Marketers Are Excited About GenAI, But Foggy On Business Impact
Generative AI is being heavily used in marketing efforts, with 75% of marketers currently using it in their day-to-day work. However, 90% of CMOs admit they don’t fully understand how the technology will impact their business processes, according to a new global study from SAS and Coleman Parkes Research.
Marketers are leaders in GenAI adoption, with 63% using the technology for tasks such as copywriting, editing, and content creation. The study found that 90% of marketers are investing in GenAI in 2025, with the majority hoping to use the technology to save time and costs, improve risk management and compliance, or more efficiently process large data sets.
While these companies are embracing popular GenAI functions like generating copy and interacting with customers, few are delving into its more sophisticated capabilities. Less than 20% of respondents have used the technology for audience targeting or building, mapping customer journeys, or price optimization.
Also read: Learn why Gartner says multimodal intelligence is the future of generative AI.
"It isn't surprising that marketers lead the way in GenAI adoption, as it lends itself to experimentation and creativity — both hallmarks of the marketing profession," SAS chief marketing officer and executive vice president Jenn Chase said in a statement. "However, it is disappointing that a lack of understanding of GenAI at the CMO and senior management level is holding organizations back from experiencing the full potential of this exciting new technology.”
Filling the Gaps: Education and a Strong Tech Foundation
Education and training, she said, are critical to overcoming this obstacle as GenAI usage not only increases productivity but can also improve customer experience and drive business growth.
Marketers who fully embrace GenAI are seeing a strong return on investment, with around 90% finding success with personalization, customer satisfaction and retention, processing large data sets, and improving the accuracy of their predictive analytics. Some marketers are getting ready to take bigger swings with the technology, with one in five anticipating using it for immersive applications like adaptive virtual reality.
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Beyond education, other concerns are limiting adoption, with 61% of marketers worried about how it will impact their data security and privacy. That’s because while one-third of organizations have a comprehensive governance framework for their data management, only one in 10 have similar guidelines for the use of GenAI.
"A significant gap exists between the art of what is possible with GenAI for martech and what is being accomplished today," SAS head of martech solutions marketing Jonathan Moran said in a statement. "The research highlights that most organizations across industries have significant work to do around GenAI education and enablement as well as data governance and compliance — and performing that work will aid in fostering trust between brand and consumer when it comes to the application of AI for marketing and customer experience pursuits."
