Gartner's Survey: CMOs Allocate 15.3% of Budgets to AI Amid Readiness Shortfalls
A Gartner survey shows CMOs are spending an average of 15.3% of marketing budgets on AI, but only 30% have mature readiness capabilities, according to MarTech.
CMOs Ramp Up AI Investments Despite Gaps
Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey reveals that chief marketing officers (CMOs) are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, even as only 30% report that their organizations possess mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities. This investment trend highlights a disconnect where marketers are purchasing AI tools faster than they are establishing the necessary infrastructure, based on data from the survey conducted in early 2026.
The Gap Between Ambition and Readiness
According to Gartner, 70% of CMOs identify becoming an AI leader as a critical goal for 2026, yet the same percentage acknowledges that their internal processes are not sufficiently mature to implement and scale AI effectively. Ewan McIntyre, a Gartner analyst, noted that most marketing organizations lack the governance structures, data foundations, workflows, and talent models required to operationalize AI at scale. Organizations with mature AI readiness, however, are allocating 21.3% of their marketing budgets to AI, compared to the overall average, and these firms typically dedicate 8.9% of company revenue to marketing budgets versus the broader survey average of 7.8%.
Marketing Budget Trends and Challenges
Overall marketing spend has increased slightly, from 7.7% of company revenue in 2025 to 7.8% in 2026, according to the survey. Despite this, 56% of CMOs indicate they lack sufficient budget to execute their strategies, while 54% report inadequate resources, forcing decisions on program cuts, workflow automation, and AI integration for efficiency. According to MarTech, this reflects a broader trend where AI readiness increasingly depends on organizational coordination rather than just technology access.
Survey Methodology and Implications
The survey included 401 CMOs and senior marketing leaders from North America and Europe, primarily from companies with over $1 billion in annual revenue, and was conducted between January and March 2026. According to MarTech, competitive advantages in AI now stem from integrating tools with data and operations, transforming the challenge into a management issue. As widely-known context, AI adoption in marketing often requires organizational changes, which can exacerbate these gaps in preparedness.
