidding based on conversion goals | Most advertisers |
| Meta Advantage+ | Facebook and Instagram ads | AI targeting, placements, campaign optimization | E-commerce, apps, lead gen |
| TikTok Smart+ / AI ad tools | Short-form video ads | Automated creative and campaign optimization | DTC and lifestyle brands |
| AdCreative.ai | Ad creative generation | AI banners, social ads, creative scoring | Small teams and agencies |
| Canva Magic Studio | Ad visuals | AI-generated creatives and templates | SMBs |
| Madgicx | Meta ad optimization | Automation, insights, creative analytics | E-commerce advertisers |
| Revealbot | Ad automation rules | Automated campaign rules and alerts | Agencies and performance teams |
| Optmyzr | PPC optimization | Google Ads scripts, recommendations, reporting | PPC specialists |
| HubSpot Ads tools | CRM-connected ads | Audience syncing and campaign tracking | B2B and CRM-led teams |
The best AI advertising tools are not only creative tools. They also help with budget control, conversion tracking, audience signals, testing, reporting, and campaign structure.
AI Tools for Google Ads Optimization
Google Ads has become heavily AI-driven. Performance Max, Smart Bidding, responsive search ads, Demand Gen, and automated recommendations all depend on machine learning.
Google states that Performance Max uses AI across bidding, budget optimization, audiences, creatives, attribution, and more.
In 2026, Google also announced Smart Bidding Exploration for Performance Max with product feeds and Shopping campaigns, designed to help advertisers adjust Target ROAS tolerance and capture new Shopping traffic.
Useful AI tools for Google Ads include:
- Google Performance Max
- Google Smart Bidding
- Google Ads Recommendations
- Optmyzr
- WordStream
- Adalysis
- Revealbot
- Supermetrics
- Looker Studio dashboards
- Feed optimization tools
- Merchant Center AI-supported features
For Google Ads, AI works best when businesses provide strong conversion data, clear goals, high-quality creative assets, and clean product feeds. Poor tracking and weak landing pages can reduce campaign performance even when using advanced AI features.
AI Tools for Meta Ads and Social Media Ads
Meta’s advertising system is also becoming more automated. Meta Advantage+ uses AI and automation to improve campaign performance across Facebook and Instagram.
Reuters reported that Meta aims to fully automate ad creation and targeting with AI by the end of 2026, including tools that could generate campaigns from a product image and budget while handling targeting and creative variations.
Useful AI tools for Meta Ads include:
- Meta Advantage+
- Advantage+ Shopping / Sales campaigns
- Meta creative enhancements
- Madgicx
- Revealbot
- AdCreative.ai
- Canva Magic Studio
- Motion
- Triple Whale
- Northbeam
- Hunch
Meta Ads AI is especially useful for e-commerce, app installs, lead generation, and retargeting. However, marketers still need strong creative strategy. AI can optimize delivery, but it needs good hooks, visuals, offers, and landing pages to work well.
For Meta campaigns, businesses should focus on:
- Testing multiple creatives
- Using clear conversion events
- Improving landing pages
- Uploading product catalogs
- Building strong offers
- Monitoring creative fatigue
- Using first-party data where possible
Best AI Tools for Marketing Analytics and Data
Marketing analytics is one of the most valuable areas for AI because businesses collect more data than most teams can manually analyze. AI tools help marketers identify patterns, summarize results, detect anomalies, and predict future performance.
Some of the best AI tools for marketing analytics and data include:
- Google Analytics 4
- Looker Studio
- HubSpot
- Klaviyo
- Semrush
- Ahrefs
- Tableau
- Power BI
- Supermetrics
- Triple Whale
- Northbeam
- Mixpanel
- Amplitude
- Hotjar
- Sprout Social
- Hootsuite Analytics
AI analytics tools help businesses answer questions such as:
- Which campaigns are driving the best leads?
- Which channels produce the highest ROI?
- Which content topics are gaining visibility?
- Which products are most likely to sell?
