AI is transforming the way marketing works. It promises greater efficiency, faster execution and lower costs. But our latest CEO Blind Spot research suggests it’s also changing something more fundamental: how CEOs value the marketing function itself.
The challenge isn’t AI. It’s perception.
If CEOs already see marketing as a support function rather than a commercial growth driver, AI makes it easier to assume the function can simply be delivered faster, cheaper and with fewer people. That creates what we call the AI value trap: when AI is used not to enhance marketing’s commercial impact, but to justify reducing investment in the very capabilities that drive long-term growth.
AI is changing investment decisions
The numbers reveal just how quickly AI is influencing executive thinking.
- 75% of business leaders say they have already reduced marketing investment or headcount because of AI.
- 80% believe they can continue cutting marketing budgets without impacting business growth.
On the surface, those findings might suggest AI is simply making marketing more efficient. But dig a little deeper and a more concerning picture emerges.
The cuts aren’t limited to production tasks or administrative work. CEOs are reducing investment in thought leadership, market research, customer relationship building, strategic marketing planning and brand building—the very activities that help organizations understand markets, build trust and create future demand.
Efficiency shouldn’t come at the expense of growth
There’s no question that AI has enormous potential for marketers. Used well, it can improve productivity, automate repetitive tasks and free up time for higher-value work.
The danger comes when efficiency becomes the only measure of marketing’s value.
If marketing is viewed primarily as a support function, AI becomes an easy justification for cutting budgets and headcount. But reducing investment in strategic marketing doesn’t just make marketing leaner—it can weaken an organization’s ability to understand customers, strengthen its brand and identify new growth opportunities.
In other words, businesses risk saving money today at the expense of creating demand tomorrow.
AI should amplify marketing, not replace it
Our research suggests the real issue isn’t the technology itself. It’s the assumptions surrounding it.
When marketing’s commercial contribution is already difficult for CEOs to see, AI reinforces the belief that the function can simply do more with less. That’s why the AI value trap isn’t really about automation—it’s about undervaluing the strategic role marketing plays in driving business growth.
The opportunity for marketers is to demonstrate that AI doesn’t replace commercial thinking, customer insight or creativity. It strengthens them.
The organizations that gain the greatest advantage from AI won’t be those that use it solely to reduce costs. They’ll be the ones that combine AI with stronger strategy, deeper customer understanding and better commercial decision-making.
Because AI should make marketing more valuable—not make marketers easier to replace.
Want to know more about the other two blind spots? Download the full report here to find out more.
