The rise of AI has already had a significant impact in the creative space, and there are few areas of business where this is felt more strongly than in marketing. In fact, CMOs are largely the ones leading the charge on AI adoption, resulting in a top-down approach to this marketing change, rather than seeing innovation come from the bottom up.
There are many reasons why CMOs are taking an increasingly favorable view of AI adoption. Here’s a closer look at why they find it to be an important part of their future operations, and why the best marketing leaders are trying to encourage buy-in from the rest of their teams as well.
1. Enhancing Creativity
Unsurprisingly, a key part of the reason CMOs are so enthusiastic about AI is its potential for enhancing creative efforts. While attempts at creating content solely through AI tend to get the most attention (and negative feedback), most marketing teams instead use AI in areas such as design assistance, preparing content outlines, or reworking existing content.
It’s important to note that such uses do not replace the impact of human marketers. Instead, AI tools are most effective when they augment the creative effort and output of marketing teams. For example, writing assistants can generate outlines of articles and mockups of visual assets or provide editing assistance, while personalization tools can quickly rework content for different audiences.
This allows teams to spend more of their time on higher-level tasks, which can result in stronger marketing outcomes.
2. Unlocking Efficiency
AI’s ability to improve overall efficiency is a key factor behind CMOs’ enthusiasm. For example, research from HubSpot found that 81% of AI users said it helped them reduce the amount of time spent on manual or administrative tasks, and 71% said it allowed them to spend more time on their most important responsibilities.
For CMOs and others in leadership positions, such a dramatic shift in how they spend their time is especially enticing. Of course, similar benefits are available for those in middle and entry-level marketing positions.
AI’s ability to automate or simplify a wide range of marketing-related tasks such as data analysis, social media management, idea generation and customer segmentation can result in significant time savings throughout the organization. With more time to focus on higher-level tasks, the quality of all marketing work can increase exponentially.
3. More Experience and Training
It’s also worth noting that a unique aspect behind CMOs’ enthusiasm for AI stems from the level of hands-on experience and training that they have with the technology. According to a research report from Lightricks and the American Marketing Association, 61% of marketing executives use AI on a weekly basis, compared to just 42% of entry-level marketers. In addition, 65% of executives have received formal AI training — with the majority receiving training through their company.
Executives’ experience and training with AI far outpace that of entry-level marketers, which has led to significantly greater confidence in the creative potential of AI (55% vs. 33%). This illustrates that experience breeds enthusiasm, while also serving to highlight that CMOs must ensure AI training is made available to those they lead.
With more familiarity, junior marketers will be willing to experiment more, thereby unlocking more of the benefits of AI.
4. Improved Targeting
While marketers are supposed to have a deep understanding of their target audiences, making this a reality is often easier said than done, particularly for brands that target multiple groups with diverse backgrounds, interests and interactions with the company.
AI can draw on a large number of data points to quickly and accurately segment customers into different groups (such as lapsed customers, top fans and so on).
With this information in hand, marketing teams can then adjust campaigns and marketing content that is better tailored to the unique circumstances of each group. And of course, AI can help refine the messaging so that it is perfectly applicable to each audience segment. This is a move that naturally leads to increased sales and retention — a top goal for any CMO.
5. Removing Bias from Decision-making
Quality marketing outcomes typically rely on data — but decision-making is prone to pitfalls from our own inherent biases that can cause us to misinterpret what data actually means.
On the other hand, many CMOs recognize that using AI to facilitate the decision-making process can provide an unbiased perspective rooted in factual information. This can guide the overall marketing strategy of the organization in a more profitable direction.
As Daniel Klein, CEO of Joseph Studios explained in an interview with The CMO Club, “The great thing about AI is it’s an excellent way to remove biases from your decision-making process. AI can pull us out of that and help us make much more sound decisions. Imagine a world where, from an e-commerce perspective, you were able to input your business objectives, and then a systematic programmatic approach to decision-making.”
Making AI an Integral Part of Marketing
As these examples illustrate, CMOs have found a variety of beneficial use cases for AI in their team’s work. By augmenting the creativity and efficiency of their teams while also providing resources that enable smarter targeting and decision-making, AI can be a powerful asset in a marketing strategy.
As CMOs leverage their experience and training in this area to improve education and confidence among all team members, they can foster greater buy-in at all levels of their organization.
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