- Which customers are at risk of churning?
- Which audiences should be retargeted?
- Which ads are losing performance?
- Which landing pages need improvement?
The best analytics tools do not only report what happened. They help explain why it happened and what to do next.
AI Tools for Customer Insights and Reporting
Customer insight tools help marketers understand who their customers are, what they want, and how they behave.
Useful tools include:
- HubSpot
- Klaviyo
- GA4
- Mixpanel
- Amplitude
- Hotjar
- Typeform with AI analysis
- SurveyMonkey
- Qualtrics
- Sprout Social
- Hootsuite
- Tableau
- Power BI
HubSpot’s Breeze AI tools are built into its customer platform and support marketing, sales, and service teams with AI assistants and agents.
For businesses, AI-powered reporting can help turn raw data into useful summaries. Instead of only seeing charts, marketers can ask what changed, which campaign performed best, and where the biggest opportunity is.
A good AI reporting workflow should include:
- Clean tracking setup
- Clear KPIs
- Channel-level reporting
- Campaign-level reporting
- Customer segmentation
- Conversion analysis
- Revenue attribution
- Weekly or monthly summaries
- Action recommendations
AI can make reporting faster, but teams should still validate numbers carefully.
AI Tools for Predictive Marketing and Trends
Predictive marketing uses data to estimate what customers may do next. This is especially useful for e-commerce, SaaS, subscription businesses, and high-volume lead generation.
AI predictive marketing can help with:
- Churn prediction
- Customer lifetime value
- Product recommendations
- Lead scoring
- Demand forecasting
- Trend detection
- Inventory-aware campaigns
- Next-best-action suggestions
- Audience prioritization
Klaviyo highlights AI and customer data as central to automation, personalization, and revenue-generating campaigns across channels.
Semrush also focuses on AI visibility, traffic, SEO, content, advertising, and reporting tools, making it useful for trend research and search demand analysis.
Predictive tools are especially useful when businesses already have enough data. A new business with very little customer history may not get accurate predictions immediately. But as data grows, predictive AI becomes more valuable.
Free vs Paid AI Marketing Tools
Not every business needs expensive AI marketing software. Many free tools are useful for early-stage businesses, freelancers, and small teams. However, paid platforms usually offer better integrations, automation, reporting, brand control, team collaboration, and data depth.
Free vs Paid AI Marketing Tools: Comparison Table
| Feature | Free AI Tools | Paid AI Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free or limited plan | Monthly or annual subscription |
| Best For | Beginners, freelancers, small tests | Businesses, agencies, scaling teams |
| Content Creation | Basic drafts and ideas | Brand voice, workflows, collaboration |
| SEO Data | Limited or none | Keyword, competitor, and SERP data |
| Social Media | Basic caption help | Scheduling, analytics, social listening |
| Email Marketing | Limited contacts/features | Advanced automation and segmentation |
| Ads Optimization | Platform-native tools | Advanced reporting and automation |
| Analytics | Basic dashboards | Deeper attribution and insights |
| Scalability | Limited | Stronger for teams and agencies |
| Support | Community/basic | Customer support and onboarding |
| Data Integration | Limited | CRM, ecommerce, ad platforms, analytics |
Free tools are great for starting. Paid tools become more important when marketing becomes a core growth channel.
Best Free AI Tools for Digital Marketing
Some useful free or freemium AI tools for digital marketing include:
- ChatGPT free plan
- Canva free plan
- Google Gemini
- Google Trends
- Google Keyword Planner
- Google Analytics 4
- Looker Studio
- Meta Ads Library
- Mailchimp free plan
- Buffer free plan
- Hootsuite trials or limited options
- Grammarly free plan
- Notion AI trial options
- AnswerThePublic limited searches
- Semrush limited free tools
Free tools are especially useful for:
- Brainstorming ideas
- Writing first drafts
- Creating simple social posts
- Basic keyword research
- Simple reporting
- Competitor ad research
- Trend discovery
- Basic design work
Small businesses can start with free tools, then upgrade once they know which channel produces results.
