As AI transforms the business world, the CMO’s responsibilities are shifting. Rather than acting solely as brand guardians, modern CMOs aim to become strategic growth leaders – and adopting AI is key to that evolution. By championing the integration of AI across marketing functions, CMOs can expand their influence and shape broader business strategies.
McKinsey estimates that current AI technologies could automate tasks that take up 60% – 70% of employees’ time. Yet, AI’s potential extends beyond efficiency. Forward-thinking CMOs will harness AI to extract intelligence and insights that, combined with human creativity, drive large-scale performance optimization. With this support, they can usher in a new “Golden Age of Marketing,” becoming orchestrators of customer engagement built on both human understanding and data-driven precision, delivering a competitive edge and measurable results.
From embedding AI agents into workflows to balancing human empathy with machine-generated insights, AI is fundamentally redefining what it means to be a CMO.
In the age of AI, the CMO is emerging as a pivotal leader driving business transformation. With AI capable of delivering real-time customer insights, automating routine tasks, optimizing campaigns, and measuring results in seconds, CMOs can focus on what they do best – designing strategies that fuel growth across the entire customer journey and integrating AI to accelerate that mission. Their deep understanding of customer needs positions them as ideal champions for AI adoption, while their communication skills make them natural advocates to the rest of the C-suite, helping demonstrate AI’s value and encouraging organization-wide adoption. Having long relied on martech tools, data platforms, and analytics, CMOs are already well-equipped to lead this shift. And many are doing just that: according to a Boston Consulting Group survey, three out of five CMOs say they are the driving force behind AI funding and investment within their companies.
According to Adweek, successful AI integration in marketing starts with a strong data foundation and seamless connection to existing infrastructure. Platforms like Braze, built on composable intelligence, show how equipping teams with intelligent models, reinforcement learning, and AI agents can enable smarter, faster, and more relevant customer engagement at scale. When CMOs embed AI agents into workflows and tie them to key business goals like revenue, churn, or upsells, they become true orchestrators of personalized, high-impact experiences that drive long-term strategic advantage. One Braze client, for instance, used AI to deliver hyper-personalized, real-time campaigns to sports fans, leading to double-digit subscription growth and a 105% boost in cross-selling – proof that AI-powered engagement can translate directly into competitive edge and enterprise value.
In the AI era, CMOs must focus on building hybrid teams where humans and machines work seamlessly together, while investing in upskilling to ensure employees can use AI confidently and effectively. Leading by example is key, 91% of CMOs now make time to learn about AI themselves, and many companies are introducing formal training programs to support this shift. As workflows evolve, successful organizations will be those where people and AI agents collaborate closely. At the same time, CMOs must use AI responsibly, prioritizing trust, authenticity, and human creativity to stand out in an AI-driven landscape.
