“AI doesn’t change the ‘why’ behind marketing, but it fundamentally changes the ‘how’ of marketing – the way marketing gets done.”
Mike Proulx, VP & Research Director at Forrester, Savanta webinar
In today’s AI-driven landscape, change – and the uncertainty that comes with it – is one of the biggest challenges we’re seeing marketing leaders face. How can marketing functions coexist alongside AI agents? How should CMOs structure their teams around these agents, and are they ready to let go some of their executional power? And more practically, how do you decide what tools to invest in when there is no established framework to evaluate and assess AI solutions against?
All this uncertainty leads to complexity, and Mike’s point that disruption is part of the process rings true here. CMOs must be ready to transition from strategists to high-level change agents, putting themselves in the driver’s seat of establishing an AI vision while integrating themselves in all fundamental decision-making processes.
Keeping pace with AI innovation
For marketing leaders, moving forward begins with clarity. Here’s what that looks like in practice across four key areas:
From boosting productivity to putting customers first, CMOs must build AI visions that complement their organisation’s overall goals. Ultimately, the AI vision should come down to accelerating growth and adding commercial value – and identifying the AI-powered tools and processes that can make that happen.
Before investing in new tools, CMOs must assess what Mike refers to on the webinar as ‘AIQ’. “This is your team’s readiness around AI,” Mike explains, “The skills, the risk factors, the concerns.” Upskilling is also crucial – teams should have at least a rudimentary understanding of how LLMs work to understand the solutions that they are confronted with.
With AI solutions, the rate of innovation is rapid, and keeping up with what’s new, why it works, and how it works is difficult. When assessing the capabilities of new solutions, CMOs should prioritise transparency – the ability to look into the black box and understand why and how a model is making decisions.
CMOs must be wary of misconceptions surrounding AI tools. Firstly, AI should not be drawing its own conclusions; decisions must remain human-led, with AI acting as just one voice in the process. Secondly, AI should not be utilised purely for speed; marketing leaders should lean on AI’s predictive capabilities to test new ideas and explore different audiences. And finally, more automation does not equal better insight.
So where should CMOs bet their marketing spend…
According to Mike, CMOs must start investing in AI that delivers better data and insight: “Insight about performance, insight about customers…all of these things need to be a starting point, anchoring AI in a customer-led approach.”
Several AI solutions put this into practice. Notably, virtual personas – also referred to as synthetic personas or digital twins – are enabling a range of emerging use cases within marketing. One example sits within the early-stage innovation process; marketing leaders can use these tools to build stronger hypotheses that lead to more effective creative planning and execution.
Another key area is work around target audiences. Rather than relying on rigid, hard-to-digest research outputs, these AI solutions give marketing teams interactive personas that they can test concepts on directly – essentially putting their target audience in their pocket.
…and what does ‘good’ look like?
By keeping consistent organisational KPIs and maintaining a clear productivity baseline, marketing leaders can see what levers are moving up and down as they continue to ramp up AI adoption. Marketing and effectiveness metrics should stay the same – AI just offers different tools to be able to hit those KPIs while creating new possibilities to drive evidence into decision-making processes.
What’s next?
“What we keep saying at Forrester is that AI is going to enable CMOs to enter a new level of growth accountability, giving them a seat at the business table.”
Mike Proulx, VP & Research Director at Forrester, Savanta webinar
As AI becomes increasingly embedded across marketing functions, CMOs now have the opportunity to shift their focus from execution to strategic growth leadership. Success now depends on having a clear vision, ensuring workforce readiness, and confidently assessing and adopting the right AI solutions to drive growth.
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