• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 30, 2023

Go-To-Market (GTM) teams face many hurdles, not the least of which is how to integrate and use artificial intelligence (AI), according to How Go-To-Market Strategies Are Evolving With AI, a study from Aptitude, conducted by Ascend2. 

Of the B2B professionals surveyed, 29% are using AI to a great extent, and 48% to some extent. Another 21% are using it very little, and only 2% are not using it at all.

Add it all up, and 77% of GTM leaders with access to AI are not yet using it to great extent on their jobs. 

What’s holding them back? They say: 

• We’re not sure where to implement AI or how it adds value — 51% 
• Concerns with data security — 41%
• Lack of leadership buy-in — 34% 
• Lack of technology/solutions that use it — 26%
• Issues with compliance/legal — 21% 
• Too difficult to implement — 19%

What’s more, those using AI are fairly new to the process. Of those polled, 30% have been utilizing it for less than six months and 54% have been using it for a period of time from six months to a year, with only 16% using it for more than one year. 

But they are racing to catch up: 36% say their budgets for AI will increase significantly in the coming year, and 59% expect moderate increases. Only 5% foresee moderate decreases. 

How are they using AI? They answer: 

• Measurement and analytics — 47%
• Market research and analysis — 43%
• Target audience segmentation — 42% 
• Marketing, sales, and customer success — 42%
• Content creation — 38%
• Lead generation and conversion — 30% 
• Forecasting — 23% 
• Testing and optimization — 27%
• Personalization — 25%

The respondents say that built-in AI technology is better, but not enough teams are using it. 

Those that are say built-in tech provides greater efficiency in: 

• Content creation — 86% 
• Measurement and analytics — 79% 
• Market research and analysis — 78%
• Lead generation and conversion — 76% 
• Forecasting — 76% 
• Target audience segmentation — 74%
• Testing and optimization — 70% 
• Market, sales, and customer success alignment — 69% 
• Personalization — 60%
• Messaging and positioning — 57%

In each of these cases, built-in AI far outperforms technology that does not have it. 

In general, GTM teams are trying to achieve the following:

• Efficiency — 56% 
• Target audience segmentation — 42%
• Market research and analysis — 40%
• Data utilization — 39% 
• Forecasting — 37% 
• Channel management — 25%
• Tech stack optimization — 15% 
• Data hygiene — 13% 

But they see room for improvement, depending on which department they are in. 

Marketing 

• Target audience segmentation — 56% 
• Efficiency — 47% 
• Market research and analysis — 45%

Sales

• Efficiency — 62% 
• Market research and analysis — 42% 
• Forecasting — 39%

Customer Success

• Efficiency — 60%
• Target audience segmentation — 44% 
• Data utilization — 44%

Ascend2 surveyed 275 Go-To-Market leaders in management roles and above in September 2023.. They work in companies that focus on B2B channels.