Marketing is experiencing a crisis of purpose. In a scenario of stagnant budgets, pressure for results, and increasingly fragmented journeys, many teams have gone into autopilot mode. The answer to any problem always seems to be the same: more campaigns, more investment in performance media, more deliveries in less time. But recent numbers show the limits of this model. The Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2025 reveals that more than half of the campaigns executed globally did not generate the expected return in sales.
Even with this warning, 55% of CMOs say they will increase investment in performance channels by 2025. All this while ROAS ( return on ad spend) – the indicator that measures how much a company earns for every dollar invested in advertising – is becoming increasingly unstable. What was once a solid metric to guide decisions has become a barometer of volatility. Consumer behavior is changing, channels are saturated, and the model of insisting on the same formulas is starting to generate more wear and tear than results.
It is in this context that Artificial Intelligence ceases to be a promise and becomes a strategic necessity. The survey indicates that 41% of CMOs already use AI to automate key tasks, and another 33% are integrating advanced technologies, including AI, to increase the efficiency of their operations. But the most critical point is not the adoption of the technology itself, but rather what companies are doing with this increased speed. Without a leap in quality in strategy and final deliverables, AI risks becoming merely an accelerator of mediocrity.
The good news is that there's another way. When applied correctly, AI can free marketing teams from repetitive operational tasks, creating space for what really matters: thinking, creating, and connecting. Here, generative AI (GenAI) plays an increasingly decisive role. Not only as a tool for analyzing data or running reports, but as a partner in creating images, videos, texts, and pieces that reach the target audience with consistency, identity, and purpose. At Pupila, we see this firsthand every day: technology is allowing brands to create at scale, but without sacrificing originality.
But if there's one lesson this moment imposes on CMOs, it's this: efficiency without empathy doesn't build a brand. Automation is welcome, but it cannot replace human sensitivity. The challenge now is to use AI to gain agility, yes, but mainly to create space for more human decisions. It's not enough to know what the consumer clicked. It's necessary to understand what they feel, what drives their choices, and what can truly generate a genuine emotional connection.
While some leaders will continue to pursue scale at any cost, the CMOs who understand the power of humanization, supported by technology, and not despite it—will be the ones who build brands with a real presence in people's lives. Because, in the end, marketing remains, above all, about people talking to people.
The future will belong to those who know how to combine artificial intelligence with emotional intelligence.
