There is little disagreement that AI will reshape marketing, but thinking too narrowly about the technology can limit its value. Marketing leaders who focus on isolated tools or pure efficiency gains are missing the bigger picture. The real opportunity lies in AI's ability to help CMOs reinvent their entire operating model in marketing to generate more profitable growth and enterprise value.
AI offers unprecedented opportunities to overcome organizational barriers and friction across technology platforms, by accelerating data flows and decision making. With this capability, leaders can move beyond sequential campaign processes and brand stewardship. Instead, they can accelerate cycles by balancing human judgment with AI to drive measurable value across the business, building organizational intelligence over time. The challenge is to connect internal and external ecosystems while sequencing and navigating the significant changes in how marketing work is done.
To understand AI's impact on marketing, BCG and the Global Marketing and Media Alliance surveyed around 60 of the world’s most senior marketing executives across sectors. Their objectives were to gauge the pace of AI disruption, identify the tasks that can generate the biggest impact and should be scaled first, and clarify how accountability in marketing work is likely to change.
