Report: 50% of Marketers Still Say They’re ‘Beginners’ When It Comes to AI

Although many marketers have already begun to explore the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can be used in the workplace, new research suggests that most would still consider themselves beginners in this space.

The Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute and Drift recently published the “2021 State of Marketing AI” report, and statistics showed that the majority of marketers (50%) still call themselves “beginners” in terms of their understanding of AI terminology and capabilities. Approximately 37% said they were “intermediate,” while only 13% said they were “advanced.”

In terms of confidence level when it comes to evaluating AI-powered marketing technology, most marketers (40%) ranked themselves as “medium.” About 24% ranked themselves as “low,” while only 23% gave themselves a “high” ranking, suggesting that there is still more work that needs to be done.

Ramping Up Investment in Marketing Technology

Despite the challenges associated with AI and marketing technology as a whole, previous research indicates that marketers aren’t willing to give up just yet.

TOPO conducted its “Marketing Technology Report,” and statistics showed that most marketers (27%) intend to “increase” their investment in marketing technology by at least 21% in the next 12 months. Nearly 26% said that they will boost their investment in this area by between 11% and 20%, and about 16% claimed that they would increase their marketing technology investment by between 1% and 10%.

CRM (100%), marketing automation (98%) and webinar (88%) are the most common forms of martech that marketers cite using on a regular basis.