Salesforce’s State of Marketing - AI dominates the agenda, but data still holds Marketers back

Salesforce’s latest State of Marketing confirms what most marketers already know: marketing is undergoing major changes driven by rising customer expectations, rapid advances in AI, and expanding data ecosystems. But just because they know things are changing doesn’t mean they are prepared, or are even sure what to do.

The research, based on a double-blind survey of 4,450 Marketing professionals across 26 countries, shows that Marketing faces a dual challenge of innovating with AI and meeting customer needs. These two things actually go hand in hand because, when done right, it’s AI that can help improve customer experiences.

Looking at the top challenges and priorities for Marketers, AI takes the top two spots: implementing and operationalizing AI, and adapting to AI’s impact on Marketing.

It seems the priority is first improving operations and helping Marketers be more efficient, particularly through AI tools and technology. 76 ...