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genai

AI assistants set to pull people away from using branded apps as on-device consolidation looms

By 2027 mobile app usage will decrease by 25% due to AI assistants – instead, smartphone users will turn to AI assistants, such as Apple Intelligence, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Meta AI, and others to replace apps for many functions.

That’s according to analysts at Gartner, who say in addition to the impact of AI assistants, apps will be consolidated across separate brands and companies, creating mobile app partnerships or consortiums to reach more users per app at scale and defray the cost of creation and maintenance.

“CMOs should begin scenario planning for the impacts of decreased mobile app usage,” saidEmily Weiss, Senior Principal for the Gartner Marketing Practice. “Brands with low app engagement and retention will likely be first impacted – this will be a positive development for brands that are not overly reliant on driving revenue via apps as app development costs will decrease. Other brands may be severely impacted by the disintermediation of users turning to AI assistants for services. The loss of app users will also result in the loss of first-party data collection and the ability to reach fewer users via mobile push notifications.”

By 2026, Over 1/3 of Web Content will be Created for the Purposes of Gen-AI Powered Search

According to Gartner’s 2024 CMO Spend Survey of 395 respondents between February and March 2024, the average CMO allocated almost a quarter of their digital marketing budget to search. Other than end users directly visiting a website, search currently drives more traffic to the average commercial enterprise website than any other referral source. Given this, a loss of search driven traffic due to algorithmic shifts by major search engines would result in tangible, negative commercial impact to any organization.

“CMOs will need to direct their teams to hire talent with a strong understanding of how GenAI, and broader AI influences, impacts the performance of their content in search algorithms,” said Weiss. “It will be important to upskill the function by investing in search and content talent with AI skillsets. These associates will need to have familiarity with creating or optimizing content to train and rank within evolving search algorithms.”

By 2028 Digital Marketers will Move 30% of their Paid Social Budget to Support Advertising and Partnerships on Subscription-based Channels

It is becoming more challenging for CMOs to maintain, let alone grow, their reach and engagement among consumers. This is especially true as consumers shift their tech and media behaviors away from social media, to other platforms and subscription based channels. Gartner’s 2024 CMO Spend survey found that since 2022, paid social has maintained the highest budget allocation for all digital media spend. In 2024, B2C Marketing leaders reported allocating 14.3% for their digital channel budget to social media advertising (an increase from 12.3% in 2023).

“Closed group communities and subscription channels offer a potential alternative for social media weary consumers and content creators who want to do more than feed the algorithm,” said Weiss. “Brands can leverage closed-group subscription channels – such as Substack, Patreon, and Discord – and the professional creators on them to reach relevant target audiences who are already engaging with content they self-selected into consuming.”

By 2027, 85% of Customer Data will be Collected from Automated Interactions or Those Led by AI Agents

Current AI models, such as large language models (LLMs), lack the agency to autonomously execute tasks and adapt in complex environments. However, as new levels of intelligence are added, new AI agents are poised to quickly become more capable and reliable as brands seek to address customer facing use cases.

“There will be more AI agents than people, so while current approaches require humans in the loop, this idea will quickly become antiquated. Marketers will need to determine when and how they can trust AI agents to act on behalf of the brand and customers across key areas,” said Weiss.

Photo by James Yarema on Unsplash

87% of marketers worry about technology replacing jobs in ‘red flag’ for CMOs

With evolving organisational dynamics and rapid technology changes, 87% of marketers are concerned about technology, including GenAI, replacing jobs in their industry.

A Gartner survey of 627 marketers between August and September of 2023 found that 89% of marketers are concerned about layoffs at their company. While the majority of marketers are optimistic about their career progression and skill preparedness, 55% report experiencing mismatched job expectations in their current roles.

This is compounded by environmental uncertainty and undue burden from marketing technology: 61% of marketers reveal they have encountered a technology and/or process change in the past 12 months. In addition, marketers also cite instability in leadership as a factor, with 20% having experienced a recent change in senior marketing leadership.

“These findings should be a red flag for CMOs, as high environmental uncertainty, mismatched role expectations and martech burden can lead to burnout as well as increased attrition,” said Iliyana Hadjistoyanova, Director, Advisory in the Gartner Marketing Practice. “CMOs must refocus their talent strategy and prioritize development with a strong focus on upskilling and change management to ensure their function is prepared in the face of ongoing disruption.”

Additional Gartner survey findings that will better equip CMOs to respond to the fast-evolving landscape include:

A Gartner survey of 405 martech leaders between May and June of 2023 found 63% report that marketing lacks the technical skills to successfully integrate and operate some of the technologies in their stack.

“These leaders are seeing integration and skill gaps as driving these issues,” said Hadjistoyanova. “It is crucial that CMOs closely align with their martech leaders to establish talent development plans that not only assess but address these skill gaps. Martech investments have a direct impact on the employee experience, and CMOs must weigh these costs and benefits.”

Despite the acceleration of GenAI, which 47% of marketers are already using, the majority expressed concern about technology replacing jobs in their industry. In fact, a Gartner survey of 822 business executives between September and November of 2023 revealed that 26% of marketing leaders plan headcount reductions as a result of GenAI in 2024.

“When employee fears go unchecked, an environment of increased uncertainty will insufficiently prepare marketers for a successful future,” said Hadjistoyanova. “By developing robust talent plansthat incorporate the use of GenAI and work to increase skill preparedness, CMOs can mitigate its impacts on employees’ wellbeing, leading to overall engagement and retention. These actionable steps must address role transition and fit-for-purpose employee learning, as well as cover technology and process changes related to GenAI adoption.”

Marketers who engage in higher GenAI use are 30% less likely to report high burnout, and 40% less likely to intend to leave their jobs in the next year.

“Marketing’s use of technology is constantly adapting, and the accelerated adoption of GenAI will encourage greater performance and engagement, enhance creativity, as well as free up time and allow marketers to engage in more thought-intensive work,” said Hadjistoyanova. “While CMOs cannot fully insulate their employees from change, they must take early action in change management in a clear and transparent manner to ensure employee buy-in and mitigate any negative impacts of change.”

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash