FRESH TAKES ON BIG IDEAS

The chief marketing officer (CMO) is one of the most exciting—and most challenging—roles on a leadership team. The job is full of possibility but also constant pressure. CMOs are on the front lines of growth, tasked with figuring out how to invest in ways that will have demonstrable impact. These days, they are largely focused on three areas: aligning more closely with the rest of the C-suite, understanding what AI really means for marketing, and unleashing creativity.

CMOs often lack the full support or understanding of others in the C-suite. Our recent research shows a sharp decline—20 percentage points since 2023—in the number of CEOs who report that they have a strong grasp of marketing’s contribution. CEOs say that marketing is an important growth lever, yet marketing budgets have dropped to 7.7 percent of revenue, from 9.1 percent, over the past year. 

This disconnect creates a fascinating dialogue. On the one hand, CEOs want more accountability and clearer metrics that prove marketing’s value. On the other hand, they know that breakthrough creativity and brand building are irreplaceable—and hard to quantify. The good news is that executives are becoming more aware of this tension and want to address it. Across C-suites, there is growing interest in working hand in hand on everything from ROI and performance measurement to making space for bold ideas that drive growth. There is a lot of interest in the duality of rigor and inspiration.

Another topic that’s dominating marketing conversations is agentic AI, autonomous AI systems that work independently to complete tasks. A year ago, marketers were talking about experiments and pilots with gen AI. Now, they’re exploring how to use agentic AI across broad domains in marketing and beyond: creating consumer experiences at scale, enabling hyperpersonalization, rethinking media buying, and unlocking creative development in ways that not only save money but also truly fuel growth. Many CMOs are asking themselves whether they have the right strategies and systems to make this leap.
 
Marketing leaders tend to have three reactions to AI. The first is excitement. The technology holds vast potential—faster insights, more personalized outreach, and quicker interventions, all of which translate directly into growth. The second is nervousness. Leaders are wondering how AI might affect their teams, their talent, and even their own roles. The third is caution. Some feel they’re not ready to use AI because they haven’t yet solved the related data and infrastructure challenges that hinder scalability.

“The duality of rigor and inspiration defines marketing today.”

All these reactions are valid, and most leaders are feeling a mix of them. Foundational work is still required, but many organizations aren’t spending enough time on it. My message to the cautious is: Don’t get stuck worrying. Start today on mapping how the work gets done. Study the solutions already in the market—such as creative optimization, synthetic insight generation, and media analytics—and consider what the landscape could look like in three to five years. Then shape talent and workflows around that vision. The change is coming no matter what. The question is who will lead through it.

The third area on CMOs’ minds is creativity. Here, too, AI plays an important role. The future of creativity lies in human–AI partnerships. AI can handle much of the heavy lifting: resizing assets, localizing campaigns, refining copy. It can even accelerate brainstorming, helping teams to generate more raw ideas. But judgment—the ability to sense what will truly break through with people—remains distinctly human. In fact, in some companies, creatives are the most enthusiastic adopters of AI because it frees them up to focus on big ideas.
 
Looking ahead, progress in AI is likely to be uneven. In a year, we’ll see more examples of marketing leaders scaling the technology across specific domains, especially creativity and insights. In three years, it will be unusual not to have made moves in this space. And in five years, marketing organizations themselves will look different, with structures, roles, and ways of working all reimagined. That might feel daunting, but it could also be exhilarating.
 
I’m optimistic. AI is advancing quickly, and it’s not slowing down. The real choice for marketing leaders is whether they want to be out front shaping the journey or following from behind. This is an exciting inflection point for marketing—a moment to reimagine how to create growth and how brands can truly connect with people.

—Edited by Christine Chen, senior editor, Denver

ABOUT THIS AUTHOR

Kelsey Robinson is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Boston office.