B2B marketing teams are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) across a variety of applications, according to a study by Forrester titled The State of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Adoption in B2B Marketing 2024.
The report reveals that 25% of B2B marketing teams are currently utilizing AI and ML in production, with an additional 24% employing these technologies for advertising and media purchasing. Similarly, marketing analytics and personalization efforts each see a 24% adoption rate, while predictive scoring is used by 23% of teams.
Other notable applications of AI and ML include chatbots and virtual assistants (22%), marketing automation and orchestration tactics (21%), social media intelligence and management (21%), segmentation (21%), and intent monitoring (20%).
Among these adopters, 23% are categorized as leading adopters, indicating a deeper and broader implementation of AI compared to their peers. Notably, 42% of these leading adopters have integrated generative AI systems into their operations, compared to only 11% of other respondents.
These advanced users primarily hail from technology-centric sectors such as high-tech manufacturing, IT services, and financial services. Forrester attributes this trend to the data-rich environments of these industries, which facilitate the effective utilization of AI technologies and emphasize the importance of strong data governance processes.
Challenges Facing AI Adoption
Despite their technological edge, many leading adopters face significant hurdles concerning generative AI, particularly regarding intellectual property (IP) protection and data privacy. A talent gap and data accessibility issues are also major concerns.
When asked about the most pressing challenges in meeting marketing goals within the next year, 25% of leading adopters cited poor data accessibility, in contrast to 19% of their counterparts. To address these data-related obstacles, leading adopters might consider establishing a data center of excellence. However, they exhibit less concern about aligning business objectives, with only 17% expressing this worry compared to 21% of other respondents.
Furthermore, recruiting suitable talent for AI initiatives poses a challenge; approximately 21% of leading adopters highlighted this concern, compared to 16% of all other respondents. Given the competitive landscape for AI talent, Forrester suggests that B2B marketers focus on upskilling their existing workforce.
Specific to generative AI, leading adopters face unique challenges: data privacy and security issues were identified as the primary concern by 34% of these firms, compared to 29% for non-leading adopters. Additionally, 27% reported difficulties integrating AI with existing infrastructure, while copyright worries affected 27% of leading adopters but only 18% of others.
A separate report from CleverTap highlights that 81% of marketers are currently utilizing GPT models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s AI Gemini. Of these marketers, 55% describe their organizations’ adoption of generative AI as partially integrated across various marketing functions.
Notably, content teams are the primary users of AI capabilities, with 71.4% of respondents acknowledging their reliance on these technologies for content creation. The implementation of AI has led to increased operational efficiency for 82% of respondents, streamlining workflows and automating content generation. Additionally, 54% of marketers reported faster content generation and campaign launches due to AI integration.
Other prevalent uses of AI in marketing include creating emotionally resonant content (43%), automating segment creation based on conversion likelihood (39%), and executing large-scale experiments (39%).
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