Marketing teams stagnate amid AI pressure

Company leadership is the main driver of this increased pace, the findings show.

B2B marketing teams are facing tighter deadlines and pressure to deliver more work without increasing headcount, according to research commissioned by Demandbase and conducted by G2.

The study found that 72 percent of teams are the same size or smaller than they were two years ago, while 70 percent of marketers report working to shorter timelines.

The research, presented at Demandbase’s GO conference in New York City, also highlights the continued importance of human skills as artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into marketing.

Some 56 percent of respondents said strategy, creativity, judgment, communication and leadership are more important than they were two years ago, compared with 38 percent who placed greater value on AI skills, prompting, tool fluency and data literacy. Only 21 percent said they rarely or never need to correct AI-generated output.

Demandbase highlights the role of human skills in AI marketing

Gabe Rogol, CEO, Demandbase: "Marketing teams are being asked to produce more, faster and with fewer resources. AI has already driven system-level change in areas like engineering, but marketing hasn’t made the same leap due to the complexity involved in bringing products to market. Agentic marketing is the only way to give marketers the capacity they need to move at the speed they’re expected to, by pulling them out of the weeds and freeing them to do more creative and strategic work."

The study also points to a shift in expectations for marketing professionals. Half of respondents expect their jobs to resemble those of creative directors in the future, while 58 percent said producing work that stands out requires more creativity. Only 16 percent believe creativity is becoming less important because AI can handle more execution.

AI search creates new demands for brand visibility

Although AI search is influencing marketing strategies, only 35 percent of respondents systematically track how their brands appear in AI search results. Meanwhile, 62 percent have changed their search strategies to account for AI search, and 64 percent have tried to influence how AI systems describe their brands.

Company websites remain important channels for engaging audiences. Some 44 percent of respondents reported increased website traffic over the past year, while 15 percent saw a decline and 25 percent reported stable traffic. Another 15 percent could not assess the change.

The findings point to a need for marketers to monitor their visibility in AI-driven search while continuing to invest in owned channels that help buyers develop brand preference and trust.

Marketing workflows remain a key operational challenge

Processes and cross-functional workflows were identified as the biggest organisational challenge by 56 percent of respondents. By comparison, 21 percent cited technology stacks, data and tools as their main obstacle. The results suggest that improving coordination across marketing, sales, product and legal teams may be more important than adding technology without addressing existing workflow bottlenecks.

Entry-level marketing employment has also remained relatively stable. Nearly half of respondents, or 49 percent, reported no change in junior and entry-level headcount over the past two years. At the same time, 50 percent said their companies were outsourcing less work or bringing more activities in-house, suggesting that AI may be contributing to shifts in how organisations allocate work between internal teams and external agencies.

Marketers expect AI to accelerate workplace change

The pace of transformation is expected to increase. Some 74 percent of respondents anticipate that their jobs will change more over the next two years than they did over the previous two. Only two percent expect to experience less change.

The findings accompany Demandbase’s expansion into agentic marketing with Mojo, a B2B marketing agent designed to turn strategy briefs into cross-channel campaigns. The platform defines audiences, develops briefs, launches and manages campaigns, monitors performance and uses results to inform future execution, while leaving key decisions under marketers’ control.

Demandbase presented the research at GO, its customer conference focused on AI-driven go-to-market strategies. The event takes place in London and New York City, with GO NYC held on October 19–20, 2026.

Research methodology

Demandbase commissioned G2 to conduct the study in September 2026. The research involved in-depth interviews with 124 U.S.-based B2B marketing professionals, ranging from individual contributors to directors. Participants worked in demand generation, growth, digital or field marketing at companies with at least 250 employees. The study examined changes in marketers’ work, team structures, budgets, roles and agency relationships as AI adoption has grown over the past two years.

The full report can be accessed here

www.demandbase.com

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