There’s a paradox at play in how marketers are adopting artificial intelligence.
Eighty-seven percent of US advertisers say they plan to increase AI usage over the next 12 months. But only 45% feel confident in their understanding of how AI-powered technologies work. That 42-point gap is an indicator of early friction in AI adoption.
We took a deeper look at what’s driving the divide between aspiration and confidence. In a comprehensive survey, we polled 512 US marketing professionals across both agencies and brands to better understand how they are adopting AI and what might be holding them back.
Early adoption is basic
Usage has accelerated most rapidly in areas like email automation, social media management and customer engagement via chatbots, with 72% of marketers deploying these tools across projects. In many instances, marketers are using the AI features of tools already in their tech stacks, like HubSpot and Mailchimp.
Many early AI engagements are still fairly simple, with marketers leaning on consumer tools like ChatGPT, since more sophisticated, bespoke tools have yet to catch on. That will change in the coming years, as more solutions are developed with marketers in mind.
Challenges stem from a lack of knowledge
There are a few reasons why our industry is experiencing friction in AI adoption.
First, we’re witnessing a meaningful knowledge gap. Forty-seven percent of respondents say they don’t understand how AI works. Until they do, there will be a ceiling capping usage of new tools and providers.
Second, many of us are in the early stages of navigating compatibility challenges. Only 39% of marketers are confident in their team’s ability to use AI to create useful intelligence and insights. When an existing AI tool isn’t compatible with brand or client data, we won’t risk trying to make it part of our process.
Finally, the majority of us are not sure how to approach marketing in this shifting landscape. Fifty-four percent of us can’t confidently say we are measuring success against the right business goals. We are clearly still in a consideration stage in terms of how to integrate AI into our workflows.
Practical solutions
To move forward confidently with adoption, marketers should:
Invest in AI literacy across teams. Confidence comes from competence. Ongoing AI training needs to be a part of everyday marketing practices.
Adopt partner-agnostic solutions. AI works best on complete, connected data. Use tools that integrate multiple platforms and sources to eliminate silos and deliver more accurate insights.
Integrate AI into performance measurement. AI can’t optimize what it can’t measure. Connect AI systems to your campaign KPIs to measure real-time results and prove business impact.
Marketers who are taking a meaningful look at their workflow, seeking out new tools to trial and bringing their teams along will win in the year to come.
For more data and details, click here to read the full report.
For more articles featuring Jordan Bitterman, click here.
