One of the topics we follow most closely at MFS is the role that AI is playing in B2B marketing today. It is a situation that is rapidly evolving and we have conducted some of our own research in this area, but, to get a true handle on the way AI is transforming B2B marketing today, we wanted to cast our net far and wide and supplement our own research with some external sources.
In this post we will bring together the leading research on AI in B2B marketing and share with you over 50 key data points. In particular, the areas we will focus on include:
B2B Marketing AI Budgets
Unsurprisingly, given the hype around AI, we are seeing large-scale investment in AI tools for B2B marketing teams. Much of the research in this area would suggest that there is something of an AI arms race developing in the B2B marketing space.
- 71% of B2B marketing leaders state that AI spend in their marketing organization will rise over the next 12 months. Source.
- The AI in marketing industry is forecast to reach $217.33 billion by 2034. Source.
- 9 out of 10 marketers plan to ramp up AI integration over the next 12 months. Source.
- 60% of marketers plan to increase AI spend next year. Source.
- 72% of executives are asking their team how they will be utilizing AI. Source.
- 45% of B2B companies plan to prioritize investment in AI-powered marketing tools in 2026. Source.
AI Usage in B2B Marketing
In terms of B2B marketing, AI has many use cases. Research is showing that content creation has become one of the leading uses for AI - bringing with it benefits such as efficiency and productivity but also giving rise to fears around content sameness and a rise in B2B AI slop. Elsewhere, use cases around workflow automation and personalization are on the rise.
- 71% of companies are using AI in their content creation efforts giving rise to fears of sameness and AI slop. Source.
- 83% of B2B marketers report increased productivity due to AI. Source.
- 65% of organizations use AI for SEO. Source.
- 69% of marketers feel excited about the impact AI is having on their roles. Source.
- 51% of marketers use AI to optimize content. Source.
- 92% of businesses are using AI for personalization. Source.
- 42% of B2B companies use AI for pricing optimization. Source.
- 59% of marketing teams use AI for analytics. Source.
- 44% of B2B marketers have started to use AI as part of their ABM program. Source.
- 73% of companies have implemented or are planning to implement an AI chatbot as part of their live chat offering. Source.
- HubSpot research found that 35% of marketers stated that content creation was their number 1 use case for AI. Source.
- 80% of B2B marketers use AI-powered marketing automation. Source.
- 42% of companies with less than 10 employees use AI. Source.
Benefits of AI for B2B Marketing
In terms of AI benefits, efficiency is regularly cited by leading marketing practitioners as a key benefit. Other benefits include tactical execution, better insights, and increased productivity.
- Efficiency is the most-cited AI benefit by marketing leaders at 68% Source.
- 56% of B2B marketing leaders see the most value in AI in terms of tactical execution. Source.
- 63% of B2B marketers list personalization as a benefit of using AI. Source.
- 38% of B2B marketers list “better insights” as a core benefit of using AI. Source.
- G2 research found that 44% of B2B decision-makers listed employee productivity as the number 1 method of measuring ROI from an AI implementation. Source.
The Impact AI is Having on B2B Marketing
One thing that almost everyone can agree on is that AI is having a major impact on B2B marketing. Some of the most dramatic changes we are in the midst of include AI transformation of internet search, content creation, and, broadly speaking, marketing task execution.
- AI-generated organic traffic now accounts for 2-6% of total organic traffic. Source.
- AI-generated organic traffic is growing at 40% per month. Source.
- 63% of B2B marketing leaders believing that AI has significantly impacted marketing Source.
- 86% of marketers expect AI to increase efficiency. Source.
- A mere 4% of B2B marketers say they do not plan to use AI tools. Source.
- 83% of B2B sales and marketing leaders believe that AI will play a key role in their business - but will not replace areas where human input is key. Source.
- 52% of marketers believe that AI will help them to enhance customer engagement. Source.
- 77% of B2B decision-makers believe that AI has now moved beyond the hype into tangible benefits. Source.
