• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 20, 2023

The top barriers to the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in marketing are varied. Some 56% of marketers participating in a Gartner survey said the gaps in skills rate highest, while 47% cite unforeseen security threats, and 43% cite integrations with existing technology.

Gartner’s data on the use of GAI by brands in marketing, released Thursday, identifies content marketing as the leading marketing function using GAI. Seventy-six percent of survey participants cite content marketing as the leading marketing function, while 43% cite product marketing, 37% cite customer experience, 36% cite lead generation, and 31% cite advertising.

Not surprisingly, the most commonly selected areas of marketing include content production at 58%, drafting social-media copy at 52%, and generating ad copy at 45%.

Some 56% of marketing leads cite improved speed to market as a benefit they have seen, or expect to see, from GAI deployment. Fifty-three percent cite improved productivity second most benefit, followed by 41% who cite improved flexibility.

Marketers clearly use GAI for all types of functions within the marketing funnel. Some use GAI for more than one function, including:  

• Create customer satisfaction surveys -- 26%
• Create marketing playbooks -- 24%
• Create sales play books -- 19%
• Draft vendor recommendation letters -- 10%
• Other -- 1%

Overall, more than 64% of marketers are already deploying or piloting AI and machine learning (ML) more broadly than GAI. Nearly all marketers agree that GAI will become a standard for marketing teams' tech stacks within four years.

The data also shows that two-thirds of consumers are concerned about discrimination or bias in GAI.

The good news for CMOs is that consumers are more comfortable with the use of GAI in marketing than in other sectors.

About 53% of consumers believe that GAI will have a strong or somewhat negative impact on society.