The pendulum is swinging back
In US marketing circles, there’s a growing sense of reflection. After several years of hyper-automation, predictive analytics, and generative AI enthusiasm, a quiet correction is taking shape. The consensus among senior marketing leaders is that the industry went too far in chasing efficiency at the expense of creativity and trust.
As one marketing executive from a large retail group put it during a recent Strategy Insights roundtable, “We’ve optimised everything except imagination.”
The statement captured the mood in the room. Many CMOs now find themselves recalibrating their strategies around the human elements that automation overlooked. The next phase of AI in marketing will not be about how much technology can do, but how well it helps people think, feel, and create.
This realisation marks a clear inflection point. Enterprises are no longer in experimentation mode. They are redefining what technology is for — moving from automation-first models to augmentation-first strategies that strengthen the human side of marketing.
When automation overshoots creativity
In the early rush to automate, speed became the default measure of success. Campaigns that once took weeks were suddenly delivered in days, sometimes hours. Yet the creative distinctiveness that once defined strong brands began to erode.
A CMO in the media sector described it candidly: “Our content became efficient, not effective. Everything started to look the same because the systems were optimising toward what already worked.”
The efficiency trap has exposed an uncomfortable truth: automation doesn’t always equal advancement. When every brand uses the same predictive models and optimisation engines, differentiation becomes nearly impossible.
Many marketing leaders are now admitting that they automated too much of the wrong thing. The focus is shifting from quantity to quality, from reach to resonance, and from click-through rates to customer connection.
According to aggregated Strategy Insights data, 68% of US CMOs are diverting AI budgets into hybrid models that combine automation with human-led storytelling and creative strategy.
Shift in 2025 Marketing Budgets
| Category | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automation-first tools | 49% | 36% | -13% |
| Human-led creative strategy | 22% | 34% | +12% |
| Hybrid AI-human models | 29% | 30% | +1% |
This rebalancing indicates a broader cultural correction. Leaders are beginning to recognise that the power of marketing lies not just in data, but in interpretation, context, and emotion, things that AI alone cannot replicate.
The creative reset
The phrase “creative reset” came up several times in Strategy Insights’ recent US marketing roundtables. For many, it defines this period of transition. After years of building ever-faster systems, marketing leaders are now rediscovering the value of slowing down, thinking deeply, and making space for genuine creative thinking.
A CMO from a technology brand summarised it succinctly: “We’re using AI to power the process, not define the message.”
This reset is not a retreat from technology but a more deliberate integration of it. AI is being repositioned as the invisible infrastructure behind creative excellence, rather than the creative output itself. Teams are increasingly applying AI to process-heavy tasks such as analytics, segmentation, and reporting, while reclaiming ownership of storytelling, brand voice, and emotion.
AI’s role in US enterprise marketing (2023–2026 projection)
| Year | Automation-first | Augmentation-first | Human-led |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 61% | 25% | 14% |
| 2024 | 54% | 33% | 13% |
| 2025 | 42% | 41% | 17% |
| 2026 (proj.) | 31% | 49% | 20% |
By 2026, nearly half of US enterprise marketing teams expect to operate augmentation-first models, where AI supports, rather than dictates creative decision-making.
The creative reset is already influencing recruitment. Enterprises are hiring more hybrid talent: strategists who can bridge analytics and narrative, or creatives who understand data-driven personalisation without losing empathy. The era of siloed “art versus science” marketing is fading, replaced by a model that prizes integrated thinking.
Trust is the new performance metric
If there was one recurring word across all discussions, it was trust.
As automation deepened, so did consumer scepticism. Predictive personalisation often crossed into what one healthcare marketing leader called “the uncanny zone,” where data-driven precision felt more invasive than intelligent.
That tension between insight and intrusion has made trust the defining metric of modern marketing. According to Strategy Insights data, 71% of US CMOs now rank trust as a top-three brand KPI, overtaking impressions and even ROI as a measure of sustained performance.
