Engage Coders’ AI Trends for Marketers Report [Key Findings from 1,000+ Marketing Pros]

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With 66% of marketers globally incorporating artificial intelligence into their roles, the question is no longer whether to use AI but how. How are other marketers—and your competitors—leveraging AI? How can you adopt AI ethically?

To better understand AI in marketing by 2025, we surveyed over 1,000 marketing and advertising professionals worldwide.

Our findings will help decode AI trends, uncover the most common use cases today, and guide navigating this technology as new laws and frameworks address its usage.

Key Findings: The Current State of AI

1. AI is no longer an experiment—it’s integral to marketing workflows.

When AI first started gaining momentum, we encouraged marketers to experiment with it and explore ways to integrate it into their workflows.

Well, the era of experimentation is over. While robots aren’t replacing humans, they’ve become deeply embedded in daily operations.

Here are the facts:

91% of marketing leaders confirm that employees or teams within their organizations use AI to assist them in their jobs.
82% of marketers report that either they or their company invested in automation tools for employees to utilize in their roles.
66% state that their organization builds internal AI tools specifically tailored for marketing teams.

From these statistics, it’s clear that marketers have fully embraced AI as a supportive tool. If you’re not yet leveraging AI in your organization, chances are your competition already is.

2. Though AI has become commonplace in marketing, barriers still prevent wider adoption of new AI tools.

While AI has become essential and normalized in marketing, many marketers remain hesitant to integrate new AI tools into their workflows. Below are the top three concerns highlighted in our survey:

Data Privacy: A majority of marketers (42%) cite data privacy concerns as a reason their team avoided adopting new AI tools in the past year.
Training and Time Investment: 39% of marketers noted that the time and effort required to train on new AI tools acted as a barrier to adoption.
Too Many Similar Tools: 35% expressed frustration with the abundance of AI tools that perform similar functions but lack integration, complicating their adoption.

3. AI is not taking our jobs.

While concerns about job security in the age of AI are understandable, recent data shows that 65% of marketers advocate using AI as an assistive tool while cautioning against over-reliance.

Why? Because AI, though evolving, is far from perfect.

Challenges like inconsistencies and bias still persist in AI systems today.

The human touch remains irreplaceable.

Currently, most industry professionals use AI to support job functions rather than replace them entirely. So, take a deep breath—you’re not being replaced anytime soon.

Now That AI is the Norm, Are There Regulations on Its Use in Marketing?

In the United States? No. Currently, there is no comprehensive federal legislation addressing the use or development of AI in the U.S. However, other countries and regions have implemented restrictions and guidelines.

For instance, the European Union passed the AI Act, which enforces strict rules on AI transparency, bias, and high-risk applications such as algorithms. In China, companies must register AI models with the government.

For multinational companies, these regulations mean that AI marketing practices permissible in the U.S. could be banned elsewhere, potentially locking them out of major global markets.

So, if you’re a strictly U.S.-based company, you might think you’re in the clear. Not quite. While there are no formal AI laws to follow, consumer sentiment is divided regarding how companies use AI.

For example, Coca-Cola faced significant backlash over its AI-generated Christmas 2024 ad, which was labeled a “creepy dystopian nightmare.”

Audiences were put off by the ad’s choppy visuals and criticized the ethics—or lack thereof—of using AI instead of collaborating solely with artists and animators.

Consumers also worry about how personal data is utilized in AI training and the potential for data breaches that could compromise their privacy.

How Can Marketers Address These Concerns?

The key lies in transparency. Inform your audience if and how AI is being used in your marketing strategy, whether in content creation, data collection, or communication.

For instance, many media outlets include disclaimers at the beginning or end of blog posts, clarifying that the content was created entirely or partially with the help of AI.

General Attitudes Towards AI

The Marketer’s Perspective

We mentioned earlier that most marketing professionals recognize the benefits of AI but are cautious about relying on it entirely.

They believe AI supports two critical areas: time management and productivity.

