After a year of widespread adoption of AI, marketers like what they see and plan to double their efforts in 2025. Ninety-four percent of marketers say AI technologies have had a positive impact on revenue in 2024, and 95% plan to increase investments in AI in the coming year, according to a new study of 600 marketers in the United States and the United States. UK by research firm Sago and conversation analysis software company Invoca.
Ninety percent of marketers, all working at companies with 100 or more employees, said they have budgets dedicated to AI technology for 2025.
Adoption of AI. Marketing leaders are leading by example in adopting AI. Fifty-four percent of executives and directors say they are experts in using AI tools – the same level as last year, according to Invoca.
But now that enthusiasm is trickling down to the lower ranks. This year, 43% of managers say they are experts in their knowledge of technology, compared to 32% in 2023.
Changes in perception. The adoption and refinement of AI over the past year is fueled by a positive shift in the perception of the tools.
When asked how their perception has changed over the past year, marketers responded:
- I am much more optimistic about AI (42%).
- I am a little more optimistic (50%).
- No change from last year (6%).
- Less optimistic (1%).
Additionally, 47% of marketers said they were much more interested in AI technology this year, with 43% somewhat more interested. Eight percent said their level of interest hadn’t changed over the past year, and 1% were less interested.
AI skills. Marketers recognize the positive impact of AI tools on their organizations and have upgraded their skills accordingly. The vast majority of marketers report being experts or advanced in these emerging technologies.
Here’s the breakdown of how marketers rated their own AI skills:
- 47% said they were experts.
- 45% say they are advanced.
- 7% said they were newbies.
None of the respondents reported being a beginner or non-user of AI technology.
Large organizations are leading the charge to attract and develop proven experts. Sixty percent of marketers at companies with 1,000 or more employees call themselves experts, while 40% at companies with fewer than 1,000 employees say the same.
Get hired. According to Invoca research, 94% of marketers say AI skills will be more important in the recruiting process in the future.
- 52% say AI skills will be much more important for hiring in 2025.
- 42% said AI skills would be somewhat more important.
- 5% said they would be about the same level of importance in hiring.
No one said AI skills would be less important in the coming year, the study found.
The complete Invoca study can be found here.
Why we care. Getting to grips with new AI tools appears to spark a high degree of optimism among marketers. This follows the “test and learn” mindset that marketers implement when updating all kinds of strategies and methods. Half of the respondents in this study said their experience with AI tools made them much more likely to increase their investments in AI. Another 44% said this experience makes them a little more likely to do so.
We’ll stay tuned to see if this concerted effort to understand AI within the organization will translate into greater customer trust on the customer side. The belief that AI tools have a positive impact on revenue certainly helps the cause.
Dig Deeper: Consumers are disappointed by AI experiences