A senior marketing executive in financial services explained the shift: “We used to think privacy was a compliance issue. Now it’s a value proposition.”
Enterprises are responding by building governance frameworks around data transparency and responsible AI. Marketers are working with compliance and legal teams earlier in the creative process to ensure alignment between ethics and engagement.
Brands are also making data stewardship part of their customer promise. The most advanced teams are building communication around data use, giving consumers visibility into how and why automation is applied.
The emerging consensus is clear: the brands that will lead in the next decade are those that treat trust as a product, not a policy.
From performance to purpose
Another recurring theme was the evolution of performance marketing. While metrics such as cost per acquisition and conversion rates remain vital, they no longer define success on their own.
A marketing leader in the consumer goods sector captured it well: “We’ve become obsessed with proving performance, but not enough with proving purpose.”
Across sectors, CMOs are repositioning marketing as a force for both revenue and relevance. Purpose is being redefined not as corporate virtue signalling, but as a tangible business lever, one that influences employee engagement, customer loyalty, and brand differentiation.
The data backs this up. 62% of enterprise marketing leaders said they are redesigning KPIs to measure emotional engagement, experience quality, and cultural alignment alongside financial metrics.
Comparing marketing models
| Model Type | ROI Efficiency | Brand Trust | Creative Quality | Employee Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI-only | High (short term) | Low | Low | Low |
| Human-led | Moderate | High | High | High |
| Hybrid | High (sustained) | High | High | Moderate |
Hybrid approaches are proving most effective because they preserve humanity while maintaining performance. This is driving a new wave of marketing maturity where teams no longer chase reach at all costs but focus on meaningful resonance.
The marketing teams performing best are those that can show exactly how data-driven creativity connects to brand equity, trust, and loyalty.
The accountability era
One of the most significant shifts emerging from the roundtable discussions is what participants referred to as the accountability era. After years of fragmented metrics, disconnected tools, and siloed reporting, CMOs are demanding a unified picture of marketing performance.
The focus is moving away from outputs to outcomes, from activity to impact.
57% of leaders said they are implementing integrated dashboards that track brand sentiment, creative effectiveness, and business outcomes in a single view. These systems are designed to highlight where marketing truly drives enterprise value rather than just vanity metrics.
This accountability extends beyond numbers. Leadership teams expect CMOs to articulate marketing’s contribution to revenue, but also to risk mitigation, brand resilience, and culture. Marketing is being recognised as a strategic pillar of enterprise health, not just a cost centre.
A participant from the telecommunications sector summed it up: “Our board no longer asks how many impressions we bought. They ask what belief we built.”
The next 18 months
Between now and 2026, US marketing leaders face a complex dual mandate. They must embrace AI’s potential while ensuring it never replaces the human connection that defines great brands.
In practice, this means rethinking three core areas:
- AI governance: Building transparency, auditability, and explainability into every tool and process.
- Creative empowerment: Using automation to free time for strategic thinking and original ideas.
- Cross-functional collaboration: Aligning marketing, data, and ethics teams to ensure consistency of message and meaning.
The leaders who will thrive are those who understand that AI isn’t the strategy, it’s the structure supporting it. The strategy remains human, rooted in emotion, trust, and purpose.
Over the next 18 months, US CMOs will set the tone for how technology coexists with creativity. They’ll decide whether AI remains a tool or becomes a trusted partner. And that decision will shape not only brand performance but the integrity of marketing itself.
What this means for senior leaders
For senior marketing delegates, the message from peers is clear. The next era of marketing will not be defined by who has the most technology, but by who uses it with the most intelligence and empathy.
The challenge is no longer about keeping up with AI. It’s about leading through it, using data to inspire creativity, not restrict it. The marketing leaders who thrive will be those who can build cultures where AI enhances imagination rather than replaces it.
As one leader in the entertainment sector concluded, “The future belongs to the brands that remember their audience isn’t an algorithm.”
