AI Statistics

Table of Contents

There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence or AI is having a powerful impact in today’s business world. From processing to accounting and especially marketing, the future certainly looks promising as AI becomes more developed and incorporated into the fabric of the business world.

But how exactly do marketers and business owners feel about AI? The answer can be found in a wide range of surveys conducted by researchers whose efforts revealed the status of business professionals and their experiences with AI.

What Percentage of Businesses Using AI?

The researchers started with the most basic question of whether AI is being used in businesses either for processing or marketing.

50% report using AI regularly
29% state that plans are in place to use AI
11.5% are not sure about incorporating AI
9.5% are not planning on using AI at all

The numbers reflect a broad sweep of using AI from processing to marketing and beyond.

What Businesses are Utilizing AI?

For the most part, businesses and corporations that earn $500 million or more in annual revenue are using AI to a greater extent.

52% have established dedicated teams to adopt AI
42% have regular internal communications about AI
37% have senior leaders actively engaged in AI adaptation
31% offer training courses to their employees on AI
2% have established a road map to further drive AI

In all major categories, larger businesses and organizations have moved more swiftly to embrace AI compared to AI companies that make less than $500 million in annual revenue.

What Industries are Using AI for Marketing?

The amount of AI use in marketing varies depending on the type of industry in which it is employed.

Technology: 55%
Professional Services: 49%
Advanced Industries: 48%
Consumer Products & Retail: 46%
Media & Telecom: 45%
Financial Services: 40%
Energy & Materials: 33%
Healthcare Industry: 29%

Marketing is the most prevalent use of AI according to the surveys with 42% across all industries. Second is Product and/or Service Development at 28%. Followed by IT at 23%.

How AI is Being Used in Marketing

With all the talk about AI, the heart of the matter is how it is being used today.

50% use AI to create online content. From slides to blog and social media posts and so on.
51% use AI to augment the content that they have created, whether from AI or independently
45% use AI to brainstorm the content they want to create
43% automate tasks and processes with the help of AI
41% analyze data using AI
40% conduct research using AI tools

Overall, 73% of those polled say that AI plays a role in creating experiences personalized for each customer.

How AI is Being Incorporated into Business

Although there is a difference between AI and GenAI or Generational AI, the stats posted here reflect the current incorporation of AI.

38% employ AI for both employee and customer uses
40% use AI only for business systems
9% have a limited use of AI for their efforts
13% are still exploring using AI for their business

It’s clear that while AI is still in the beginning stages, it is being used by many businesses for both internal and external systems.

What Marketers Think of AI

With all the talk about Artificial Intelligence and how it will impact business marketing, how do marketers themselves feel about using AI on the job?

69% of marketing professionals stated they feel excited about AI technology
14% were worried about the impact AI had on their professions
17% were both excited and worried about AI and its use in marketing

Perhaps the most telling stat is that 60% of marketers are quite optimistic about where their industry is heading thanks to the implementation of AI

What Drives Investment in AI?

Why are business owners investing more in AI?

46% invest in AI to separate their efforts from the competition
44% want to holistically manage the risk of AI
39% use AI to meet requirements, both compliance and regulatory
30% want to build trust using AI systems
35% believe AI drives proper creation and preservation
32% use AI to protect their own brand.
22% believe investing in AI is proper
19% do so because they were told by management
19% invested in AI because the stockholders demanded it

From the research gathered, the views on investing in AI are quite divided.

Challenges AI Marketers are Facing

Of course, not all experiences with AI have been positive. As with embracing any change, there are challenges.

50% of marketers believe expectations for AI are rising
49% believe they will see many changes in AI software and tools
48% believe that the direction of AI will change in terms of marketing strategy
31% have concerns about overall quality and accuracy of AI

From the data, it appears that the most pressing challenges are what marketers and business professionals believe will happen in the future.

Type of Marketing Content

Of the different types of marketing content being created, text is the most prevalent at 63%. What follows are the other major types of marketing content being created by AI.

Images: 36%
Computer Code: 27%
Video: 13%
Voice & Music: 13%

Benefits of Using AI

Although its daily use in marketing and processing is well established, how do marketers and business owners see the benefits of using AI?

41% believe it promotes improved customer experience
40% see enhanced risk management and cybersecurity
39% saw it bolstered innovation within their companies
37% experienced improved transparency
37% had improved coordinated management within the organization

From the data, the uses of AI are still divided between internal business processing and marketing outreach to customers.

Full Implementation of AI

Although still in the early stages, 11% of those who responded say their business has fully embraced both AI and Generational AI into their business processes and marketing efforts. Although seemingly small today, the 11% is still impressive based on the nearly 900 companies that were surveyed. When extrapolated out to the hundreds of thousands of companies that have access to AI, the overall numbers are considerable.

Marketing Concerns when Using AI

For marketers, there are strong concerns with using AI even when considering the potential benefits.

49.5% have concerns about data privacy or its ethical use
43% see inaccuracies and biases when using AI content
35% note the increased cost of using AI tools

However, 20.5% reported that they have no concerns with using AI marketing tools in their daily efforts.

Fears of AI Replacing Employees

One of the more prevalent beliefs is that AI will replace employees, particularly in service and supply chain operations.

48% believe that AI will decrease employees in service operations by at least 3% to 20%
47% believe AI will decrease supply chain management by 3% to 20%
30% believe AI will decrease marketers by 3% to 20%

The overall number of respondents who believe AI will reduce their workforce by 3% to 20% is 31%. It should be noted that this represents a decrease compared to surveys from previous years.

Why AI is Not Being Used

Not everyone is happy with the advent of AI, particularly generational AI which is becoming more prominent in marketing and business processing.

70% say that their employers have not provided proper AI training
43% state they do not understand how to get the most value from generational AI
39% of marketers are not sure how to safely implement AI into their workflow

It should be noted that AI is still in the early stages of being incorporated into business processing and marketing.

What is Preventing Companies from Exploring AI Further?

There is a difference between not using AI at all and stopping further investment into AI technology.

29% are having issues quantifying the risk management of AI programs
15% do not have AI as a budget priority
15% have no clear leadership on the direction of AI
13% see no clear method to incorporating AI into their activities
12% have seen pushbacks from business owners
10% have not generated ownership of AI efforts

As with any new technology, change is difficult to implement. It is no different with AI.

Future for AI Marketing

Although there are certainly differences of opinions from marketers and business professionals about the future of AI in marketing, most are quite optimistic.

70% of marketers believe AI will play a larger role in their efforts
48% say that adapting more to AI is their top goal

The future of AI in business and marketing is quite promising. As powerful an impact as AI has had in just the past couple of years, the surveys indicate that it will grow stronger in the foreseeable future.