Marketing's AI Moment: From Novelty to Core Strategy

Marketing teams in many organizations have been experimenting with generative artificial intelligence to reshape how they design, personalize, and deliver campaigns. Some major brands have already seen noteworthy results two years into adopting these tools.

Retailers, for example, are now using generative AI to define more precise customer segments, generate content on demand, test variations quickly, and align recommendations with each individual's preferences. Companies that have embraced AI-powered targeted campaigns often achieve 10% to 25% higher returns on advertising spend. One striking instance is the craft website Etsy's "gift mode," which relies on user data to assign gift recipients to one of more than 200 personas and provide tailored product suggestions. Travel platform Booking.com has also deployed AI-driven features to streamline trip planning, helping customers find accommodations that fit their criteria, analyze guest reviews, and book with added confidence. Consumer goods giant P&G uses AI to reconcile differences between how consumers say they behave and what they do. By analyzing real-time data from smart devices such as the Oral-B iO toothbrush, P&G refines its product development pipeline and customizes product lines to match customer preferences. Even in regulated sectors—financial services, healthcare, and telecommunications—leading firms are seeing strong results while addressing legal and privacy obligations.

Yet the road to large-scale adoption remains challenging. Complex digital ecosystems and growing pressure for ever more tailored customer experiences can overwhelm marketing teams, especially when Chief Financial Officers and Chief Executive Officers push Chief Marketing Officers to deliver more innovation with fewer resources. These constraints make it imperative for senior marketing leaders to move past pilots and start weaving generative AI into their data, technology, and marketing processes (see Figure 1).

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Where generative AI is paying off

Early adopters of generative AI already report measurable benefits. Many have accelerated time-to-market for campaigns by up to half. Others have cut the time needed for content creation by 30% to 50%, while others have improved click-through rates on personalized campaigns by as much as 40%. According to a recent survey by Santiago & Company involving more than 180 large US enterprises, 27% of respondents stated that generative AI had outperformed or significantly outperformed their marketing expectations (see Figure 2).

Looking to the next deployment phase, four core marketing areas offer the most promise, though each organization must prioritize based on its goals and not just the technology's allure. The first area is workflow simplification, where teams streamline tasks such as concept drafting, content translation, brand compliance checks, and asset tagging. The second is content creation and personalization, in which generative AI automates writing, image production, and creative variations. The third involves customer insights and intelligence, real-time analytics and segmentation forecasting customer behavior, and digital twins that help marketers rapidly test new ideas. Finally, generative AI can analyze campaign performance and incorporate unstructured data to refine strategies in measurement and optimization.

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These advances are already transforming how brands interact with consumers, assuming that deployment can happen at scale (see Figure 3). Realizing this potential, however, demands a deliberate concentration of resources on select high-impact opportunities rather than spreading budgets thin across countless proofs of concept. Marketing teams must also enhance their AI literacy and modernize their working methods to ensure widespread acceptance of these powerful tools.

Five ways to gain an edge

Many leading marketers have found that five practical approaches accelerate their teams' mastery of generative AI.

First, they commit to bold ambitions and specific outcomes instead of focusing on narrow use cases. Too often, marketing efforts revolve around small, incremental steps that fail to unlock the technology's transformative potential. Effective CMOs set measurable targets—operational, customer-focused, or financial—and require their teams to deliver on them. A global financial institution, for instance, aimed to cut campaign time to market by 50%. This clear objective spurred initiatives in AI-driven content creation, a revamp of the core marketing technology platform, and the infusion of AI into day-to-day workflows. Likewise, a media company set out to expand personalization by using generative AI to draft communications for different customer segments. These communications combined tailored text and graphics that reflected shifting market trends. The result was a remarkable boost in click-through rates—between five and seven times higher than before—and the company has now embedded these practices in everyday tasks.

Second, these organizations zero in on significant opportunities rather than allowing countless experiments to dilute their impact. While preliminary proofs of concept help build trust in new methods, teams ultimately need to bring fewer AI solutions to production and prove their scalability. This move away from pure experimentation enables faster iteration and tangible progress. One consumer bank, for example, used generative AI to accelerate the creation of personalized content for its paid search and social media campaigns. Through a single creative assistant, it cut production times by 75% and uncovered a chance to increase new accounts by 20% to 25% if the experiments were expanded more broadly.

Third, they design AI solutions with the user in mind. Technology adoption sputters when solutions clash with established routines, or internal IT departments push tools that marketers find irrelevant. Marketing leaders who collaborate with their data and technology counterparts ensure that the proper workflows are identified and improved. One financial services firm recruited "super users" to help build an AI-driven content tool, and these influencers evangelized the system among their peers. The company secured genuine buy-in by aligning design and training with job responsibilities.

Fourth, these marketers never stop learning and constantly raise the bar on what AI can deliver. Although many marketing teams possess a basic grasp of generative AI, few have thoroughly invested in training staff to use it at scale. The most successful companies tailor instruction to specific roles, from creative production to data analysis. A media company made AI progress a standing topic in weekly team meetings, trained marketers on effective prompts and asked them to test new approaches in daily tasks. As CMOs see teams progress, they should push for more profound transformations in how work is performed. Simply issuing generative AI licenses like ChatGPT Enterprise without a plan for major behavioral shifts will accomplish little.

Fifth, they expand their ecosystem of partners. Navigating marketing technology vendors has only grown more complicated as providers vie for the leading edge in AI solutions. Specialists can absorb some tasks that once fell to creative or media agencies, but the vendor landscape remains fragmented. The best tactic is to experiment with more minor, marketing-specific firms—many have already begun trials with platforms like Adobe, Jasper, Synthesia, or Typeface—and identify strong fits for large-scale initiatives. Because agencies are also innovating in this space, marketing teams should stay current on all relevant advances, knowing that not everything can be built in-house.

Generative AI is no longer a novelty

It is rapidly becoming a necessity in marketing. Cutting-edge organizations are already thinking beyond immediate benefits. Some prepare for fundamental changes in how customers search for information, while others explore marketing tactics aimed at bots and people. For those still running only a handful of pilot programs, now is the time to expand these initiatives and realize meaningful gains in productivity, personalization, and return on investment. By investing boldly and acting decisively, marketing leaders can harness the true potential of generative AI and redefine how they engage with their customers.

Now is the moment to harness generative AI and reshape your marketing strategy for lasting growth. By defining ambitious goals, focusing on the most critical use cases, and cultivating a culture of constant learning and experimentation, you can deliver tailored customer experiences while boosting efficiency and ROI. Collaborate with trusted partners such as Santiago & Company, invest in cutting-edge technologies, and empower your teams to explore the full potential of data-driven insights. The path to standout results is clear—take the next step and transform your organization’s marketing future.