2024年营销主管AI情绪报告

ExecutiveSummary

Conversicacommissionedasurveyof454marketingleadersattheCMO,VP,andexecutivelevelsregardingtheutilizationofAIinmarketingoverthepastyear,plansforthenext12months,topmarketingusecasesforgrowthandgeneralAItrustsentiment.

KeyFindingsInclude

71%ofrespondentsusedAIfordatagatheringandanalysisinthepast12months,whileonly40%utilizedAIforfunnelefficiency

89%reportedthatAI-driveninitiativesdirectlycontributedtoanincreaseinrevenueinthelastyear

ThoseplanningtouseAIforinboundfollow-upandoutboundleadgenerationwereevenmorelikelytohaveseenrevenueincreaseslastyear(95%and92%,respectively)

89%ofrespondentsplantoincreaseinvestmentinAItoolsorexplorenewAIapplicationsinthenextyear

MarketingexecsbelieveAItechnologieshavethegreatestpotentialtoimpactthemiddleofthefunnel(44%),withleadnurtureandqualificationtoppingtheirlistofusecaseswiththegreatest

impactonconversionrates(45%)

OveralltrustinAIintheorganizationismoderatelyhigh,with45%reportingcompletetrustand44%sometrust

AI'sabilitytodelivertrustworthy,brand-accurateinformationwasthetopconcernforconversationalAIusecases

Thereportdelvesintoeachquestion'sresults,highlightingtrends,concerns,andopportunitiesidentiiedinthedata.

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IntroducingtheMarketingExecutiveAISentimentSurveyReport

Overthepast12months,themarketinglandscapehaswitnessedasignificantevolutionin

theadoptionandexperimentationwithArtificialIntelligence(AI)technologies.Thisperiodhasservedasafoundationalstage,whereorganizationsacrossindustrieshavebeenexploring

thecapabilitiesofAIinvariousmarketingfunctions.Fromcontentcreationtodataanalysisandcustomerservice,AIhaspermeatedintodiverseaspectsofmarketingoperations.

Aswetransitionintothenext12months,thefocusshiftstowardsrefiningAIstrategies

andharnessingitsfullpotentialtodelivertangiblereturnsoninvestment.Oursurveyof454executiveleadersworkinginMarketingrevealsaresoundingacknowledgmentofAI'srole,with95%ofleadersalreadyintegratingAIintotheirmarketingendeavors.What'smore

compellingisthatthoseleveragingAIarenotmerelytestingwatersbutarereapingconcretereturnsfromtheirAIinitiatives:nearly9in10reportedseeingincreasesinrevenuedirectlytiedtoAIlastyear.

AstrikingfindingfromouranalysisisthecorrelationbetweenspecificAIusecasesand

revenuegrowth.MarketingleadersplanningtouseAIforinboundleadresponseand

outboundleadgenerationinthenext12monthsweremorelikelytohaveseenadirect

increaseinrevenueattributedtoAIuselastyear.ThisemphasizesthestrategicimportanceofaligningAIapplicationswithrevenue-drivingactivities,signalingashifttowardsmore

targetedandresults-orientedAIstrategies.

Despitethepositivelinkbetweenfunnel-focusedAIusecases,funnelefficiencyoverallis

anuntappedareaformostMarketingexecutives.OurdatarevealsthatwhileAIusagefor

contentcreationanddataanalysisisprevalent,funnelefficiencyremainsunderrepresented.ThispresentsasignificantopportunityformarketingleaderstocapitalizeonAI'spotentialfor

optimizingfunnelmovementandconversions,thusreshapingthefuturelandscapeofAIinmarketingbeyondcontentcreation.

Inthisreport,wedelvedeepintothesurveyfindings,uncoveringinsights,trends,and

actionablestrategiesformarketingleaderstonavigatetheevolvingAIlandscapeeffectively.FromunderstandingthecurrentstateofAIadoptiontoidentifyingkeyareasforstrategic

focus,thisreportservesasaguideforunlockingthefullpotentialofAIindrivingmarketingsuccess.

TheLastYearinAIforMarketing

Contentcreation

Datagatheringandanalysis

Automationofinternalprocesses

Customerservice

Funnelefficiency

Nouse

AItoolsinthepast12mos

Inthepast12months,whatfunctionsdidyourMarketingorganizationleverageArtificialIntelligencetechnologiesformostoften?

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

TheAItakeoverofMarketingiswellunderway:lessthan5%ofmarketingexecutivesreportedthattheyhadnotusedAItoolsinthepast12months.

