Marketers and communications professionals overwhelmingly indicate that their organizations are already using AI, as nearly nine in ten (86%) say their organization is currently using AI within its marketing activities.
AI is having a positive impact on organizations. Nearly four in five (78%) marketers and communications professionals who use AI in their organization say that AI has had a positive impact on their organization’s marketing efforts. Furthermore, 80% say it has positively impacted their own work. The research indicates that for marketers utilizing the technology, AI has had a positive impact on faster content generation (57%), enhanced personalization (55%), and improved customer engagement (52%).
This is not surprising given other research on how AI can decrease costs and increase revenues. One 2023 McKinsey survey found that 42% of surveyed organizations reported reductions in costs from implementing AI. Similarly, nearly three in five (59%) reported increases in revenue from implementing AI.
Impact of AI on Skills & Talent
AI is also impacting organizations from a talent perspective. As AI becomes increasingly integrated throughout marketing, communications, and other business activities, there will be a greater need for AI literacy and AI-related skills within the workforce. Nine in ten (93%) marketers say that the adoption of AI will result in new required skills. These skills include increased AI and machine learning tool proficiency (65%) and enhanced analytical and data interpretation skills (52%), among others.
Marketers expect AI to transform digital marketing and how their team operates, agreeing that it will:
- Transform digital marketing: 83%
- Reduce manual tasks and save time: 82%
- Change how their marketing team works: 81%
- Force marketers to be more data-driven: 80%
- Help their marketing team create better content: 80%
- Force marketers to be more creative: 78%
- Force marketers to focus more on organizational strategy and the big picture: 76%
- Facilitate better collaboration and communication across teams within their organization: 74%
This coincides with findings from other industry studies that have found that AI enables workers to finish tasks more quickly and improve the quality of their output. These studies also highlighted how AI can also have a useful role in bridging the skills gap between low- and high-skilled workers.
While it is clear that marketers believe AI will change the way the marketing team works, there are exciting opportunities from the implementation of AI within organizations, such as reducing manual tasks, creating better content, facilitating better collaboration within organizations, and forcing marketers to focus more on creativity and strategy.
Impact of AI on Creatives
Organizations are using generative AI throughout the creative process, from content ideation and brainstorming to creating visuals and writing copy. Nine in ten (90%) marketers who currently use AI at their organization think that generative AI has made their team’s creative work more impactful.
Marketing professionals agree that generative AI will play a major role in various parts of the creative process moving forward into 2024, including copywriting (85%), content ideation / brainstorming (83%), creating visuals (82%), executing creative campaigns (81%), and conceptualizing creative concepts (80%).
While there has been much enthusiasm and excitement around the opportunities AI enables throughout the marketing industries, some creatives have expressed concerns around what AI could mean for their roles in the industry. Top publications have explored this in depth, such as Forbes’ “The End of Originality: Is AI Replacing Real Artists?” and Harvard Business Review’s “How Generative AI Could Disrupt Creative Work”. This is top of mind for marketers and PR professionals. While three in five (61%) respondents think that AI will replace creatives in marketing in the next 2 years, three in ten (31%) disagree. Younger professionals are less likely to be fearful of AI – as only 37% of those under 34 agree in comparison to 67% of those aged 35-44 and 71% of those aged 55+.
However, creatives should take comfort in the fact that this is unlikely to happen. In actuality, many experts share the opinion that AI will bolster creatives, not replace them (ZDNet). While AI can save time and cut costs, content that is solely AI-generated can be of lesser quality and result in generic content. In some cases, AI can even result in inaccurate information, potential data security issues, or intellectual property problems. The verdict? AI will be integral in helping increase efficiency and production, but it will not replace the intangible benefits of human creativity that are necessary to an organization’s success.
Despite expressing fears around AI and job security, marketers and communications professionals acknowledge that human expertise will still be vital. Over half (55%) of respondents say human expertise will be more important than the technological attributes in unlocking the value of AI in marketing at their organization.
In conclusion, AI is greatly impacting and transforming the field of digital marketing. While marketing and PR professionals have expressed concerns and anxieties around the use of AI, when used properly, AI can help save time and cut costs. The opportunities AI enables will allow marketers and their organizations to be more creative, productive, innovative, collaborative, and strategic.
