Marketers Admit to AI’s CAPABILITY-MATURITY PARADOX
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Marketers Admit to AI’s CAPABILITY-MATURITY PARADOX

Deborah Malone0Tagged , ,

INSIGHTS Survey Results: AI implementation Success Depends More on Human and Organizational Factors than on Technological Capabilities

From the ANA’s “Marketing Word of the Year,” to CES® to the World Economic Forum, businesses now recognize that the rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence have reached a critical juncture in our relationship with technology.

Yet, success in an AI-driven marketing world is about more than technology. 

Our recent Internationalist INSIGHTS Survey™ indicates that while Gen AI may be able to race through repetitive tasks or examine vast datasets at unprecedented speeds, many marketers believe it must be combined with human intuition, experience, and emotion to achieve great marketing. 

The Internationalist conducted this INSIGHTS Survey in late 2024 requesting marketers’ thoughts on “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Gen AI in Marketing.”

DOWNLOAD THE SURVEY RESULTS

Of course, AI has existed for decades. While Silicon Valley is now focused on AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and ASI (Artificial Superintelligence), most marketing leaders are justifiably enthusiastic about Generative AI’s (Gen AI) potential. However, they are split 50/50 on whether it will “entirely transform the business of marketing.”

The current INSIGHTS Survey also points to the earliest beginnings of “AI Fatigue,” “AI Overload,” and “AI Frustration” as more marketers move from experimentation to operationalization. This means putting the technology into meaningful systems by rethinking processes and workflows, redesigning marketing models, and ultimately improving data quality.

Even McKinsey & Company sent out an email this week aligning Gen AI with Groundhog Day much in the same way that actor Bill Murray relived the same day over and over again in the namesake movie: “As Groundhog Day traditions unfold in the US and Canada with whimsical predictions about winter’s end, we’re reminded that some cycles persist. The same could be said for the world of gen AI: Every year, we witness new advancements, renewed enthusiasm, and a sense of déjà vu. The hype around gen AI can sometimes feel like a recurring dream. In reality, however, organizations are only scratching the surface when it comes to the tech.”

AI can potentially impact every aspect of marketing, but the process still depends on accurate and complete data, which remains a challenge for many organizations. Some suggest using AI more for quantitative aspects of marketing, such as market research, product usage analysis, or dynamic pricing, rather than for creativity and communications, which needs a “human touch” to ensure authentic connections with customers. The concern is that over-reliance on GenAI could produce unusual images or generic content that lacks differentiation.

Question:

Will Gen AI entirely transform the business of marketing?

Answer:

Yes 50% | No 50%

Marketers Rank the Current Upside of AI…

A significant number of marketers are currently leveraging GenAI for:

  • Report generation (70%)
  • Data interpretation (90%)
  • Automating low-value tasks (90%)
  • Content and image creation (70%)

Although many acknowledge the cost-saving efficiencies provided by Gen AI (75%), considerably fewer are utilizing it for highly anticipated marketing outcomes, such as:

  • Personalization or localization at scale (50%)
  • Enhancing customer understanding (40%)
  • Employing programmatic chatbots and customer support (40%)

Even fewer have capitalized on benefits like:

  • Increasing decision-making speed (35%)
  • Generating ideas for new product development (30%)
  • Achieving a competitive advantage (25%)

Despite this, both individuals and organizations are experiencing substantial benefits even in the early stages, indicating significant untapped potential as maturity or internal systemization progresses.

Despite this, both individuals and organizations are experiencing substantial benefits even in the early stages, indicating significant untapped potential as maturity or internal systemization progresses.

Sixty percent of the surveyed marketers acknowledged being in the “early stage” of GenAI utilization. Fifteen percent were in the “developing stage,” 10% in the “outsource stage,” and only 5% respectively in the “mature” or “leadership” stages.

Barriers to Adoption

Some leading brands are achieving efficiencies through their experimentation with AI in their marketing by focusing on the desired customer experience or innovation rather than starting first with AI as the solution. Most companies or brands are currently implementing tactical AI solutions but finding it challenging to translate the technology’s capabilities into operational efficiency or strategic advantage, such as driving customer engagement, boosting loyalty, or delivering measurable outcomes.

The Talent-Technology Imbalance

Talent gaps are presently the primary obstacle to leveraging AI in marketing, rather than any perceived technological limitations.

  • 63% attribute their limited use of AI to “a lack of AI marketing capabilities or individuals skilled in AI processes.”
  • 57% report they are “utilizing AI only for specific tasks rather than integrating it into more comprehensive processes.”
  • 36% acknowledge “challenges in aligning existing data with new AI strategies.”
  • 26% cite “difficulties in navigating inter-departmental integration.”

Notably, only 16% mention budget constraints as an issue. Other concerns include a lack of trust in content or doubts about providing AI machine learning engines with quality content.

Ultimately, the success of AI currently hinges more on human capital than on technological investment.

Question:

AI augments human insights, so should a person always be involved in AI activities to help oversee outcomes?

Answer:

Yes 95% | No 5%

Survey Trends Analyzed by AI via XPLAIN

In addition to our INSIGHTS Team, The Internationalist utilized a highly specialized Marketing AI program to analyze the results and trends presented in this study. We deemed it appropriate given that an Artificial Intelligence “marketing persona” would provide valuable data interpretation, especially after its assistance as an additional judge in The Internationalist Awards for Innovative Digital Marketing Solutions. The comparison between AI data-driven scoring and human experience, insights, and emotion proved to be enlightening.

Our AI companion was developed by XPLAIN, an AI agency with twenty years of experience in analyzing Big Data and building AI solutions to integrate brands into people’s lives. XPLAIN’s AI is designed specifically for the marketing community. They have analyzed over 150,000 brands and 180,000,000 campaigns and content over the last decade.

Highlights of AI Insights

The Survey Insights, according to our “AI Companion” analysis, collectively point to a fundamental truth: AI implementation success depends more on organizational and human factors than on technological capabilities.

The key to unlocking AI’s full potential lies in bridging the gaps between:

  • Operational efficiency and strategic advantage
  • Risk awareness and risk management
  • Global standardization and local adaptation
  • Current capabilities and future requirements

Organizations are successfully implementing tactical AI solutions but struggling to translate operational efficiency into strategic advantage.  That’s not to say that companies and people aren’t achieving substantial benefits even in early stages, but it does suggest there is enormous untapped potential as maturity increases.

ABOUT INTERNATIONALIST INSIGHTS

Building on The Internationalist’s focus on the people and ideas in international marketing, INTERNATIONALIST INSIGHTS™ was developed to quickly interpret global marketing trends at scale by surveying our worldwide audience and conducting in-depth personal interviews with individuals we have honored for their marketing contributions. These results and perspectives are interpreted by seasoned executives and are dedicated to a big-picture view of our fast-moving industry and how contemporary marketing is changing business strategy in the digital economy. We’re now adding an AI “marketing persona” for added insights.

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