Best Premium AI Marketing Platforms for Agencies
Agencies need more advanced tools because they manage multiple clients, campaigns, reports, approvals, and content calendars.
Some of the best premium AI marketing platforms for agencies include:
- Semrush
- Ahrefs
- HubSpot
- Hootsuite
- Sprout Social
- Jasper
- Canva Pro
- Klaviyo
- ActiveCampaign
- Supermetrics
- Looker Studio connectors
- Optmyzr
- Madgicx
- Triple Whale
- Northbeam
- Tableau
- Power BI
Premium agency tools should support:
- Team collaboration
- Client workspaces
- Reporting templates
- Workflow automation
- Brand voice control
- Multi-platform integrations
- Approval processes
- Campaign dashboards
- White-label reporting
- Data exports
- API access
For agencies, the best AI tools are the ones that reduce delivery time without reducing strategy quality.
How to Choose the Best AI Tools for Marketing
Choosing the right AI tools is more important than collecting too many subscriptions. A bloated marketing stack can become expensive and confusing.
The best approach is to start with your goals:
- Do you need more leads?
- Do you need more content?
- Do you need better ad performance?
- Do you need email automation?
- Do you need reporting?
- Do you need customer insights?
- Do you need social media consistency?
- Do you need better SEO performance?
Once the goal is clear, choose tools that solve that specific problem.
Features Businesses Should Look for in AI Marketing Tools
Use this checklist before choosing an AI marketing platform:
- Does it solve a real business problem?
- Does it integrate with your existing tools?
- Does it support your main marketing channels?
- Does it provide reliable data?
- Can your team use it easily?
- Does it support brand voice or style rules?
- Does it offer automation, not just generation?
- Does it provide reporting?
- Does it support collaboration?
- Is it secure?
- Does it handle customer data responsibly?
- Is pricing scalable?
- Does it offer useful support?
- Can you test it before committing?
- Does it improve ROI or only save small tasks?
A good AI marketing tool should make your workflow faster, smarter, or more profitable. If it only creates more complexity, it may not be worth using.
Suggested AI Marketing Stack by Business Type
Different businesses need different AI stacks. Here is a practical table:
| Business Type | Recommended AI Tools | Main Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Small local business | ChatGPT, Canva, Mailchimp, Google Ads AI | Content, email, local ads |
| E-commerce brand | Klaviyo, Meta Advantage+, Google PMax, Canva, Triple Whale | Sales and retention |
| B2B company | HubSpot, ChatGPT, Semrush, LinkedIn tools | Lead generation |
| Digital agency | Semrush, Hootsuite, Jasper, Supermetrics, Optmyzr | Client delivery |
| SaaS business | HubSpot, GA4, Mixpanel, Customer.io, ChatGPT | Lifecycle growth |
| Content website | Semrush, ChatGPT, Surfer SEO, Canva, GA4 | Organic traffic |
| Real estate business | ChatGPT, Canva, Meta Ads, Google Ads, HubSpot | Leads and follow-up |
| Restaurant or café | Canva, Hootsuite, ChatGPT, Meta Ads | Social visibility |
This helps businesses avoid choosing tools only because they are popular. The right tool depends on the business model.
Common Mistakes Businesses Make with AI Marketing Tools
AI can improve marketing, but it can also create problems when used badly.
Common mistakes include:
- Publishing generic AI content without editing
- Using too many tools at once
- Ignoring brand voice
- Relying on AI without strategy
- Not checking facts
- Not reviewing ad copy carefully
- Automating poor customer journeys
- Using weak tracking data
- Letting AI make decisions without human review
- Forgetting privacy and consent rules
- Measuring activity instead of results
The biggest mistake is thinking AI replaces strategy. AI can help execute faster, but businesses still need positioning, messaging, offers, audience understanding, creative direction, and clear goals.
Future of AI in Digital Marketing
The future of AI in digital marketing will be more automated, more personalized, and more connected to business outcomes.
