The future of AI in marketing: Trends in investment and adoption

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the hottest topic in marketing today. Advancements in generative and other multi-purpose AI tools are reshaping approaches to everything from content creation to customer experiences. However, amid all this innovation, it’s becoming increasingly hard to separate what’s real and what’s hype.

That’s where we come in. We surveyed business leaders, practitioners and consumers to better understand what the future of AI in marketing will really look like. Keep reading to find out how leading brands are adopting emerging tech, where they’re seeing success and how they’re preparing for the next era of digital transformation.

The future of AI in marketing is bright. According to a recent Sprout Pulse Survey, 82% of marketers who have integrated AI and machine learning (ML) tools into their workflow have already achieved positive results.

Emerging technologies are revolutionizing outdated processes, allowing your team to connect with audiences more efficiently and intentionally. Here are the top ways marketers feel the benefits:

All great marketing decisions start with the customer in mind, and deciding when and how to use AI is no different. Consumer preferences around AI are evolving just as quickly as the technology itself. Currently, social media users are still largely split on how they’d feel about brands posting AI-generated content—or if they’d even notice.

Our research found that:

• 38% of consumers would be more interested in brands that post AI-generated content on social media.
• 36% of consumers say they wouldn’t be able to distinguish between AI and human-generated content.
• 26% of consumers would be more distrustful of brands that post AI-generated content on social media.

There’s also a considerable amount of concern around how AI tools will impact today’s social media landscape. The majority (80%) of consumers agree AI-generated content will contribute to misinformation on social, and 83% agree it will probably make their social feeds more saturated than they already are.

So what opportunities does this leave for marketers? The answer lies in your social customer service and engagement strategy. More than two-thirds of consumers are comfortable with brands using AI to provide faster customer service, highlighting a common ground where both parties can benefit.

This might look like using social listening to zero in on customer pain points or using generative AI tools to craft more on-brand customer experiences at scale. For example, Sprout’s Enhance by AI Assist helps teams resolve customer queries faster with reply alternatives that enhance tone of voice.

Resources like these are a game changer for customer service professionals who aren’t as familiar with your public-facing brand voice and tone.

AI tools are precisely that—tools. To fully harness their benefits, your entire team needs to know how to use them. That said, the road to adoption isn’t without challenges.

Here are the biggest obstacles companies face while promoting AI adoption across their organizations, and how to overcome them.

Embedding AI into existing workflows

The problem: The sense of urgency across C-suites to adopt AI is palpable, but many marketers don’t have the time to reimagine workflows. Nearly half (48%) feel they only sometimes or rarely have enough time to get their work done.

The solution: Manage expectations around the time it’ll take to embed AI into your day-to-day efforts. Remember: AI adoption is a long game, and the marketers who avoid “shiny new toy” distractions will come out on top.

The worst thing you can do for your adoption strategy is to simply wedge AI into all your existing processes and hope for the best. Instead, develop a roadmap that balances short-term quick wins with opportunities to reimagine priority workflows down the line.

For example, you can use a generative AI tool to help you come up with network-specific versions of content ideas today. How you weave AI into your data analysis approach, on the other hand, will require discussions with cross-functional partners.

These efforts don’t have to be wrapped in a day, week or month. Connect with the AI enthusiasts across your organization and give yourself time to reimagine how you work. Innovation will come sooner than you think.

Limited organizational experience

The problem: Some 37% of business leaders say limited organizational experience with AI and ML technology is a hurdle toward team-wide adoption.

The solution: Work with your internal communications team to develop and distribute a set of beginner-friendly AI use cases, aimed at inspiring greater experimentation with these tools across your organization.

You can even ghostwrite these on behalf of an internal subject matter expert in technology or IT for wider reach.

This strategy boosts adoption in two key ways: it offers a simple starting point for colleagues across your organization, and it allows you to highlight AI use cases approved by legal and IT teams.

Ambiguity around AI disclosure needs

The problem: Consumers are closely split on believing brands (33%) or social networks (29%) are responsible for disclosing when social content is generated by AI.

The solution: Work with stakeholders across your marketing and legal team to build and refine your company’s approach. It may feel overly cautious today, but it could save you from a potential brand crisis tomorrow.

Some regions are already passing legislation on how marketers should approach the creation and distribution of AI-generated content. In the US, the AI Disclosure Act of 2023 Bill further cemented this requirement, maintaining any output from AI must include a disclaimer. This legislation tasks the FTC with enforcement.

Luckily, major platforms are evolving their disclosure methods in lock step with AI’s rising popularity. For example,  Instagram is already implementing ways to inform users of content generated by AI through labels and watermarks. Google’s generative AI tool, Imagen, also now embeds digital watermarks on AI-generated copy and images using SynthID.

AI can give you back the time you need to think bigger about your brand’s social media strategy. By boosting efficiency, streamlining workflows‌ and delivering faster results, AI-powered tools enable you to work smarter, not harder.

To see these benefits in action, explore how Sprout Social integrates AI throughout our platform. Our AI-powered tools are designed to help you harness the full potential of your social media strategy, so you can demonstrate your impact more efficiently.