TL;DR: This article introduces the three distinct eras of marketing and technology that will shape the future:
- The AI Experimentation Era (2024-2026)
- The AI Acceleration Era (2026-2028)
- The AI Elevation Era (2028-2030)
It examines the defining characteristics and shifts of each era, drawing insights from a WARC survey of 700+ marketers worldwide. The article also identifies seven executive functions in marketing and discusses how AI will impact these functions differently across the three eras, highlighting the strategic imperatives that marketers should adopt to stay competitive in this rapidly evolving landscape.
AI’s Impact on Marketing across Three Eras
Our projection is that the evolution of AI’s impact on marketing will take place across three distinct eras, each marked by its own defining characteristics. While these eras are presented sequentially, it’s important to note that some forward-thinking marketers may engage in acceleration or elevation initiatives earlier in their AI journey.
This article delves into these three upcoming eras, exploring – for each – the potential they hold and the strategic imperatives that each creates for marketing over the next half-decade.
Towards 2030: Overview of the Three Eras
The AI Experimentation Era (2024-2026)
This phase is characterized by the individual use of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Diffusion Models, new software with generative AI (GenAI) capabilities, utilization of existing platforms such as Microsoft Copilot and Adobe Firefly, and the early integration of GenAI into enterprise platforms. It is a period of pilot projects and refinement, setting the stage for more profound changes to come.
Chris Stephenson, Global Head of Strategic Engagement, OMG – Interviewed June 2024
However, this era is also marked by complexity, with an abundance of solutions being created, often exceeding actual needs. Frequently, these solutions fail to genuinely address inherent problems, resulting in significant venture capital investment being misallocated.
The AI Acceleration Era (2026-2028)
Following the early experimentation, AI becomes a fundamental element of marketing, with more mature applications of GenAI in existing platforms. It is adopted by a large portion of the workforce, primarily for improving efficiency and effectiveness. We will also begin to see manifestations of generative AI in creative work, with AI-produced content either enhancing efficiencies or enabling more effective forms of creativity—for instance, the ability to generate unique variations of content tailored to each individual.
This era will also witness early examples of generative AI being used to accomplish previously commercially unfeasible tasks for traditional creative methods. These range from reimagining brand expressions to seamlessly morphing between objects. However, this period will be primarily defined by the systematic integration of AI into work processes, accelerating the speed at which marketing is conducted.
The AI Elevation Era (2028-2030)
The final stretch to 2030 ushers in the AI Elevation Era with the promise of artificial general intelligence (AGI)—a versatile intelligence source that underpins all platforms.
Advancements will elevate creative and strategic output to new heights. The interplay between human intuition and AI’s analytical capabilities will redefine decision-making.
Marketers will harness AI to execute large-scale, highly personalized campaigns, gaining unprecedented insight into consumer and customer needs.
Marketers and their agencies will evolve from content creators to curators. To orchestrators of advanced technologies.
These three eras and their likely changes were defined through a series of interviews with AI experts and a large-scale survey of senior marketers. Before exploring each era in detail, take a moment to understand the survey – and some of the immediate insights.
Ascension | The WARC Research
PHD carried out the study with WARC – 700+ marketers from across the world (Q2 2024).
This study reveals the current state of generative AI adoption, the gaps in knowledge and perception between agencies and client-side marketers, and the expected trajectory of AI’s influence on various marketing functions over the next decade.
The findings are shared in this and the other two articles covering the Winds of the Ascension timeline: Acceleration (2026-2028) and Elevation (2028-2030).
The Knowledge Gap: Nearly half of agency and client-side marketers consider their Generative AI knowledge advanced, but quiz scores reveal a significant gap
Source: OMG X WARC Impact of ML and generative AI on Marketing and Agency Roles, May 2024
Before we explore each of the different eras, let’s look at some general observations from the research – starting with four headline observations:
- The Adoption Gap
The desire for generative AI adoption significantly outpaces current utilization levels. While 35% of client-side marketers and 36% of agency marketers feel generative AI should be utilized to a high or extremely high extent, only 27% of client-side marketers and 26% of agency marketers are currently using it at this level. - Knowledge Gap
Nearly half of agency and client-side marketers (42%) consider their generative AI knowledge advanced, but quiz scores reveal a significant discrepancy between perceived and actual knowledge, with only 13.7% of all respondents scoring 2 or more out of 5 on the generative AI quiz. - Client Focus on Efficiency
Although agencies and client-side marketers are equally focused on generative AI’s potential for innovation (52% and 51%, respectively), client-side marketers prioritize efficiency – 48% of client-side marketers prioritize streamlining repetitive tasks and freeing up resources, compared to 39% of agency marketers. - Technical Apprehension
Client-side marketers are more concerned about the lack of technical expertise in generative AI adoption than agency marketers. 38% of client-side marketers view the lack of relevant technical expertise as a limitation, while only 28% of agency marketers share this concern.