Ofthe95%majority,7in10utilizedAIfordatagatheringandanalysis,makingitthemost

commonlyleveragedfunction.Automationofinternalprocesses(65%),contentcreation(64%),andcustomerservice(62%)alsoemergedassignificantusecases.Theseanswerscorrelatewithareas

wherespecializedAItoolshavebeenonthemarketforlonger,indicatingthatadoptionhasnaturallyfollowedthetechnologycurve.

AIforfunnelefficiency,however,showedlesspopularityamongourrespondents,with40%indicatingtheyleveragedthisAIusecase.ThisgaprevealsapotentialareaforincreasedAIadoptionandoptimizationwithinmarketingoperations.

ContributionsofAItoRevenue

HaveAI-driveninitiativescontributedtoanincreaseinrevenueatyourorganization?

Yes

No

Unsure

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Anoverwhelmingmajorityofrespondents(89%)reportedthatAI-driveninitiatives

contributedtoanincreaseinrevenueattheirorganizations.ThishighpercentageindicatesthesignificantimpactAIishavingonrevenuegenerationwithinmarketingoperationsoverall.

Thepercentagereportinganincreaseinrevenuewasevenhigheramongexecutiveswith

planstouseAIforleadconversion-relatedusecasesinthenext12months(Q7):95%of

thosewhoexpectAItorespondandengagewithinboundleadsattheirorganizationthisyearsawAI-sourcedrevenueincreaseslastyear,withthoseplanningtouseAIforoutboundleadgenerationclosebehindat92%.Weseethisasastrongindicationofthecorrelationbetweenfunnel-focusedAIusecasesandrevenuegrowth.

ConfidenceinAIEffectiveness

How

organization

confidentareyouinyourabilitytomeasuretheeffectivenessoftheAItechnologyyourcurrentlyleverages?

Very

Somewhat

Notatall

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MarketingexecutivesaregenerallybullishontheirabilitytomeasuretheeffectivenessoftheAItechnologytheyuse.61%reportaveryhighlevelofconfidence,andanother35%saytheyaresomewhatconfident.GiventhatthemajorityofrespondentsreportedusingAIfordatagatheringandanalysisinthefirstplace,thispositiveperceptionmakessense.

However,thereweresomevariationswithincertaingroups.RespondentswhosaidthatAIhadnotcontributedtorevenueincreasesattheirorganizationlastyearweresignificantlyless

confidentintheirabilitytomeasureAIeffectiveness:only20%ofthisgroupratedthemselvesas“very”confident.

OveralltrustinAI’sabilitytoactautonomouslyintheirorganizationalsocorrelatedwithahigherconfidenceinmeasuringeffectiveness:75%ofrespondentswhosaidtheyhave

completetrustinAItoactautonomouslyintheirorganizationalsoreportedthattheywereveryconfidentintheirabilitytomeasureitseffectiveness.

WeseethesevariationsassignsthatthemoreinsightMarketingleadershaveintoAI’simpactandeffectiveness,themorelikelytheyaretoseesuccessandfurthertheiradoption.

Transparencyleadstotrustandmoresophisticatedusecasesthatactivelygeneraterevenuefortheorganization.

MarketingExecutives’FutureAIPlans

WhichofthefollowingbestdescribeshowyouanticipateyourMarketingteam'sAIstrategywillevolvethisyear?

Increased investment inAItoolsusedpreviously

Exploringor testingnewAIapplications

Decreased investment inAItoolsusedpreviously

Nochange

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Oncerespondentsgaveusaclearviewoftheirlast12monthsofAIadoption,wewantedtoknowmoreabouttheirfutureplans.Overwhelmingly,Marketingexecutivessaidtheyaregrowing

theiruseofAI.

9outof10respondentsplantoincreaseinvestmentinAItoolsthattheyarecurrentlyusing(46%)orexplore/testnewAIapplications(44%)inthenextyear.ThisdemonstratesastrongcommitmenttoadvancingAIstrategieswithinmarketingdepartments.

Perhapsunsurprisingly,thosewithmoretrustinAItoactautonomouslyweremorelikelytoplananincreaseininvestmentinAItoolstheyarecurrentlyusing(57.5%).ThisgroupwasalsolesslikelytoexploreortestnewAIapplications—theyknowwhatworksandthey’redoubling

down.AsMarketingexecutivesfindAItechnologytheylikeandgainmorefamiliaritywithit,theycantakegreateradvantageofthescalabilityofthesetools—there’smoretrustingiving

technologyyouknowgreaterautonomythananewinvestment.

