- BCG's Annual Survey of More Than 200 CMOs Reveals That 71% Plan to Invest over $10 Million Annually in GenAI in the Next Three Years
- One-Third of CMOs Report Improvements in Customer Experience and Content Quality; Fewer Report Efficiency Gains
- Video Generation, Personalization, and Agentic AI Are Among the Next Wave of CMO Priorities
BOSTON, June 2, 2025 -- Despite economic volatility, 71% of CMOs plan to invest more than $10 million annually in GenAI over the next three years, up from 57% last year. According to a new survey from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), optimism among CMOs about GenAI has climbed each year—from 74% in 2023 to 83% in 2025—while concerns have declined rapidly.
While over a third of CMOs report improvements in customer experience, content quality, and volume, thanks to GenAI, fewer CMOs than last year cite efficiency gains from increased productivity and the elimination of manual work. Still, 60% of CMOs expect GenAI to drive revenue gains of 5% or more in their focus areas.
These are among the findings of BCG's report, titled How CMOs Are Scaling GenAI in Turbulent Times, released today. The report is based on a survey of 200 CMOs across Asia, Europe, and North America, conducted in April and May 2025.
"GenAI is rapidly becoming embedded in the marketing function," said Mark Abraham, a BCG managing director and global leader of the firm's personalization business. "Even in the current turbulent macroeconomic environment, we're seeing CMOs invest in shifting from isolated pilots to scaled GenAI use cases, enhancing personalization and marketing operations."
Investment in Content Creation, Personalization, and Agentic AI
As CMOs explore new applications, they will prioritize investments in pilot areas such as content creation (particularly immersive media and video), AI-powered personalization, and agentic AI:
- Video generation emerges as the next frontier in content creation, with 30% of CMOs identifying it as their next focus area.
- Predictive analytics remains critical for personalization, with CMOs citing product recommendations, outreach timing, and next-best content as areas they have fully scaled. More advanced use cases, such as personalized offers, churn prediction, and audience optimization are the next pilot wave. By scaling personalized offers, leading marketers are generating 3x higher returns than those of mass offers.
- AI agents are reshaping marketing workflows, especially for B2B companies. One-third of B2B CMOs and nearly one-quarter of B2C CMOs cited AI agents as a high investment priority.
CMOs Deprioritize ROI Measurement, Focus on Talent Development
When asked how they are prioritizing funds to enhance the digital customer experience, CMOs ranked the use of GenAI to measure marketing ROI last. Many are relying on previous investments in first-party data collection while underinvesting in the measurement of marketing ROI.
In parallel, CMOs are sustaining investment in talent development. With GenAI talent in short supply, many are upskilling their teams with hackathons, AI incubator studios, and hands-on demos instead of relying on external hires.
"In conversations with CMOs, it's clear that GenAI has become a core part of how modern marketing teams operate," said Lauren Wiener, a BCG managing director and global lead for the firm's Marketing practice. "What separates the winners is a commitment not just to scaling the technology, but to empowering the people who use it. Those CMOs investing in tools and talent are the ones rewriting the playbook."
Download the publication here:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/how-cmos-scaling-gen-ai-in-turbulent-times
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