Most B2B marketers use AI for what it currently does best: execution and efficiency. About 78% see it primarily as a productivity or task driver, with 56% pointing to tactical execution as the highest value use case. But when it comes to strategic work, such as brand positioning or large-scale decision-making, trust is gone. Only 6% of respondents said they trust AI to impact positioning, and only 44% expressed confidence in its ability to support strategic decisions.
Which tools do B2B marketers turn to most often? No surprise: they are the well-known ones: ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, many of which were already in personal use before they were introduced into the workflows. The one B2B native AI platform that stands out is Salesforce Einstein, with 14% of marketing leaders calling it the most important AI tool in their stack.
Despite the hesitation surrounding the strategy, investment in AI for marketing is not slowing down. Seventy-one percent of companies plan to increase their AI spending over the next twelve months. That tells us the question isn’t whether AI belongs in B2B marketing, but how to apply it with clarity, guardrails, and real strategic benefits.
Energize yourself with free marketing insights.
MarTech is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality reporting on marketing topics. Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page was written by an employee or paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
Constantine von Hoffman is editor-in-chief of MarTech. A veteran journalist, Con has covered business, finance, marketing and technology for CBSNews.com, Brandweek, CMO and Inc. He has been city editor of the Boston Herald, news producer at NPR, and has written for Harvard Business Review, Boston Magazine, Sierra and many other publications. He has also been a professional stand-up comedian, has lectured at anime and gaming conventions on 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 too many or too few dogs.
#B2B #marketers #rely #execution #strategy #MarTech