AI breeds skills gap fears
Failure to get to grips with AI is a bigger fear for marketers than a lack of data and analytics expertise, or poor understanding of martech.
Skills gaps are a persistent issue within every business, but when it comes to artificial intelligence concerns are growing.
Three quarters of all marketers have identified an AI skills gap in their business, rising to 79.3% of those working within large organisations (250 employees and over). The AI skills gap is a concern for 80.3% of CMOs.
CEO and co-founder at CMS software firm Storyblok, Dominik Angerer, identifies an artificial intelligence skills gap in marketing, believing many professionals lack the technical expertise or strategic understanding to maximise its potential.
“AI is reshaping marketing by automating repetitive tasks, enhancing personalisation and driving data-driven decisions,” Angerer explained. “However, without proper training and upskilling, marketers risk falling behind competitors who effectively integrate AI into their workflows. It highlights a pressing need for targeted education and skill development.”
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Understanding of martech
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Data and analytics skills
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Marketing manager at Oven Pride owner McBride, Pavan Chandra, argued the AI skills gap is “not as dramatic” as some suggest, but a baseline understanding is important for all marketers. The key is ensuring marketers understand how to use AI as an enabler rather than feeling like they need to become data scientists, he added.
Marketers need an understanding of how to apply AI strategically, for data analysis for customer insights, content generation, media buying and campaign optimisation, Chandra suggested.
“The bigger challenge is not just technical proficiency, but understanding how AI fits into marketing strategy,” he said.
“Many marketers are still learning where AI can add the most value – whether in automation, personalisation, or data analysis. The issue isn’t necessarily a lack of skills, but rather a lag in adoption and practical application.”
While some functions are outsourced, the focus at Oven Pride is on upskilling internally to ensure the team can use AI tools effectively. The same is true at Storyblok, where the marketers experiment on a daily basis with tools integrated into its platform, such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.
AI aptitude can differ depending on your level of seniority. There is an “inversion layer” within business, according to EMEA vice-president of marketing at SaaS firm Twilio, Peter Bell.
“If you ask someone on the board of any company, they’ll talk a great game about AI and how it’s important, and strategic and it’s going to change things, which it will. [But at the] senior operational management layer, where the responsibility sits to ensure ethics and privacy, there’s more of a lack of knowledge and experience,” he argued.
Junior marketers, in many cases, are already adept at using many gen AI tools without any internal training.
“If, as a marketing leader, you think AI is not being used in your organisation then you’re mistaken,” Bell added. “If you go to junior entry level roles people are familiar with AI tools and they’re already using them to make themselves more productive.”
CMO Michelle Anderson, currently leading the AI marketing transformation at padel tennis brand Soul Padel, agreed AI has “bubbled up” from junior employees who in some cases are using the tech under the radar.
“It’s easy to feel like there’s a gap there when more of the knowledge seems to sit within the people doing the jobs, rather than in the people who are leading the business,” she explained.
Anderson suggests the data reveals a feeling among marketers that they are not taking full advantage of the tech, rather than a big skills gap.
Only three years into gen AI as a day-to-day business tool, it’s no surprise people are feeling daunted, added senior vice-president of global marketing at BBC Studios, Shelley Macintyre. She acknowledged becoming AI proficient can feel overwhelming for busy leaders already spinning multiple plates.
“Even the most advanced practitioners admit they are unable to predict how AI is going to shape the future, other than the certainty that it is already and will to an even greater extent,” she said.
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“Even the most advanced practitioners admit they are unable to predict how AI is going to shape the future, other than the certainty that it is already and will to an even greater extent”
— Shelley Macintyre, senior vice-president of global marketing, BBC Studios
