Generative AI is driving a high rate of job uncertainty for marketers, per Gartner

Dive Brief:

When it comes to job security, 87% of marketers are worried about technology replacing their jobs, per a recent report from Gartner based on several recent surveys of marketers.
Those concerns aren’t unfounded, as 26% of marketing leaders said they plan to reduce personnel due to generative AI in 2024. The findings also point to a martech burden: 61% of respondents said they have encountered technology or process changes in the past 12 months.
However, generative AI use can lead to lower rates of burnout. Those who engage with the technology at high rates are 30% less likely to indicate high rates of burnout and are 40% less likely to leave their job in the next year, per Gartner.

Dive Insight:

Gartner’s research underscores some of the challenges and opportunities CMOs face across their marketing organizations as the role of technology broadly continues to expand and as generative AI, more specifically, remains a big focus.

One takeaway is that while technology holds a great deal of usefulness for marketers, gaining the necessary skills remains a challenge: 63% of martech leaders reporting marketing cannot fully integrate or operate technologies in their stack while two thirds of marketers said that learning takes time away from day-to-day responsibilities.

In terms of morale, the report found that 55% of marketers report mismatched job expectations. This is further compounded by environmental factors such as new technology and uncertainty in leadership, with 20% of respondents experiencing a recent change in senior marketing leadership.

“These findings should be a red flag for CMOs, as high environmental uncertainty, mismatched role expectations and martech burden can lead to burnout as well as increased attrition,” said Iliyana Hadjistoyanova, director, advisory in the Gartner Marketing Practice, in a statement. “CMOs must refocus their talent strategy and prioritize development with a strong focus on upskilling and change management to ensure their function is prepared in the face of ongoing disruption.”

While the use of generative AI has increased in the past year, many consumers remain skeptical. The technology has been linked to increases in misinformation, among other concerns. Additionally, one-fifth of brands say they aim to remain generative AI-free as a point of differentiation.

The report, AI Opportunity Amid Talent Turmoil: 2023 Marketing Talent Survey, is based on surveys of 405 martech leaders between May and June of 2023 and 627 marketers between August and September of 2023. Between September and November of 2023, 822 business executives were surveyed.