ThisunderscoresthestrategicimportanceofadoptingtherightAItoolstogetthemostoutoftheiruse,drivinginnovationandgainingcompetitiveadvantageinMarketing.

MostAnticipatedAIUseCases

Enhancedpersonalization&segmentation

Improvedreal-timeengagement&responsivenesstoleads

Scaling outboundmarketingforleadgeneration

Optimizingmessagingandcontent

Converting leadsintoopportunities

Noplan touseAI forfunnel-relatedactivities

Inthenextyear,whateffectsdoyouanticipateAIwillhaveonyourorganization’sfunnel?

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Improvedreal-timeengagementandresponsivenesstoleads(65.5%)andscalingoutboundmarketingforleadgeneration(59.5%)toppedthelistforrespondents’plannedAIusecasestoimpactthefunneloverthenext12months.

BotharefocusedonapplyingAItohigherfunnelusecases,suchaswhatconversationalAIsolutionsoffer.However,only30%expectAItohelptheirteamconvertleadsintoopportunitiesthisyear.

Optimizingmessagingandcontent(55%)andhadamiddlingresponse,potentiallyindicatingalukewarmtakeontheproliferationofplug-insandadd-onsfortextgenerationtoolslikeChatGPT.

AI’sPotentialforFunnelImpact

usecasedoyouthinkhasthegreatestabilitytoimpactconversionrates?

WhichAI

Inboundfollow-up

Leadnurture&qualification

Targetaccountoutreach

Personalizationofcontentandoffers

Other

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Topofthefunnel

Middleofthefunnel

Bottomofthefunnel

PostSale

Don’tbelieveAIimpactsthefunnel

AI’sPotentialforFunnelImpact

Whatstage

ofthef

unneldoy

outhinkAI

technol

ogieshave

thegrea

testability

toimpact

positive

ly?

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Lookingbeyondtheirownimmediateplans,nearlyhalf(45%)ofMarketingleadersratedlead

nurtureandqualificationastheAIusecasewiththehighestpotentialtoimpactconversionrates.Inboundfollow-up,whichthegroupselectedastheirtopplannedusecaseoverthenextyear,wasadistantsecondwhenitcametopotentialconversionrateimpact,withlessthanaquarterplacingitatthetopoftheirlist.

TherankingsoftopusecasesroughlyalignwithMarketingexecs’perceptionsofAI’spotentialpositiveimpactonfunnelstages.Justover44%said“Middleofthefunnel:QualifyingandconvertingleadstoSalesopportunities”wasthestagewhereAItechnologycoulddothemostgood,whichcorrelatestotheleadnurtureandqualificationusecasetheyratedmosthighlyinquestion8.

Thismayseemlikeacontradictionfromthegroup’sresponsesinquestion7,whereonly30%saidtheyexpecttheirAIusetohelpthemconvertleadsintoopportunitiesoverthenextyear.However,this

misalignmentmayindicatethatMarketingexecutivesrecognizethepotentialofAItoimpact

lead-to-opportunityconversionwhilelackingtheabilitytoapplyitattheirownorganizationinthecomingyear.

TrustinAI

WhenthinkingaboutyourplannedapplicationsofAItechnologyoverthenextyear,howmuchdoyoutrustAItoactautonomouslyinyourorganization?

Trustcompletely

Trustsomewhat

Someconcerns

Significantconcerns

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AIautonomyisatrickyarea.OneofthekeybenefitsofAIinbusinessisscalability.Buttotake

advantageofthatscalability,MarketingleadersmustbeabletotrustAIenoughtoallowittoactonitsown:insertingalargeamountofhumanoversightintotheequationcancelsoutmanyoftheefficiencygainspromisedbyAIadoption.

Overall,wefoundMarketingexecutiveshaveadecentleveloftrustinAIattheirorganizationinthenextyear.45%saytheyhavecompletetrustinAItoactautonomouslyintheirorganizations,while44.5%trustAIsomewhat.Only11%reportingsome(9%)orsignificantconcerns(2%).

IfwereturntothecorrelationbetweentheAItrustquestionandconfidenceinabilitytomeasureeffectiveness,wefindthatthosewhoweresomewhatornotatallconfidentintheirorganization’sabilitytomeasureAI’seffectivenesswereabouthalfaslikelytoreporthightrustinAI