Nearly two-thirds of marketers believe advancements in artificial intelligence will reshape their role dramatically within the next two years, but many still struggle to tie the technology to results, according to new Gartner findings Marketing Dive can exclusively share.
Among a subset of marketers who are using generative AI, but not AI agents, just 5% are seeing significant gains on business outcomes. For marketers further along their adoption journeys, agent capabilities “aren’t yet delivering the promised business performance,” either. Part of the problem is that AI should be implemented in a holistic rather than piecemeal sense, Gartner argues. Meanwhile, 82% of business leaders believe companies will need to substantially revamp their identities to keep pace with AI — identity in this case referring to both how an organization views itself internally and how it presents itself to the world. CMOs must play a role in crafting that narrative, analysts say.
“Gartner’s position is that CMOs who simply bolt AI onto legacy systems and processes will fail to drive growth; those who use it to reshape the business will lead. One of the major trends we see is that most organizations aren’t ready to get value from AI,” said Sharon Cantor Ceurvorst, vice president of research in the Gartner Marketing Practice, over email.
The report arrives as speculation mounts that the generative AI market is a bubble close to bursting but as industry players including agencies and consumer brands continue to ramp up their AI initiatives. Gartner’s hype cycle tracking technology trends sees generative AI in the early stages of the trough of disillusionment while AI-powered agents, or agentic AI, are in the preceding peak of inflated expectations phase. Agentic AI has been in focus for marketers in 2025 amid an influx of automated assistants designed to help consumers search and shop and marketers create campaigns more efficiently and at lower cost.
Despite some of the skepticism, Gartner views AI as carrying immense and unrealized potential, with serious implications for the way marketers work and lead. The channels most at-risk from AI-driven disruption are bedrocks of the booming digital ad economy, including search, social and display, the researcher said. The three largest digital ad platforms by revenue, Google, Meta and Amazon, are pouring tens of billions in spend annually to stay on the leading edge of AI and reorienting core features around the tech.
Given the levels of investment and adoption, generative AI is impacting multiple stages of the customer journey. Gartner recommended marketers embrace a zero-based mentality, taking a full accounting of their activities and ensuring each consumer touchpoint is intentionally deployed, relevant and distinctive from rivals. Marketers should conduct reviews on at least a quarterly basis to see if channels are meeting performance thresholds, the firm said, noting that channel strategies are expiring faster than ever.
“The most successful companies don’t necessarily spend more on agentic capabilities. Instead, they prioritize strategic direction, process mapping, and talent implications before setting agents to work,” said Cantor Ceurvorst. “That means having an integrated framework that connects AI opportunities to business objectives, mapping AI-first workflows, and preparing marketers to coach and judge AI output.”
AI reshapes the CMO role
Marketers today are held directly accountable for five functions, on average, but that number could jump to eight between 2027-2029, with customer experience, commercial alignment and product strategy the top three areas where accountability is expected to increase, according to Gartner. The broadening executive purview does not always correlate to more resources, as Gartner has previously found CMO budgets have stagnated in recent years.
AI can ease some of the burden and tackle challenges around managing data, sifting through large amounts of information, identifying patterns and visualizing insights. That said, 62% of marketers report using generative AI moderately or extensively for market research, which could result in a lack of differentiation.
Marketers must coach their teams to cut through the sea of sameness in AI-generated content and apply critical thinking to keep their applications ethical, scientifically sound and in line with broader strategy. AI should ultimately hone human reasoning capabilities, not replace them, the report concluded. CMOs classified by Gartner as market shapers — executives who can wed deep customer and market insights with strong innovation and positioning — are performing at far higher levels than peers.
While AI may lead to the deprecation of some established marketing methods, Gartner noted that technology can fake intimacy but not necessarily build real brand trust. Engaging the senses, tugging on emotions, prompting physical action and encouraging customers to reflect are some of the ways marketers can use a human touch to develop memorable brand experiences.
“Success in this new era requires CMOs to set clear strategic direction, adapt to AI-driven customer journeys, and focus on creating authentic, differentiated value,” said Ewan McIntyre, vice president analyst and chief of research for the Gartner Marketing Practice, in a statement around the report. “The CMO role is evolving from influencer to designer of business impact.”
Gartner’s findings were drawn from several surveys: one conducted online among 402 senior marketing leaders between August and October, one taken from 413 marketing technology leaders between June and August and one targeted at 426 business leaders between September and October.
