Gartner Finds a Major Gap Between AI Hype and Reality for Marketers

While 65% of CMOs expect AI to fundamentally transform their jobs, a scant 5% are actually seeing business results from the technology, according to a new Gartner report first shared with Marketing Dive. The chasm reveals a widespread failure to unlock AI's promised value, largely because companies are superficially adding AI to old systems rather than truly re-engineering their operations.

• A fresh coat of paint: The problem isn't a lack of trying, but a failure of deep integration. Many leaders are simply "bolting on" AI tools to legacy systems, a superficial approach that's proving ineffective as CMOs are now also held accountable for the entire customer journey and commercial results—often without a bigger budget.

• The attention crisis: The challenge is compounded by what Gartner calls a "customer attention crisis." Generative AI is disrupting traditional channels like search and social, pushing marketers to adopt a 'zero-based' strategy that forces them to justify every single customer touchpoint.

• From influencer to architect: The firm warns the CMO role is changing from a brand influencer into a "designer of business impact." As part of this change, CMOs must now build hybrid human-AI teams focused on creating authentic value.

Human touchpoints will become rarer, and getting them right matters more than ever. The pressure to adapt to AI isn't unique to marketing, with Gartner also outlining critical trends for sales leaders to address in the new landscape. This AI-driven disruption is also forcing a wider corporate reckoning with trust, as Gartner predicts half of all enterprises will need to invest in disinformation security by 2027. This reflects a broader crisis of confidence in technology's value, with another report finding that 90% of board directors lack confidence in their company's metrics.