AgenticCMO: Weekly Links for October 27th
The Signal: When the Future Arrives Gradually, Then Suddenly
I've been thinking about this line from the OC&C Strategy report on AI in marketing: "42% of organizations have deployed generative AI within marketing and sales – more than seen in any business function. But most deployments have yet to reach impact at scale."
That gap between adoption and impact? The daily CMO nightmare, basically.
The report frames marketing's evolution through three eras: pre-digital (scale without measurement), digital (precision and metrics), and now the AI era (intelligent systems that generate, automate, and personalize). What strikes me isn't the technology itself, it's how the report describes AI's role as "augmentation toward autonomy." We're moving from AI that assists human workflows to AI agents that could eventually execute campaigns, allocate spend, and optimize performance with minimal oversight.
The research shows AI is already reshaping every layer of the marketing value chain, from strategy through execution. AI-generated overviews now appear in 15% of Google searches. Marketing agencies face pressure to "shift up the value chain" toward advisory and creative excellence while execution-heavy work gets compressed. For those of you in mid-to-senior marketing roles, the question isn't whether AI changes our jobs, it's how we position ourselves in this reallocation of value.
The report's insight that resonates most: "AI use cases today act as accelerants, not substitutes, enhancing human creativity and decision-making rather than replacing it." Yet the trajectory is clear, we're heading toward more autonomous systems. The practical implication? The marketers who thrive will be those who master the orchestration of AI tools while doubling down on the uniquely human capabilities: strategic thinking, creative judgment, and brand storytelling.
What I've learned from this analysis is that we're not in an experimental phase anymore. With nearly half of organizations deploying AI in marketing, this is the new baseline. The winners won't be those who adopt AI first, they'll be those who figure out how to generate real impact from it while maintaining the human elements that matter most.
The structural shifts are already underway. The only question is whether we're positioning ourselves ahead of them or behind them.