Our findings reveal that 79% of marketers agree that AI and automation tools help them reduce time spent on manual tasks, while 73% say these tools allow them to focus more on the most important aspects of their roles.

Additionally, 66% of marketers report that AI and automation tools enable them to dedicate more time to creative tasks in their jobs.

What does this mean? Less repetitive work and more room for strategic thinking. That sounds like a win to us.

If you’re curious about how AI can enhance productivity and save time, try experimenting with tools like Breeze Copilot, which leverages generative AI and CRM data to streamline workflows and execute tasks efficiently.

The Organizational Perspective

At the organizational level, 50% of marketing leaders say their company somewhat supports marketers using AI in their roles, while 30% state their organization does not encourage its use. The remaining 20% report no specific policy regarding AI.

Meanwhile, 75% of leaders whose organizations have invested in AI confirm that the investment has yielded a positive ROI. Only 4% report a negative ROI, and roughly 20% note neither a positive nor negative return.

Beyond productivity, marketing leaders believe AI has had the greatest impact on improving employee effectiveness and enabling data-driven decision-making.

How Marketers Are Using AI at Work

As noted earlier, most marketing professionals surveyed report using AI in their current roles. Let’s explore what tools they’re using and where they’re seeing the most ROI.

Most Popular AI Tools for Marketers

Image and design generators like DALL-E and Synthesia are the top choice for 40% of marketers. Chatbot tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Copilot rank second, with 39% of marketers utilizing them.

In third place are SmartAI video or audio editing tools, featuring automatic editing capabilities or AI-powered light, noise, voice, and color correction.

ROI of AI-Powered Marketing Channels

As bloggers ourselves, we were surprised to learn that email is the #1 channel marketers use AI to create content for. However, our bias might be showing.

The majority (50.77%) use AI for email marketing and newsletter platforms. This percentage is just slightly higher than the 50% who use AI for text-based social media content.

In third place, 47% of marketers use AI to create blog posts, articles, and other long-form content.

For all these channels, marketers are seeing a worthwhile ROI:

Email: 63% report at least a somewhat positive ROI.
Social Media: 67% report at least a somewhat positive ROI.
Blog/Long-Form: 68% report at least a somewhat positive ROI.

Generative AI and Marketing

Content Creation

The most common task marketers use generative AI for is text-based content creation (52%), including blogs, eBooks, and marketing email copy. For marketers leveraging GenAI to create content, here’s how they’re applying it:

53% use it for content quality assurance, such as spell-checking, accessibility reviews, or writing recommendations.
50% rely on it to write copy for marketing materials like blogs and emails.
48% generate images for marketing content using AI art tools.

However, AI isn’t a complete solution for content creation. Only 4% of marketers use it to write entire pieces of content. The majority leverage it for inspiration or to create outlines and initial paragraphs.

Moreover, 46% are only somewhat confident they would recognize inaccuracies in the information produced by GenAI.

Additional GenAI Use Cases

48% of marketers use generative AI for research purposes, such as market research, finding datasets, and summarizing articles.
Automating direct brand messaging or conversational marketing (e.g., DMs, conversational emails, SMS).
GenAI also proves valuable for branded communication, with 41% of marketers using it to automate direct brand messaging and conversational marketing.

For all these applications, the majority of marketing professionals find AI highly effective, saving them an average of one to two hours per workday.

The Future of AI for Marketers

We may not have a crystal ball, but we do have the top AI predictions from over a thousand marketing professionals.

Here’s what marketers are forecasting about the future of AI:

65% of marketing leaders state that their teams plan to boost investment in AI and automation tools throughout 2025.
65% of marketing directors believe that by 2030, most software they use will come equipped with built-in AI or automation capabilities.
67% of marketers agree that by 2030, the majority of people will rely on generative AI tools like ChatGPT to assist them in their jobs.
67% of marketers predict that AI will significantly influence how they—and other marketers—perform their roles in 2025.

As the AI landscape continues to evolve, we’ll monitor its progression and its applications in the workplace.