Survey: 50% of Marketers Have No Plans to Use AI in Their Existing Strategies

Although artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow as a marketing tool, new research shows that many marketers are still hesitant to integrate it into their strategies.

Advertiser Perceptions recently published the results of a survey, asking 300 marketers and advertisers how they plan to utilize AI in the near future. According to their statistics, about 50% of respondents have no plans to use AI in their marketing strategies. This is 14% more than the 36% of marketers and advertisers who said the same back in April 2019.

“With AI, most have yet to see practical demonstrations of effectiveness,” said Frank Papsadore, EVP at Advertiser Perceptions. “Add to that uncertainty around privacy laws and the lack of guidelines or standard practices, and you have a recipe for hesitation.”

In 2020, respondents predict that they will use AI for advanced customer segmentation, media selection and buying, smart customer engagement, scaling marketing efforts, and to reset objectives based on results.

Marketers’ Current Use of AI

This is not the first batch of research to suggest that marketers have yet to unlock the full potential of AI. Previous data indicates that they are still learning to utilize this form of martech.

Albert and Forrester published the “Harnessing AI’s Potential” report, and statistics suggested that just 26% of marketers who have adopted an AI-driven marketing solution describe it as AI-autonomous, or collaborative in practice. This means that they collaborate with AI, rather than operate it.

Only 39% said that AI can play a role in creative development at their company, and just 34% believe it can provide insights into additional business functions.