TL;DR: This article examines the impact of AI on marketing’s seven executive functions over three eras: Experimentation (2024-2026), Acceleration (2026-2028), and Elevation (2028-2030). It focuses on the more upstream marketing functions: Sensing, Visioning, and Defining. The piece highlights how AI will evolve from a supportive tool to a strategic partner while emphasizing the continued importance of human expertise in areas like intuition, creativity, and ethical decision-making. It underscores the need for a balanced approach to AI integration in marketing strategies.
- Key focus: Evolution of AI’s role in marketing across three distinct eras
- Spotlight on Sensing, Visioning, and Defining functions and their AI impact
- Emphasis on human-AI collaboration
The marketing opportunities presented by AI over the next five years are significant. AI can amplify the productivity of existing resources and create entirely new products and services that can transform the industry.
Investment in AI can be viewed in three areas: efficiency, effectiveness, and invention. Efficiency involves using AI to optimize processes and achieve cost savings. Effectiveness focuses on enhancing current marketing activities to generate a greater impact, such as through personalization or dynamic pricing. Invention encompasses developing new marketing strategies and experiences that were previously impossible, like interactive marketing experiences or building digital twins of an entire marketplace.
This feature examines the various executive functions performed by marketing professionals and assesses how generative AI is likely to influence these roles. This includes opportunities for technology adoption and the need for transitioning and retraining individuals within the organization.
The Seven Executive Functions
In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing and client management, the term ‘executive functions’ has transcended beyond the confines of job titles and hierarchical roles to embody a set of cognitive processes that are fundamental to organizational success. These are not designated positions within a company but rather essential functions that many, if not all, professionals employ in their day-to-day activities. In the context of marketing, these functions form the backbone of operations, strategy, and creativity.
Mark Holden, Chief Strategy Officer, PHD Worldwide – Interviewed June 2024
As we embark on a closer examination of these functions in this feature, it is crucial to understand that while all professionals exercise these functions to varying degrees, certain roles may lean more heavily on specific functions than others. This distinction is paramount when considering the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on roles—AI’s capabilities to enhance, augment, or even automate certain tasks will vary greatly depending on the nature of the function in question.
We have identified seven executive functions that between them comprise the capabilities and actions required to deliver end-to-end marketing activities. And the research from the WARC study enabled us to predict the likely impact from generative AI/machine learning:
- Sensing: Sensing is an executive function that requires a deep understanding of client and stakeholder needs. It involves actively listening, accurately interpreting, and genuinely empathizing to ensure the delivery of services or products exceeds expectations and achieves excellence.
- Visioning: This is the ability to identify and articulate a need or opportunity. Visioning foresees market trends, identifies gaps in service offerings, and conceptualizes new ways to meet demands. Fundamentally, Visioning sets the course for future growth.
- Defining: This is translating a Vision into an actionable strategy. Defining involves setting the parameters, objectives, and methodologies that will guide the practical steps towards achieving the vision – the blueprint upon which all creation is based.
- Generating: This is the creative heart of marketing. Generating is the creation of words, visuals, audio-visual content, audio, and code. It is the birthing process of ideas, the tangible manifestation of creativity that will eventually reach the consumer.
- Developing: Developing is the process of building upon and adapting what has been generated. Different to Visioning, it involves testing, tweaking, and improving to ensure that what has been generated is well-crafted and suited for its intended purpose.
- Judging: Decision-making processes are where evaluation and judgment come into play: choosing between alternatives, making strategic calls, and steering the direction of a project based on a combination of data, insights, and experience.
- Actioning: Comprising task organization and project execution, this is the engine room where plans are put into action, resources are managed, and collective efforts are orchestrated to meet deadlines and achieve goals.
Index based on response to the question: ‘To what extent will Gen AI replace people carrying out this function?’ Where each Exec Function is indexed versus the average for all Exec Functions.
The index scores are calculated based on a survey of over 700 marketing and agency executives. Carried out in conjunction with WARC, the research asked respondents to assess and evaluate the extent to which generative AI would either enhance, necessitate retraining, or replace the seven executive functions outlined above.
Respondents were also asked to assess this impact over the immediate, medium, and longer-term – reflecting the three eras of AI’s impact, as defined by the Ascension project.
According to the research with WARC, the impact of AI will vary across these executive functions. The Sensing, Visioning, and Judging functions are perceived as more resilient to AI, with only 9%, 14%, and 14% of respondents, respectively, believing Generative AI will replace these functions up until 2030.
As we delve into these functions, we will explore the spectrum of AI’s influence, ranging from minimal to transformative.
For each function, we will examine the current state, the projected trajectory, and the AI-induced inflection points that could redefine how these functions are performed.
