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Gartner Report Highlights the Deep Delta Between AI Hype and Results
A new Gartner report finds that while most CMOs expect AI to transform their roles, only 5% of marketers using generative AI are seeing business results.
Key Points
- A new Gartner report finds that while most CMOs expect AI to transform their roles, only 5% of marketers using generative AI are seeing business results.
- The report attributes the failure to poor strategy, noting that most organizations are simply adding AI to legacy systems instead of redesigning workflows.
- Gartner warns that widespread use of generative AI for tasks like market research is creating a "sea of sameness" and uninspired work.
- The findings place generative AI in the "trough of disillusionment" on Gartner's hype cycle, indicating that initial expectations have not been met.
According to a new Gartner report, AI agents are failing to deliver on their promise for marketers, with most organizations unprepared to get real value from the technology. While nearly two-thirds of CMOs expect AI to transform their jobs, a mere 5% of those using generative AI are seeing business results.
Peak hype, meet the trough: The report points to a failure of strategy, not technology. Most organizations are simply "bolting AI onto legacy systems," a tactic that's yielding little more than incremental gains. This disconnect has landed generative AI in the "trough of disillusionment" on Gartner's hype cycle, with AI agents sitting precariously at the "peak of inflated expectations."
A sea of sameness: The technological letdown comes as CMO responsibilities expand, often without a corresponding budget increase. Instead of being a solution, AI is creating new problems. Gartner finds that over 60% of marketers now use generative AI for market research, risking a "sea of sameness" by churning out generic, uninspired work.
The report's core message is that AI's true value lies in sharpening human thinking, not substituting for it. The goal is to transform the CMO's position into what Gartner vice president Ewan McIntyre calls "an influencer to a designer of business impact." But the disillusionment with AI isn't limited to marketing, as Gartner finds similar trends of inflated expectations in supply chain planning.