- 83% of B2B decision-makers report that an AI implementation has delivered positive ROI within 3 months. Source.
- 78% of executives believe they will have to reinvent their operating models to capture the full value of agentic AI. Source.
The Leading AI Tools in Use in B2B Marketing
Interestingly, developments in AI seem to have blurred the lines between the private and personal lives of B2B marketing professionals. Consumer-grade platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others have been successfully transitioned into the B2B workplace environment and are now seen by many as pivotal enterprise tools.
- 34% of B2B marketing leaders state that ChatGPT is the most important AI tool at their disposal. Source.
- ChatGPT is used by 97% of B2B marketers. Source.
- 93% of marketers surveyed answered that new AI features were added to tools in their existing tech stack over the past year. Source.
- Google Gemini is used by 49% of B2B marketing teams. Source.
- A survey of B2B marketing leaders in the UK and Ireland found that Salesforce Einstein was the most popular enterprise AI solution with 14% listing it as the most important AI tool in their company. Source.
AI and B2B Marketing Strategy
The role of AI in B2B marketing strategy is an area of particular interest to us at MFS. It is our contention that in spite of the incredible advancements in AI, the technology can not yet be set up to mimic or even improve on the strategic decision-making capabilities of modern day B2B leaders. The modern B2B leader, we believe, is a product of their experiences, skills, expertise, and even worldviews - a unique blend creating a certain strategic disposition that is so far unmatched by anything emanating from a LLM. Regardless of our own outlook, we wanted to delve into the latest research on the area of AI and B2B marketing strategy to see what kind of picture is emerging.
- Only 44% of B2B marketing leaders are confident in AI for supporting strategic decisions. Source.
- 48% of marketers anticipate a change in strategic direction as a result of AI developments. Source.
- 75% of companies investing in AI technology for marketing plan to shift towards more strategic activities. Source.
- There are certain areas of B2B marketing strategy that are still considered out of bounds for AI with only 6% of respondents trusting AI to contribute to positioning. Source.
- 57% of B2B marketing leaders cite “strategic thinking” as a limitation of AI. Source.
- 44% of B2B marketing leaders cite “creativity” as a limitation of AI. Source.
AI B2B Marketing Challenges
The final area that we wanted to delve into was the challenges associated with AI in the B2B marketing environment. The key themes emerging here are AI limitations around strategic thought, creativity, accuracy, trust, and AI skillsets.
- 88% of B2B marketing leaders state that AI output still requires significant human correction. Source.
- A survey of B2B marketing professionals showed trust in AI outputs is, at best, moderate with an average rating of 5.8 out of 10. Source.
- 63% of B2B marketers are concerned that AI increases noise and reduces differentiation. Source.
- AI skills deficit are cited by 43% of B2B organizations. Source.
- 93% of companies review their AI-generated content before it is published. Source.
- Salesforce research found that 39% of marketers feel they don’t know how to use generative AI safely. Source.
- 70% of marketing professionals surveyed answered that their company does not provide AI training. Source.
- 90% of businesses are worried about the future of SEO due to AI. Source.
- 44% of B2B marketers are concerned about data handling and ethics of AI. Source.
- 88% of B2B marketing leaders believe that AI output still requires significant human correction. Source.
- Only 4% of B2B marketing teams are planning for full-scale automation. Source.
- Only 6% of B2B marketers think their company is using AI to its full potential. Source.
- Only 12% of B2B marketers believe that AI gives them a competitive advantage. Source.
What is clear from the latest research on AI and B2B marketing is that we are living in a time of immense transformation. Where exactly it is headed remains to be seen, but, for the modern B2B marketing leader key skills around creativity, strategic thought, and judgement are now more crucial than ever. In a future that may well be characterized by AI-powered homogeneity, it will be the B2B leaders who figure out how to differentiate their companies that stand the best chance at connecting with new customers.
If you have a marketing challenge you are looking for support with, feel free to reach out today - we’d love to talk with you about what you’re trying to achieve with your B2B marketing and how we might be able to help.