Generative AI and the evolving role of marketing: A CMO’s playbook

Building on our initial report in the CMO playbook series, we release this second installment in the Capgemini Research Institute’s CMO playbook series, Generative AI and the evolving role of marketing: A CMO’s playbook. This edition delves into the unprecedented growth and the myriad opportunities that generative AI brings to the field of marketing.

In a remarkably short time, generative AI has gained widespread popularity, emerging as a transformative force in marketing. From our recent cross-sector research, we found that generative AI holds significant potential in sales, customer service, and marketing. Additionally, our consumer research on generative AI underscores consumers’ comfort with its implementation in marketing and advertising, provided it doesn’t negatively impact their overall experience.

Almost 60% of organizations are already integrating generative AI into their marketing efforts, and 37% of these are actively implementing it across various initiatives. Furthermore, close to 80% of organizations have either already allocated budget or plan to do so in the next six months to integrate generative AI into their marketing initiatives. There is also strong consensus among marketers is that generative AI will not diminish but rather augment human creativity in the long run.

While generative AI poses challenges and risks, nearly 60% of the organizations surveyed believe the benefits the technology outweigh these. Nevertheless, it will be important to address the existing ethical and copyright challenges. Currently, 70% of organizations are potentially exposed to ethical challenges over their use and oversight of AI, and only 42% of organizations address copyright issues around generative AI adequately.

To help organizations reap the benefits of generative AI technology while addressing the challenges that it poses, we explore generative AI in marketing in depth, exploring the rapid integration of generative AI in marketing, implementation areas for generative AI, generative AI’s role in augmenting human creativity, and the urgent need for organizations to address ethical and copyright concerns arising from the use of generative AI.

We conclude this report by outlining key best practices for organizations to effectively harness generative AI technology in marketing. These form a comprehensive approach that consists of strategic direction, leadership and oversight, iterative execution, and expanding boundaries.

Download the full report to learn more about how generative AI is reshaping marketing, and find out how organizations can unleash the generative AI playbook.