According to AIDigital's State of AI Maturity, most advertising agencies are talking about AI, but few are doing it at scale.
The report shows that government agencies are deep in the deliberation stages of AI adoption, with significant gaps between intent and implementation. One-third of organizations say they are still drafting a roadmap, while another third are in ad-hoc experimentation mode. Only 16% say AI is embedded in all teams, proving that full integration is still the exception, not the rule.
For agencies, the tools gap is especially obvious. More than half say they have not yet deployed a licensed marketing or advertising-specific AI platform. This likely means that many businesses are relying on generic tools or free versions, suggesting there is still a lot of room for vendors who can offer more specialized, enterprise-ready options.
In short, the AI era in marketing is underway, but most companies are still figuring out how to take the first serious steps.
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About the author
Constantine von Hoffman is editor-in-chief of MarTech. A veteran journalist, Mr. Conn has covered business, finance, marketing and technology for CBSNews.com, Brandweek, and CMO, Inc. He was city editor for the Boston Herald, news producer for NPR, and has written for Harvard Business Review, Boston Magazine, Sierra, and many other publications. He is also a professional stand-up comedian, speaks at anime and gaming conventions about everything from My Neighbor Totoro to the history of dice and board games, and is the author of the magical realist novel John Henry the Revelator. He lives in Boston with his wife, Jennifer, and their dogs, which are either too many or too few.
