The accelerating expansion of digital technologies and the explosion of big data have compelled organizations to rethink their traditional, intuition-based marketing approaches, and have turned artificial intelligence into a strategic lever for survival and growth in highly dynamic and competitive environments. In terms of purpose the research is applied, and in terms of approach it is qualitative, drawing on the grounded-theory method based on the Strauss and Corbin approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 22 marketing managers, information-technology specialists, and digital-marketing experts in technology-oriented industries; purposive sampling continued until theoretical saturation, and the data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding in MAXQDA software. The findings showed that the application of AI in digital marketing consists of five main dimensions predictive personalization, intelligent content generation, real-time campaign optimization, predictive analysis of customer behavior, and intelligent marketing automation and that the process of applying AI comprises three stages: data collection and integration, predictive analysis and modelling, and continuous execution and optimization, among which predictive analysis and modelling was recognized as the most important capability. The results further indicated that organizational prerequisites provide the ground for the effective deployment of AI, and that the organization’s analytical capabilities play an important mediating role in converting AI applications into sustainable competitive advantage. It is concluded that, in the age of digital marketing, AI creates and sustains competitive advantage not directly, but by transforming vast data into actionable insight through the organization’s analytical capabilities a finding that can guide managers and policymakers toward the effective and responsible use of AI in marketing.