Executive Decisions: AI Use In Marketing Driven More And More By Execs (New Study)

Late last year, I wrote about an AI in marketing study that seemed to show a ton of room for AI understanding, adoption, growth, and, ultimately, “sustained competitive advantage” amongst marketing executives who weren’t fully embracing the technology yet.

Now, a different study — by Lightricks and the American Marketing Association (AMA) — is painting a slightly different picture, with AI adoption up to 90% amongst the marketing executives surveyed, a “transformation … distinctly driven from the top down.”

“Unlike previous technological transformations in marketing, where adoption typically originated at the entry level and permeated upward, AI integration today is being led by executive leadership,” says the study, titled Leading From The Top: How Marketing Execs Are Driving AI Adoption.

(Source: Lightricks)

Almost half (48%) of the executives surveyed rated AI as important to their role, compared to 34% of entry-level marketers, while an even larger percentage of executives (55%) believe in AI’s creative potential, compared to 33% of entry-level marketers.

“This top-down approach presents both opportunities and challenges,” the report says. “While executive buy-in accelerates organization adoption and resource allocation, the hesitancy among entry-level staff highlights the need for more robust training and support systems.”

The study found contrast in AI uses between the two groups as well, with the executives “pioneering unexpected applications” such as design (37%), team-collaboration (35%), and audience targeting (32%). For entry-level marketers, the primary focuses were on “content-centric tasks” such as writing (43%), brainstorming (37%), content creation (31%), and editing (28%).

“While both groups show robust engagement with writing, executives are expanding AI’s role into more strategic areas of marketing operations,” the study says. “This disparity in advanced tool adoption suggests a significant opportunity for organizational growth. As executives pioneer these sophisticated applications, they’re not just enhancing their own capabilities – they’re mapping out the future landscape of marketing technology. Organizations that can effectively transfer this advanced knowledge and experience to their entry-level teams will be better positioned to scale their AI capabilities and maintain their competitive edge in an increasingly AI-driven market.”

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