2025 was the year of AI — especially for marketers. Everywhere you looked, new tools were promising AI-powered shortcuts, “experts” were selling courses on every social platform, and articles were piling up insisting that anyone who didn’t master AI was basically doomed. With all that noise, it’s tough to cut through the hype and understand what’s actually happening. What’s working? What’s slowing teams down? And what are top performers doing differently?
To make sense of it all, I went straight to the research. I pulled recent findings from Gartner, McKinsey, Adobe, HubSpot, and others to understand the state of AI in marketing today. Some of the stats are energizing, some are a little bleak, but together they paint a clearer picture, one that can help marketers make grounded, strategic choices instead of getting swept up in the hype.
By the Numbers: How AI Is Driving Marketing Performance
Stats at a Glance: Investments in generative AI (GenAI) are driving measurable ROI, including improved time efficiency (49%), cost efficiency (40%), and greater capacity to produce content or handle business (27%), with only 1% of CMOs considering GenAI a low priority.
What It Means for Marketers: AI is proving its value in real business terms. Using the tool can help marketers save time, reduce costs, and scale content production, making it an essential resource when it comes to gaining a competitive advantage.
Source: Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey
Stats at a Glance: 71% of organizations regularly use generative AI (up from 65% in early 2024), with marketing and sales among the top functions adopting the technology. GenAI is also applied in product development, service operations, software engineering, and IT — areas where it can deliver the most value — though adoption varies by industry and company size.
What It Means for Marketers: AI is becoming mainstream in marketing and sales. Early adoption offers opportunities to innovate, gain insights, and streamline operations, but marketers need to prioritize integration and strategy to capture full value.
Source: McKinsey Global Survey on AI
Stats at a Glance: 78% of senior marketers are expected to drive growth using data and AI. Additionally, 44% are facing increased demands to boost engagement and conversions, and 43% are expected to scale content output while maintaining personalization and relevance.
What It Means for Marketers: Marketers who leverage AI effectively will meet rising expectations for engagement, personalization, and content scale, while those lagging risk falling behind.
Source: Adobe 2025 AI and Digital Trends
Stats at a Glance: Marketers are using AI primarily for content creation, data analysis, research, brainstorming ideas, and learning new skills. 25% of marketers plan to leverage AI to transform text-based content into multimedia campaigns, while 20% aim to use AI agents to automate marketing workflows from strategy through execution.
What It Means for Marketers: AI can enhance both creativity and efficiency. Marketers can experiment with AI to streamline workflows, diversify content formats, and free up time for strategic work.
Source: HubSpot 2025 State of Marketing Report
Stats at a Glance: 28% of B2B marketers and 43% of pacesetters are experimenting with AI agents. A small but growing group already considers AI agents core to their strategy. Among those experimenting, 52% report improved operational efficiency, 21% better customer engagement, and 19% stronger campaign performance and ROI.
What It Means for Marketers: Advanced AI adoption, including agents, can drive measurable business results. Teams that experiment strategically can improve efficiency, boost engagement, and strengthen overall marketing ROI.
Source: Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Content and Marketing Trends: Insights for 2026
Stats at a Glance: In B2B organizations, marketing and sales teams rely on AI agents for lead management, customer support, and operational tasks. Reflecting this momentum, 33% of CMOs say AI agents will be a key priority for budget investment.
What It Means for Marketers: AI agents are becoming strategic assets. Marketers can use them to streamline complex workflows, support lead and customer management, and allocate resources toward higher-value activities.
Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report, How CMOs Are Scaling GenAI in Turbulent Times
Stats at a Glance: Consumers are largely receptive to generative AI in marketing, with only 13% expressing negative feelings. Additionally, 74% of consumers familiar with generative AI feel positive about its use in marketing, compared to 42% of those less familiar.
What It Means for Marketers: Familiarity with AI increases customer acceptance. Marketers should educate and engage audiences on AI-driven experiences to maximize adoption and positive sentiment.
Source: Accenture Technology Vision 2025 Executive Survey
Stats at a Glance: AI is being used by marketers for both strategy and creativity. Predictive analytics, used by 46% of companies, helps forecast trends and customer behavior, while 43% leverage AI for creative evaluation, assessing the effectiveness of visuals and messaging.
What It Means for Marketers: AI enables more informed decision-making. Marketers can combine data-driven insights with creative evaluation to optimize campaigns, improve targeting, and measure effectiveness.
Source: Nielsen Annual Marketing Report 2025
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