It’s 2025 and Machine Learning is in full swing and the hot topic at every marketing conference across the globe. The rise of AI-powered martech (marketing technology) promises to make advertising better, accelerate creative development while deciphering large amounts of data, and make human-like decisions. Further proof: a recent report states that 80% of CMOs plan to increase spending on AI and data in 2025.
Over the last decade, marketing leaders have been inundated with data, unrealistic pressure to “make things viral,” measure everything, along with an evasive and evolving consumer.
It’s the perfect recipe for a technology that can analyse data at scale and optimise a near infinite amount of outcomes in milliseconds. Have we found the holy grail?
AI in its current form is very helpful but not magical…yet. From video production and copywriting to SEO and ad creation, AI can create a powerful co-pilot that can fast-track creative thinking, speed up processes, and enhance human ingenuity, accelerating strategic thinking rather than replacing it.
Let’s look briefly at how marketing got here:
From digital boom to data overload
The 2006 digital marketing boom promised a totally trackable experience for advertisers. From ROI to detailed cookie targeting, and optimised budget distribution. Yes, many of these promises came true, to some extent. Clicks, conversions, and cost-per-acquisition are now more accurate for digital marketers. E-commerce giants like eBay who spent millions on Google Search Ads and Facebook marketing overwhelmingly succeeded.
The pressure to be digital only with clear ROI was immense and the Creative Marketer was pushed out by the data gurus. However, this caused issues. Gartner Research in 2022 states that 60% of CMOs struggled to turn data into actionable insights. The quest for total attribution or clarity led to probabilistic modeling and confusion. ROI Multipliers dropped in some cases from 6:1 to 2:1 on some platforms. GDPR, Data privacy, cookie policies, VPN’s, and the rise of walled gardens like Facebook and Apple have drastically limited marketers from securing first-party data.
Here comes the robots!
The marketing landscape is constantly changing, but the lack of clarity and massive amounts of data have made it ripe for an AI revolution.
Machine learning can pull data, find trends and commonalities in large amounts of information. It can look at the data, learn from it, and discard without storage. It can understand client behaviours and preferred actions. Both Meta Ads Manager and Google Ads have shifted to AI-powered bidding tools, and their creative suite creates incredible ad imagery and copy in seconds.
The benefits from AI are easy to measure. Time savings, easy-to-understand insights, and the ability to scale.
- Savings with Automation –
AI-driven platforms can automate email marketing, creative design, and data mining. According to Deloitte, using AI automation reduced operating expenses for 71% of marketing professionals in 2023. - Decisions Based on Data –
Machine Learning can start to look at making decisions with the data at hand—guiding strategic moves, predicting outcomes, and measuring results. Budget allocation will always be a challenge that marketers have, and AI can help. There will be a shift from instinctive to data-based planning, leading to better outcomes for marketers. - Less with More –
Smaller teams will now be able to do more. With automating procurement deals, creative cold starts, and performance, they should be able to free up time to focus on what’s important: their customers. Mid-market companies who weren’t able to afford data scientists like P & G will now have the same capability at a fraction of the cost.
There is a lot of excitement around AI, but with anything there is a potential downside. Over-automation can lead to content similarities. Marketing has always been about zigging when others are zagging. AI creates content that has a high probability of being liked, therefore likely similar. Email subject lines and advertising that follow a similar ML script will likely create a boring experience for consumers. Using AI to create brand narratives and positioning is at a high risk for being copied and left behind.
With an over-reliance on performance, brands can easily lose their identities. Retaining a brand voice in an era of similarity will be key to success. Conversions may not reward human creativity, putting it on the chopping block for performance. Ultimately eroding brand identity and its unique selling points.
Additionally, with the rise of AI impersonating human creativity, scepticism is at an all-time high. Reddit forums are full of complaints about advertisers using AI and sharp-eyed sleuths calling them out. If consumers feel that AI is having their way with their personal data, they can feel violated and uneasy. A 2019 Pew Center research study found that 81% of Americans have no control over their data. AI will likely increase distrust and put consumers on the back foot, leading to the rise of Ethical AI. The good news is that this leads to studies showing that 70% of enterprise CMOs will prioritize ethical AI (privacy and secure data) in marketing by 2025.
Ethical AI
How do we integrate artificial intelligence without losing emotion? By keeping a human in the loop. AI is certainly the future and it will be at the forefront of science, technology, and many other industries. In marketing, keeping a human in the loop will add cultural significance, intuitive awareness, brand context, and certain areas of creativity that machines won’t understand. Creativity comes from thinking outside of the box and shocking a normal brain pattern to create a memorable experience. This will be difficult for AI. A real human marketer can curate, adjust, and find ideas that match brand values and audience behaviours in lockstep with their machine learning co-pilots.
Ethical AI is a new term for marketing. Reviewing each campaign and understanding the data it’s using are guardrails that will protect brands and help them navigate through a changing world.
AI will be great at predicting customer behaviours, but true creativity will turn touchpoints into memorable moments. Pioneering brands that use data for targeting and storytelling will stand out, where the machines will tell them who and when—it’s the creatives that will provide the why.
Where does AI in marketing go? Agentic, driverless, autonomous!
Agent hubs are on the rise, with platforms like SalesForces, Agent Force, HubSpots, Agent.ai, and Xenet.ai’s hub marketing agents that will plug in and do their jobs. The “agentic” or autonomous marketing world will open the door to data science agents, PR agents, creative agents, AB testers, and more—all to be run without human intervention. The top line strategy, creative execution, and overall direction will require humans in the loop.
The rise of AI will benefit Mid-market businesses the most. Large companies can and have hired data scientists for years, whereas small businesses were stuck with “set and forget” techniques in Google, Meta, and other platforms. An Agentic marketing tool, would deliver enterprise-level abilities at a lower cost. Think of it like an AI “data scientist agent” that understands, reviews, predicts, and decides every second.
The good news for martech: there is no winner-take-all. Results as a service will be on the rise. Disruptors will always be in the bush waiting to take out largely funded players. Money is no longer the advantage—it’s intelligence, timing, and strategy. Agents that show real ROI will be trusted partners in a $1trillion dollar industry.
Balancing AI and Human Ingenuity
In conclusion, CMO’s will benefit greatly from the advancements in AI. Automation will cut costs, time, and effort.
AI is not the panacea, but a symphony of tech and humans will lead the way. Good marketing demands creativity, intelligence, and strategy. An over-reliance on automation can water down a brand’s messaging, wear away unique positioning, and drive away customers.
AI is a great co-pilot, and it will drive precision and efficiency at scale, while humans in the loop will lead creativity and ethics. As agentic, driverless marketing grows, humans and algorithms must be balanced carefully. In a world of unlimited choice and limited budgets, marketing teams who use AI’s power without sacrificing the emotional connection to their brand will succeed.
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