Our analysis had been grounded in the reality of today’s practice of marketing, informed by recent changes, and guided by an understanding of macro forces that could shape the future.
The functions that may be most affected by AI’s ascendancy are those that rely heavily on data analysis, routine cognitive tasks, information processing, and creative generation — functions where AI’s strengths lie. Conversely, functions that hinge on emotional intelligence, complex human interactions, and high-level strategic thinking may see less direct impact, as these areas remain, at least for now, the dominion of human expertise.
We dissect the first three of the seven executive functions in detail, consider the roles most aligned with these functions, and discuss how AI is likely to reshape the landscape. Our approach aims to provide a grounded, clear-eyed view of both the opportunities and challenges that AI presents.
Sensing in the AI Experimentation Era (2024-2026)
In the infancy of AI applications within marketing management, the use of machine learning and generative AI to understand client needs is just beginning. During this period, the role of AI is to assist but not to lead. Some CEOs, CMOs, CSOs, and those in business, marketing, and client management will start to explore AI capabilities to enhance their understanding of client needs. The impact on the agency roles is minimal, serving primarily to augment human intuition and responsiveness.
Although the changes to the Sensing function are not as dramatic as some others in this first experimentation era, there is still an emerging impact. The research indicates that 30% of respondents cite an immediate need for training and development across all executive functions, including Sensing, placing an emphasis on organizations to focus on the definition of the new capabilities required from each individual and the learning and development program to support them on that transition.
Sensing in the AI Acceleration Era (2026-2028)
This era will witness a dramatic surge in AI integration, with technology beginning to play a more substantial role in processing and surfacing key insights. AI will aid in understanding complex client data, offering preliminary interpretations that can enrich client briefings. Individuals in leadership and client management roles will learn to integrate these insights to refine their understanding of client needs, thus informing strategy with a data-driven underpinning. However, the essence of understanding client needs will remain a distinctly human function, characterized by intuition and the ability to respond to subtle cues.
In this era, we expect to see the increasing prevalence of enterprise AI clouds with conversational interfaces for their employees – this will significantly change what it means to be able to sense the requirements of the business (a conversation with an intelligent voice to help people discern what is needed to move forward a brand or business). Hence, there is a significant increase in the percentage of respondents who believe Generative AI will require retraining for the Sensing function – doubling from 30% to 57%.
Sensing in the AI Elevation Era (2028-2030)
As AI approaches the threshold of AGI, its role will evolve from providing insights to becoming an intelligent agent that will shape client or stakeholder thinking. The technology will underpin all platforms, acting as an intelligent energy source that could suggest adaptations to client needs and market dynamics. However, despite this technological prowess, the executive function of understanding will still necessitate the clarity, intuition, and responsiveness of individuals who can interpret AI outputs and apply them in a human context. Notwithstanding that, there is a possibility, as we move towards AGI, that the artificial intelligence will be able to listen in / peer over our shoulders and intuit what the client/stakeholder need is.
The Path Forward
Throughout these eras, while AI technology will enhance the ability to process data and surface insights, the core function of understanding client needs will continue to rely heavily on human talent. Leaders and client managers will need to remain intuitive and responsive, steering with clarity even as they apply AI-generated insights to client considerations.
Technology will evolve, with bespoke AI tools giving way to more sophisticated closed-loop platforms that provide a consultative layer of marketing intelligence. Yet, the human element will be crucial, with a premium on the ability to interpret AI and steer stakeholder decision-making. The challenge will be ensuring that AI supports and enhances human understanding without diminishing the value of empathy and human connection in comprehending client needs.
Visioning is a crucial executive function involving the ability to identify and articulate future needs or opportunities for an organization. As AI capabilities evolve over the coming years, visioning will be transformed across three key eras. Overall, it is anticipated to experience a limited impact from General AI, with a GenAI/ML index score of 83.
Visioning in the AI Experimentation Era (2024-2026)
In the initial phase of AI adoption, Visioning will remain primarily driven by human intuition and instinct. However, executives will begin cautiously experimenting with GenAI tools to inform their perspective. These AIs will distil both structured and unstructured data to validate hypotheses on potential needs or growth areas.
While AI cannot yet replicate the creative leaps of human cognition, it can rapidly analyze troves of information to bring supporting evidence and validation to the vision. Executives retain their responsibility for the vision itself, using AI as an assistive tool to stress test assumptions during formulation. Proper governance and transparency will be critical to build trust and understanding on how AI insights are generated.
Visioning in the AI Acceleration Era (2026-2028)
As comfort with AI increases, executives will rely more heavily on AI to actively suggest potential needs or opportunities based on detected patterns and projections in the data. While human Visioning is still core, AI serves as an intelligent advisor shaping perspective.
