AI’s iceberg problem: What CMOs don’t see could hurt them

When it comes to AI, CMOs are feeling the heat. According to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) study, the traditional marketing playbook—“more of everything”—is hitting a wall. And while many marketing leaders have high hopes for AI, in practice, they may be grappling with delivering the results they’re hoping for. But what if new AI tools and applications are only the tip of the iceberg? What if AI’s value lies not only in what’s visible, but also in what lies under the surface?

In the study, which surveyed 1,800 marketing and sales executives from around the world, 81% of CMOs said they view AI as a game-changer. But 84% said that challenges with rigid, fragmented operations have limited their ability to harness the technology effectively.

“Many CMOs say they don’t have a structure in place that will allow them to leverage AI in transformative ways,” said Jonathan Adashek, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at IBM, during a recent interview with IBM Think.

There are a number of potential reasons for this disconnect, including siloed departments, rigid internal processes or fragmented datasets. Making matters even trickier, very few leaders feel they have the right people to tackle the challenge, even as the majority of CMOs say they are now also expected to fuel growth and profitability.

“Only 21% believe they have the right talent in their organization to achieve their goals in the next few years,” Adashek said.

AI is, of course, an opportunity for many businesses. Using its “client zero” approach, IBM said it has automated one million HR tasks. The company now resolves 95% of employee requests, across 11.5 million interactions, within its HR department without escalation. This frees up HR professionals to focus on higher-value, more complicated tasks like coaching, workforce planning and talent development.

Marketing is no exception, with AI adoption boosting efficiency. As AI is being embedded within teams, the average time a creative on IBM’s marketing team spends on derivative assets has significantly decreased, Adashek explained.

“That is allowing people to save time and use it to be more creative, develop more concepts, and do more original, new work,” he said.

Beyond IBM, the CMO study also points to a paradigm with consumers citing personalized interactions and proactive support as a top priority; consumers want to be known before they are served. And AI offers new tools for developing different personas, journeys and opportunities for engagement. But while personalization is key for customer experience, it’s no longer enough. It should be relevant to what the customer needs, according to Adashek.

“It’s about personalized and relevant content that’s served to people at the right time and the right place,” he said.

Adashek believes data aggregation, combined with data privacy safeguards, could open many opportunities for organizations to detect new patterns in consumer behaviors and act more strategically, more quickly.

“Real-time insights can influence key decision making, taking marketing to the next level,” Adashek said. “There’s a huge opportunity to boost everything from creative, media buying, events and more—and that ultimately drives brand leadership and relevance.

A common mistake Adashek has observed is companies getting stuck in their AI journey by not first strengthening their data architecture—that is, making it more agile and better integrated. “Getting your data in order is the first step, and if you don’t do that at the start, you cannot make progress,” Adashek said.

So, where does the iceberg fit in? As AI advances at a rapid clip, it’s easy to get distracted by the latest shiny new tools. But what’s shiny isn’t always what matters. “I look at AI as an iceberg,” Adashek said. “The 20% that’s above the water is the shiny stuff. The 80% below—that’s where the real promise of AI lies. It has the potential to transform how work is done, drive productivity and help teams unlock efficiency at scale.”