• by Ray Schultz , April 3, 2019

B2B brands are interested in artificial intelligence, but few are implementing it, according to The State Of Artificial Intelligence In B2B Marketing, a study by DemandMetric in partnership with DemandBase and Pardot.

This could be hurting their ability to use email to move prospects through the funnel. 

Of the B2B marketing executives polled, 24% are evaluating AI and 22% are implementing it. But only 18% are now employing it. In addition, 20% are planning to try AI, but 11% have no plans to adopt it, and 5% are not sure.

Of those who use marketing technology, 45% value it as very high, as do 60% of those who utilize sales technology.

In contrast, few of the non-users rated marketing technology as very high along, and 24% feel the same way about their sales technology. 

Advertising technology is not yet rated highly by either group.

The biggest single barrier to AI use is money — 55% cite cost/budget constraints. Another 52% are hindered by the skill sets of their teams.

In addition, 31% are unsure about how to begin, and 16% complain about the complexity, while 11% don’t see the value or the need for AI.

On the positive side, 70% of the B2B marketing teams have data scientists on board.

Of those polled, 64% hope that AI will help them identify the right accounts or individuals to target. And 54% expect it will improve the reach or efficiency of digital advertising.

Another goal, cited by 46%, is to capture intent signals from accounts or individuals. A mere 14% hope to personalize the website in real-time. 

Meanwhile, marketers expect these benefits from AI: 

Higher quality leads/opportunities — 67%

Better engagement with prospects and customers — 56%

Better understanding of buyer intent — 52%

Higher conversion rates — 50% 

More efficient ad spend — 40%

Pipeline acceleration — 38%

Better omnichannel attribution — 27%

DemandMetric surveyed over 100 B2B marketing and sales people about their understanding and usage of AI.