More than half (55%) of U.S. marketers reported budget increases in 2026, while 37% were asked to make cuts – most of them less than 10%, according to 10Fold’s “The 2026 Marketing Budget Blueprint, Part II.” But even with the largest budgets of any region, US marketers reported the following lowest confidence in achieving growth objectives.
That disconnect is striking. The data suggests that some marketing programs may have exceeded market demand by 2025 after aggressive investments. Leaders are now asking whether spending levels are truly sustainable – or whether they need to be realigned for efficiency.
American marketers are betting big on brand, content and AI
Despite these doubts, American marketers are not shying away from bold investments. They focus on long-term projects – mainly in content and brand development – which together represent 15.8% of total spend. That’s not just a branding push; it’s likely part of a growing strategy to capture organic traffic through AI-generated searches (LLMs and more).
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Product marketing and lead generation remain stable and funded at similar levels. But the standout trend is AI. US companies are leading the way in investing in AI tools designed to scale product marketing and research – a clear signal that automation and insight generation are now embedded in growth strategies.
Yet there is a wrinkle.
Leadership and marketing don’t always agree on AI’s payoff
Even as AI budgets grow, tension around expectations increases.
In the US, 27% of marketing leaders believe that senior leadership overestimates what AI will actually deliver in terms of financial impact and productivity gains. This gap is not unique to the US, but it is more pronounced than in Britain (23%) or Germany (where most marketers – 71% – say their C-suite has a realistic given the benefits of AI).
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