Reinforcement learning will allow improvement over time, as users provide feedback. Engineering teams will need to closely monitor for potential biases creeping in from the data. Augmenting human imagination with AI’s data-driven insights can powerfully blend strategic intuition with analytical rigor.
Visioning in the AI Elevation Era (2028-2030)
In an era where AI becomes increasingly capable, Visioning AIs may begin proactively asserting potential growth directions they foresee based on predictive modelling. Near-AGI capacity would enable nuanced understanding of business contexts and strategy.
Rather than passive suggestion, AIs act as thought partners bringing their own vision forth. Executives provide the critical perspective to refine these visions by weighing creative risks, branding considerations, and other intangibles. Partnership between human creativity and AI knowledge generates visions with rigor and inventiveness.
At this evolved stage, the Visioning function remains relatively resilient to Generative AI’s impact, with only 18% of respondents believing Generative AI will replace this function. As an executive function, this is uniquely human – defining a vision based on an observable need is not necessarily something AI will do, at least without a prompt. As AI does not have needs.
The Path Forward
Throughout these eras, the Visioning function will evolve into a symbiotic relationship between human creativity and AI-driven insights. While AI will increasingly provide data-driven analysis and scenario projections, the core of Visioning will remain a distinctly human endeavor. Leaders will need to develop new skills to effectively interpret and integrate AI-generated insights with their strategic intuition and ethical considerations.
As AI capabilities advance, Visioning processes will become more agile and interdisciplinary. Organizations will need to foster environments that encourage collaboration between executives, data scientists, and AI specialists. The challenge will be to balance the rapid, data-driven insights provided by AI with the human ability to make creative leaps, consider intangible factors, and understand broader societal implications.
Ultimately, the future of Visioning lies in AI augmentation rather than replacement. By embracing this partnership, organizations can create a powerful synthesis of artificial intelligence and human ingenuity, leading to more robust, innovative, and ethically sound visions for the future. The key to success will be continuous learning and adaptation, as leaders navigate the evolving landscape of AI-enhanced Visioning while preserving the irreplaceable human elements of creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking.
Defining, a key executive function, is about crafting precise and actionable definitions of what needs to be achieved to meet the strategic objectives of an organization. With the advancement of AI, this function is poised to undergo a significant transformation through three distinct phases. It is anticipated to be significantly impacted by General AI, with a GenAI/ML index score of 104.
Defining in the AI Experimentation Era (2024-2026)
During this period, individuals in leadership roles will remain primarily responsible for defining strategic goals and breaking them down into actionable tasks. Enterprise AI will begin to augment this process assisting in the initial draft of project briefs by compiling relevant information. Leaders will start integrating these AI-generated workflows into their process.
Defining in the AI Acceleration Era (2026-2028)
As Enterprise AI advances, its role in the defining process will become more pronounced. AI-powered workflow applications will help leaders break down visions into specific, interdependent tasks. These applications will suggest which marketing disciplines and capabilities are needed for each element of the strategy. AI will increasinly auto-populate briefs with initial content, including suggested timelines and resource allocations. Predictive analytics will offer scenario planning, helping refine the approach. Oversight by experienced professionals will remain crucial to ensure AI suggestions align with the overall vision and organizational values.
Defining in the AI Elevation Era (2028-2030)
In this advanced phase, AI will become a sophisticated partner in the defining process. AI workflow will autonomously draft comprehensive plans, including detailed breakdowns of required tasks, resources, and timelines. They will automatically generate and distribute briefs to relevant suppliers, complete with tailored KPIs and performance targets. And for many tasks, the briefs will go to other AI enterprise platforms managed by the supplier. Real-time market analysis will allow AI to make adjustments on the fly. Decision-makers will interact with AI as strategic co-definers, leveraging AI’s data processing and predictive capabilities while providing crucial insight, creativity, and ethical considerations.
The Path Forward
As AI evolves from a supportive tool to a strategic partner in defining, organizations must adapt their processes and skill sets. Professionals will need to develop proficiency in working with AI tools, interpreting their outputs, and directing them with human insights. Organizations should invest in enterprise AI workflow that can be tailored to their specific needs and processes. Continuous training will be necessary to keep pace with evolving AI capabilities and ensure they’re used effectively. The role of individuals will shift towards providing creative direction, ethical oversight, and handling complex, nuanced decisions that require empathy and cultural understanding.
By embracing this collaboration between people and AI in the defining function, organizations can achieve greater precision in strategy execution, more efficient resource allocation, and improved adaptability to market changes. With a more direct link between the upstream functions and the midstream functions of Generating and Developing.