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CMO anxiety levels about AI are dropping rather rapidly, according to a new study from Boston Consulting Group.
“Scaling GenAI in Turbulent Times,” which surveyed 200 CMOs in April and May, found that more than eight out of 10 respondents feel optimistic about the effects that generative AI will have on their work over the next few years.
While a majority of CMOs have been bullish on AI since the annual study was first conducted in 2023, the needle has moved considerably over the last two years—going from 74 percent in 2023 to 78 percent in 2024 and 83 percent this year.
As would be expected from those numbers, apprehension about AI, as well as outright rejection of it, are on a sharp downward turn. While close to half (46 percent) of respondents acknowledged anxiety about what AI might bring in the 2023 survey, less than a quarter (23 percent) did so this year.
In addition, the number of respondents who simply gave AI a thumbs-down dropped from 18 percent last year to eight percent this year.
A majority of survey respondents also indicated that they were ready to make a solid financial commitment to implementing AI, with 71 percent saying they planned to invest at least $10 million annually on GenAI over the next three years. Only 57 percent said that last year.
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The top place where they see that investment going is toward digital customer experience (33 percent), followed closely by marketing technology stacks (33 percent), content and applications (both at 30 percent).
AI’s ability to enhance customer experiences was viewed as a major benefit by respondents. They listed “quality of customer experience,” “increased volume and quality of personalized content” and “easier and faster access to quality customer insights” as the top three areas in which AI has made a transformative impact.
Such concerns as increased employee productivity and the speed of content creation were judged as less important than they were last year.
When it comes to content generation, the next frontier seems to be an increased focus on video. However, in day-to day usage right now, the heaviest use of AI is for the translation of text into multiple languages.
The use of AI agents to automate workflows is also addressed by the study as are the methods most likely to ensure that a marketing department has the right mix of GenAI talent and skills to meet its goals.
“We expect to see marketing organization adapting by addressing new skill needs, such as Gen AI optimization, and by shifting resources from manual work into more insight, innovation and experience design roles,” the study’s authors note.
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