Source: OMG X WARC Impact of ML and generative AI on Marketing and Agency Roles, May 2024
The desire for Generative Al adoption significantly outpaces current utilization.
While 35% of client-side marketers and 36% of agency marketers feel Generative Al should be utilized to a high or extremely high extent, only 27% of client-side marketers and 26% of agency marketers are currently utilizing it at this level.
Experts Foresee Major Changes
As part of the WARC research, we conducted a knowledge test to assess respondents’ knowledge of generative AI. This was aimed not only at establishing the current levels of AI knowledge across marketing—which were lower than the claimed levels—but also at examining how predictions and cited implications for marketing differed between those with low versus high knowledge.
The findings revealed that the more individuals knew about generative AI, the more they agreed it would have a high or extremely high impact on marketing. Specifically, 44% of respondents with above-average knowledge agreed with this statement, compared to 32% of those with below-average knowledge. This indicates that experts can foresee changes that others cannot.
Overall, to what extent do you think generative AI will impact marketing?
| Non-Experts (Below Average Score) |
Experts (Above Average Score) |
|
| Extremely High | 32% | 44% |
| High / Low / Moderate / No | 68% | 56% |
Further analysis of the difference between the experts and the non-experts surfaced four interesting insights:
- Innovation Over Repetition
Another key insight was the opportunities that AI offers. Those with above-average knowledge were more likely to see opportunities in new, innovative possibilities and ideas rather than just streamlining repetitive tasks. Respondents with above-average knowledge were 16% more likely to agree that exploring new innovative possibilities and ideas is a key opportunity for organizations leveraging generative AI—56% of respondents with above-average knowledge agreed, versus 48% for those with below-average knowledge. - AI to Transform Marketing Infrastructure
This is likely due to their understanding of AI’s potential to create new forms of marketing infrastructure. For example, integrating generative utilities such as diffusion models into a creative engineering platform can enable the automated creation of content that is versioned based on audience signals. This is an important step in creating an intelligent system. It requires an understanding of different components of generative AI to see how they could come together to create the marketing ecosystem of tomorrow. - High Implementation Costs
The analysis also highlighted the biggest limitations of generative AI applications. Respondents with above-average knowledge were 35% more likely to agree with the high cost of implementation, with 43% agreeing with this statement compared to 32% of those with lower levels of knowledge. This underscores their ability to see the investment cost required for organizations to implement all the necessary components to create a fully connected enterprise platform. - Realistic Automation Expectations
Finally, there were interesting observations about generative AI’s ability to impact the automation of many functions carried out by agencies. Those with above-average knowledge were less likely to believe that generative AI would replace these actioning functions in the short term (2024 to 2025). Specifically, 21% of individuals with higher knowledge believed that generative AI would replace actioning tasks within the short term, versus 46% for those with below-average knowledge. This indicates that as the knowledge base increases, the perspective on AI’s ability to automate becomes more realistic, understanding the complexity and disconnection of technology, data, and capabilities, and therefore still requiring human involvement. In some cases, individuals will need to carry out different, more evolved, and advanced functions to extract greater value.
Research on the Executive Functions of the Marketer
As part of the study, we explored the likely impact on the various functions carried out by marketers and agencies. We have identified seven executive functions that, between them, comprise the capabilities and actions required to deliver end-to-end marketing activities:
- Sensing: The function of understanding stakeholder needs through listening, interpreting, and empathizing.
- Visioning: The ability to identify and articulate needs or opportunities, setting the course for future growth.
- Defining: Translating a vision into an actionable strategy, setting parameters, objectives, and methodologies.
- Generating: The creative heart of marketing, involving the creation of concepts and content.
- Developing: Building upon and adapting what has been generated to ensure it is well-crafted and fit for purpose.
- Judging: Decision-making processes involving evaluation, choosing between alternatives, and steering project direction.
- Actioning: Task organization and project execution, orchestrating collective efforts to meet deadlines and achieve goals.
The research reveals a significant shift in executive functions across the different eras, with immediate implications for talent recruitment. In the Experimentation, Acceleration, and Elevation eras sections, we’ll explore how these functions evolve, backed by WARC’s comprehensive data and insights.
For those seeking an even deeper dive, The Flood section will provide an extensive analysis of how each executive function is impacted by AI advancements. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s start with where we are today: the Experimentation Era.
Register to Read More
We will get in touch to share more major updates as our content continues to evolve
