Gartner Survey: CMOs Allocate 15.3% of Budgets to AI Despite Readiness Gaps

CMOs Ramp Up AI Investments in 2026

A Gartner survey conducted in early 2026 found that CMOs are allocating an average of 15.3% of their marketing budgets to AI initiatives, even as only 30% report that their organizations have mature or fully developed AI readiness capabilities. This gap highlights that 70% of CMOs view becoming an AI leader as a critical goal for 2026, yet the same percentage admits their internal processes are not mature enough to implement and scale AI effectively, according to MarTech. The survey included 401 CMOs and senior marketing leaders from companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue across North America and Europe.

The Disconnect Between AI Ambition and Readiness

Many marketing organizations lack the governance structures, data foundations, workflows, and talent models needed to operationalize AI at scale, as Ewan McIntyre, VP analyst at Gartner, stated: "CMOs recognize AI’s potential as a force multiplier for growth, efficiency, and transformation, but most marketing organizations are not yet built to capture that value." Organizations with mature AI readiness allocate 21.3% of their marketing budgets to AI, compared to the overall average of 15.3%, and these firms have marketing budgets averaging 8.9% of company revenue versus the broader survey average of 7.8%. This readiness lag means companies often deploy AI tools quickly but struggle to integrate them into repeatable, measurable business processes.

How Mature Organizations Are Pulling Ahead

Firms with advanced AI maturity not only spend more on AI but also demonstrate stronger operational discipline and budget flexibility, with their marketing budgets representing a higher percentage of company revenue. Meanwhile, overall marketing spend has risen slightly from 7.7% of company revenue in 2025 to 7.8% in 2026, yet 56% of CMOs say they lack sufficient budget to execute their strategies, and 54% report insufficient resources. This trend underscores a broader shift in martech where AI readiness increasingly depends on organizational coordination rather than just access to technology, according to MarTech. As widely known in B2B SaaS contexts, effective AI integration often requires robust data management, which these findings align with by showing how coordination gaps hinder value capture.

Survey Insights and Methodology

The Gartner survey, carried out between January and March 2026, involved responses from CMOs at large enterprises, revealing that competitive advantages in AI stem from connecting tools to data and operations. For instance, mature organizations pair higher AI spending with better processes, while others face challenges in deciding which programs to cut or automate. This pattern indicates that AI initiatives demand broader organizational change, as detailed in the survey results published by MarTech.