AI drives martech budgets but only 49% of tools see active use

AI is the main driver of increased martech budgets, according to MarTech. Research on martech performance finds that only 49% of martech tools are actively used and only 15% of organizations qualify as high performers who meet strategic goals and demonstrate positive ROI.

This gap has produced what MarTech describes as workslop: low-quality, generic output that results when teams are pressured to use AI for higher volume while receiving less time for quality control.

Leadership gaps fuel workslop

Leadership often fails to define how to use AI and what success looks like. When the C-suite does not own AI adoption, accountability for outcomes remains unclear and responsibility for decisions falls to multiple departments without marketing input.

Marketing teams frequently act only as consumers of AI tools rather than designers, limiting their ability to adjust platforms that do not meet intended needs.

Requirements for marketing to own AI

Marketing departments can guide AI use by conducting an AI usage audit that inventories current workflows, data, users, and budgets. A one-page marketing AI charter can serve as a blueprint for department standards.

Clear boundaries must separate marketing decisions from those of IT, legal, and procurement. A cross-functional AI working group can prevent siloed efforts and assign explicit roles.

Build, buy, wait approach

Marketers are advised to follow a build, buy, wait strategy that focuses on brand equity, AI-mediated discovery, and capability investment. According to MarTech, marketing must own this strategy to avoid inheriting unsuitable plans from other departments.

Marketers need to participate at the start of AI adoption to shape tool selection and measurable outcomes, regardless of executive mandates.