We all know that AI is profoundly changing the paradigms of marketing, and that the skill sets and mind-sets required of a marketing director are changing as a result. The disciplines are evolving from driving traditional marketing campaigns to designing and governing AI-enabled personalized, always-on customer connection systems.
The need to evolve is more widely understood but not as widely appreciated as we believe it should be. Gartner reported that 65% of CMOs expect AI to dramatically change their role within two years, but only 32% believe the CMO skill profile needs significant change.(1)
Gartner also found that marketing leaders expect AI-driven automation to rise from 16% of marketing work in 2026 to 36% by 2028. McKinsey’s 2026 survey found that nearly 60% of marketers use AI multiple times a week, but fewer than 10% have begun capturing value across end-to-end workflows.(2)
We’ve seen and worked with some savvy marketing directors in this area and shared the experience of learning new skills and adopting new disciplines alongside them. And we’ve come away with some insights that we believe can help us all adapt to the profound changes coming to our profession.
We’re sharing them here as provocations for progressive leaders and marketers everywhere.
Follow MossWarner on LinkedIn to stay inspired with fresh ideas, thoughtful perspectives, and smarter ways to approach your work.