There’s no shortage of hype around AI. From Gartner keynotes to LinkedIn threads, the message is loud and clear: if you’re not leveraging AI in marketing, you’re already behind.
But here’s what most brands are missing: AI is not the solution. It’s the multiplier.
It can amplify creativity, scale personalization and accelerate campaign execution - but only if the foundations are strong.
The hard truth? Most marketing teams aren’t structured to realise the promise of AI. They don’t have a tech problem. They have a people and process problem.
Most Brands Don’t Have a Tech Gap - They Have an Execution Gap
You’ve licensed the tools. You’ve sat through the demos. Maybe you even ran a pilot or two.
But your team is still:
Sound familiar?
That’s not a technology failure - it’s an operational one.
AI isn’t failing you. Your marketing operating model is.
AI performs at the level of your People and Processes
The marketing tech stack has become bloated and underutilised. On average, brands use only 33% of their martech capabilities. Why? Because the internal workflows can’t keep up.
Here’s what broken execution looks like:
And when AI enters that chaos, it doesn’t create order. It creates more noise.
To unlock AI’s potential, you need cohesive teams and streamlined processes - not just more software.
Redesigning Roles and Responsibilities Is Non-Negotiable
One of the most overlooked aspects of AI adoption? Org design.
Marketing teams need to revisit and redefine:
-
Who owns campaigns and triggers?
-
Who validates AI outputs?
-
Who adjusts strategy based on real-time feedback?
AI demands new roles - prompt engineers, data translators, automation leads - and sharper definitions of ownership.
Without clear accountability, you get duplicated work, missed opportunities and tools gathering digital dust.
Culture Eats AI for Breakfast
Every digital transformation lives or dies by cultural change. AI is no different.
If your team views AI as a threat or a side project or someone else’s job - it will fail.
You need to embed AI into how your team works, not just what they use. That means:
-
Creating incentives for AI adoption (carrots)
-
Enforcing new standards and expectations (sticks)
-
Celebrating wins, rewarding experimentation, and demoting outdated processes
Change management isn’t optional. It’s the strategy.
The New Equation: Data + People + Process + Tech
To realise the true value of AI, you need four elements working in harmony:
-
Data – Clean, connected, and compliant
-
People – Skilled, cross-functional, empowered
-
Process – Agile, iterative, execution-ready
-
Tech – Integrated, automated, AI-native
Most brands focus on the last. Leaders build all four.
How Leaders Can Fix the Foundations
Here’s how top CMOs and Heads of Digital are reinventing their operating models:
1. Stop Outsourcing Your Intelligence
Agency support is valuable. But if you’ve outsourced execution entirely, you’ll never move fast enough. AI works best inside your organization — not 12 rounds of feedback away.
2. Map the Execution Gap
From idea to activation, identify where momentum dies. Are your teams briefed late? Is asset production a bottleneck? Does personalisation stall at the tech layer?
3. Redesign for Real-Time
Modern marketing is real-time, not quarterly. Build workflows around velocity. Make test-and-learn loops the default. Use AI as an execution engine - not just an insights tool.
AI’s Real Potential? Unlocking Efficiency and Advantage
With the right operating model, AI enables:
This isn’t a hypothetical future. It’s happening now — but only inside brands willing to rethink how they work.
Don’t Just Adopt AI - Operationalize It
If you want results - real, measurable business outcomes - you need to redesign the system AI runs on.
That means:
Only then will AI live up to its promise.
%20(1).png?width=205&height=74&name=Data%20Agents%20Logo%20-%20Blue%20PNG%20(208%20x%2070%20px)%20(1).png)
Comments