How AI Is Changing the Shape of Marketing Work
From random prompting to workflow redesign—where the real shifts are happening today.
→ This is a story about what AI looks like from inside the work.
TL;DR
91% of marketing teams are using AI.1
That sounds terrifying—until you realize most are stuck in “random acts of prompting.” This post breaks down the real story behind the statistic: how marketers are actually using AI today, what it takes to move forward, and what this shift likely means for your career.
The Sky is Falling… or Is It?
The AI conversation has shifted a lot over the past few years. We’ve all seen the headlines: AI is going to change (or destroy) the world. It is somehow going to simultaneously kill jobs, create jobs, destroy trust, save time, democratize creativity, harm the environment, make us all superhuman, and reshape the economy.
A lot of this information is just noise. Posturing to support a narrative. The reality however is that none of us have a crystal ball, and how AI ultimately affects society is a story only future historians can tell.
That said, underneath all the hype and fear, something real is happening—and it’s worth paying attention to. Not the headlines. The data. Because the data tells us what is going on at the ground level, where most of us are at today, and it’s often quite different from what we’re seeing on our news feed.
If you’re familiar with the Gartner Hype Cycle, I think we’re somewhere between the Peak of Inflated Expectations and the Trough of Disillusionment—but it honestly depends on what AI innovation you are tracking.
This post is my attempt at unfurling the data crossing my desk in real time. The goal is simple: understand how the market is shifting, my place in it, and how I should be thinking about AI as I look to the future.
The Maturity Curve: Where Teams Actually Are
According to Jasper’s 2026 State of AI in Marketing Report, 91% of teams are using AI in some capacity.1
I recently heard that stat on a webinar and did a serious double take. I mean, as a marketer, that is a really scary statistic. My brain literally went on tilt.
Don’t freak out. The second, more important statistic reveals that the majority of these users are simply experimenting with prompts. That’s it.
Digging deeper, the broader story is that there are three distinct user groups within the 91%:
Experimenters (60-70% of the market): Performing random acts of AI. Basic prompting. No workflow integration.
Integrators (20-25%): Embedding AI into specific processes, but navigating corporate governance hurdles and struggling to scale.
Transformers (3-10%): Redesigning workflows. Helping to define governance. Creating and scaling agents. Measuring ROI.
My brain is no longer on tilt, but I’m definitely thinking that the presenter should have led with that information.
Which leads me to the question: what type of AI user are you?
I myself have self-identified an integrator, or, more accurately, an integrator working towards becoming a transformer. But, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I love technology and would go bonkers if I wasn’t always dabbling in something new, so my constitution for this stuff is higher than most.
What really makes this data interesting is how each segment is engaging with AI:
Experimenters treat AI as a task tool: “Help me write this email. Summarize this doc.”
Integrators treat AI as a process tool: “Help me draft, then refine, then check for brand voice.”
Transformers treat AI as a system: “Here’s the workflow. Here are the constraints. Here’s how outputs get validated before they ever reach a human.”
The research also tells us that high-performing marketing teams are 2.8x more likely to have fundamentally redesigned their workflows, reinforcing the usage data.1
Before we go further, I want to introduce a quick pause into the story. I call these moments Purpose Plays: short prompts designed to help you translate the ideas being discussed into your own context.
Purpose Play
Think about the recurring workflows in your world — campaign launches, content production, reporting cycles, creative approvals. If you could rebuild one of them today, how would you use AI to change the architecture? Are there any steps you could eliminate or automate? Are there any you absolutely couldn’t?
The Skill That Moves You Forward
In reality, the gap between AI Experimenters and AI Transformers isn’t all that big.
It’s not about access. Everyone has access to the same tools.
It’s not about knowledge. There is a learning (aka experimentation) curve, but prompt engineering isn’t as complicated as it’s made out to be. At its core, it’s about clarity — who, what, why, where, and how.
So, what exactly is the gap?
Mostly, it’s understanding how AI works, when to use it, and what to use it for. I am defining this skill as judgment, or, more specifically, the ability to direct AI with intention towards the result you want to achieve.
Take my work for example. I built a proprietary custom GPT for a service I offer called The Brand Blueprint™. This GPT worked so well that I created a client-facing version, assuming it would help people get ‘Amy’ level results at a fraction of the cost. But it didn’t. Not even close. Here’s why: most people don’t have the knowledge and experience to know if the AI output is on-brand—structurally, tonally, strategically—or not. That’s my lane. Not my clients.
Think about it: you can’t become a rocket scientist, botanist, mechanic, or anything really, by asking AI to give you all the answers—you need to possess the relevant knowledge to determine whether the information it’s giving you is any good.
Purpose Play
Choose one area where your expertise is already strong — and test how AI changes the shape of your work. Not the speed. The shape.
Pay attention to what improves. Pay even closer attention to what degrades. The contrast is where your competitive edge lives.
What This All Really Means
The conversation around how AI is going to affect marketing work is shifting from “What roles will it replace?” to “What skills do we need to cultivate?”
The truth as I see it: We don’t all need to become developers. But we do need to understand where AI amplifies expertise—and where it exposes gaps in judgment.
Recent reports from both the Marketing AI Institute and McKinsey point to a need for what can best be described as the ‘New T-Shaped Marketer’: people who have both domain expertise and AI competency. Think vertical depth in a marketing discipline (brand strategy, growth, content, performance) and horizontal breadth in AI fluency across the workflow—knowing when to use it, how to direct it, and when to step in. 2,3
Additionally, new roles are emerging fast. The hot job titles right now1:
AI Search Specialist
AI Transformation Lead
AI Trainer
AI Governance Lead
These aren’t “AI jobs.” They’re marketing jobs that require AI fluency.
Look, I don’t think I’m unique in feeling the pressure to stay on top of how AI is changing my vocation of choice. I fall prey to headlines. I worry about getting left behind. And I have hot debates with my friends about whether AI is good or bad.
But, in the end, my POV is this: AI isn’t the real differentiator. Judgment is.
The marketers who move ahead aren’t going to be the ones who know the most about AI. They’ll be the ones who know how to use AI to do their job better. Not because they mastered the tool but because they mastered their lane.
From Insight to Integration
If this piece clarified anything for you, it’s probably this: AI isn’t the differentiator. How you design the work is.
Next week, I’m leading an AI-Powered Growth Marketing workshop where we’ll look at how AI integrates into real marketing systems — what to automate, what to redesign, and where judgment matters most.
It’s application-first, not hype-driven.
Two sessions. Details can be found here: Feb 25 or Feb 27.
Sources
1 Jasper (February 2026) The State of AI in Marketing 2026
2 Marketing AI Institute SmarterX (January 2026) Marketing Talent AI Impact Report
3 QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey (November 2025) The State of AI in 2025
About the Work
I’m Amy Zwagerman—brand strategist, fractional CMO, and founder of The Launch Box. I work with founders and marketing leaders to translate durable marketing principles into strategies and systems that fit their specific context, stage, and goals.
Marketing Jam sits alongside my client work as a place to explore ideas more openly. If the thinking here resonates and you’re curious about working together, you can learn more about my services or get in touch here.
AI-supported, human-led. All ideas and insights are my own. Curious how I use AI and where I draw the line? See my AI Disclosure Policy →
Integrity Pledge 🙋🏻♀️: The books, newsletters, shows, podcasts, and client work shared here are 100% reflective of my world. I will always disclose if and when I have a relationship with a brand I mention in a post or am sharing an affiliate link.