Several trends are already clear:
- AI agents will manage more workflows
- Ad platforms will become more automated
- Content tools will become more brand-aware
- Search will include more AI-generated answers
- Customer journeys will become more personalized
- Predictive analytics will become more accessible
- Creative testing will become faster
- Voice, video, and image AI will grow
- First-party data will become more important
- Human strategy will become more valuable
HubSpot describes Breeze as a collection of AI tools and agents built into the customer platform, which reflects a broader move toward AI agents embedded inside marketing, sales, and service workflows.
Meta’s reported plan to expand full AI ad creation and targeting by the end of 2026 also shows where paid media is heading: more automation, more personalization, and more platform-controlled optimization.
The future marketer will not be replaced by AI, but the marketer who does not use AI may struggle to compete with teams that use it well.
Final Thoughts on the Best AI Marketing Tools
The best AI tools for digital marketing in 2026 are the tools that help businesses work faster, understand customers better, and improve performance across channels.
For content and SEO, tools like ChatGPT, Semrush, Surfer SEO, Jasper, and Canva can help teams create and optimize faster. For social media, Hootsuite, Buffer, Canva, and Sprout Social can support planning, captions, scheduling, and analytics. For email and automation, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, and ActiveCampaign remain strong options. For advertising, Google Performance Max, Meta Advantage+, Optmyzr, Madgicx, and AdCreative.ai can support campaign optimization and creative testing.
The most important lesson is simple: AI should support marketing strategy, not replace it. Businesses still need strong offers, clear messaging, human creativity, reliable data, and customer understanding.
Used correctly, AI marketing tools can help businesses grow faster, personalize better, reduce manual work, and compete in a more crowded digital landscape. Used carelessly, they can produce generic content, weak campaigns, and brand confusion.
The best approach is to start small, choose tools based on goals, test workflows, measure results, and keep human judgment at the center.
FAQ About AI Tools for Digital Marketing
- What are the best AI tools for digital marketing?
Some of the best AI tools for digital marketing in 2026 include ChatGPT, Semrush, HubSpot Breeze, Jasper, Canva Magic Studio, Hootsuite OwlyWriter AI, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Google Performance Max, Meta Advantage+, Surfer SEO, Sprout Social, Optmyzr, and Supermetrics.
- Which AI marketing tools are best for small businesses?
Small businesses can start with ChatGPT, Canva, Mailchimp, Google Analytics 4, Google Keyword Planner, Meta Ads tools, Buffer, and Hootsuite. These tools help with content creation, design, email marketing, social media scheduling, ads, and reporting without requiring a large team.
- Are AI tools replacing digital marketers?
AI tools are not fully replacing digital marketers, but they are changing the role. AI can automate writing drafts, reports, ad optimization, segmentation, and repetitive tasks. However, humans are still needed for strategy, creativity, brand positioning, customer understanding, approvals, and ethical decision-making.
- What are the best AI tools for SEO marketing?
Some of the best AI tools for SEO marketing include Semrush, Surfer SEO, ChatGPT, Ahrefs, Clearscope, MarketMuse, Frase, and ContentShake AI. These tools can help with keyword research, content briefs, optimization, search intent, and content refreshes.
- What are the best AI tools for social media marketing?
Useful AI social media tools include Hootsuite OwlyWriter AI, Buffer AI Assistant, Canva Magic Studio, Sprout Social, Later, SocialPilot, Agorapulse, and Metricool. They help with captions, scheduling, post ideas, analytics, and social listening.
- What are the best AI tools for email marketing?
Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Omnisend, Customer.io, and Iterable are strong AI email marketing tools. They help with automation, segmentation, subject lines, personalization, and customer lifecycle campaigns.
- How do businesses choose the best AI marketing tools?
Businesses should choose AI marketing tools based on their goals, budget, team size, channels, integrations, reporting needs, and data quality. The best tool is the one that solves a clear problem and improves measurable marketing performance.