60% of Marketers Say Generative AI will Transform Their Role, But Worry About Accuracy

New research reveals that marketers estimate generative AI will save them over five hours of  work per week – the equivalent of over a month per year*. Yet, while they see the technology as  transformative to their role, marketers also note the need for human oversight, trusted customer data,  and training as critical to successfully use it.

Salesforce surveyed over 1,000 marketers as part of its Generative AI Snapshot Series and found that  51% are currently using** generative AI. An additional 22% plan to use it very soon, totaling nearly  three-quarters of marketers. 

However, over a third (39%) also say they don’t know how to safely use generative AI. They raise  concerns about its accuracy and report a need for human oversight, as well as proper training and  trusted customer data, to leverage the technology effectively at work. 

From personalization to productivity — marketers say generative AI is transforming their role 

Marketers using generative AI are already targeting the basics, like content creation (76%) and writing  copy (76%). But many see a wholesale overhaul of their work on the horizon, with 53% saying generative  AI is a 'game changer.’ Respondents cite reasons for this that include its ability to transform the way  they analyze data, personalize messaging content, build marketing campaigns, and build/optimize SEO  strategy.

With generative AI, marketers also say they expect to save time and be able to focus on more strategic  work:

● 71% say generative AI will eliminate busy work. 

● 71% say generative AI will allow them to focus on more strategic work.

● In fact, they estimate generative AI will save them over five hours per week – the equivalent of  over a month per year* at work.

Marketers report accuracy and quality as top concerns — say trusted customer data and human  oversight are required to use generative AI successfully at work

Accuracy and quality depend on data. However, 67% of marketers say their company’s data is not  properly set up for generative AI — despite a similar number (63%) saying trusted customer data is  important for the successful use of generative AI at work. 

This is a sentiment echoed by experts. According to Clara Shih, Salesforce’s CEO of AI, “Data is fuel for AI  — without high-quality, trusted data, it becomes ‘garbage in, garbage out.’ AI pulling from data sources  that are irrelevant, unrepresentative, or incomplete, can create bias, hallucinations, and toxic outputs.” 

Many (71%) marketers also believe generative AI’s lack of human creativity and contextual knowledge is  a potential barrier to successfully using generative AI in the workplace. As a result, 66% percent of  marketers say human oversight is needed to successfully use generative AI in their role. 

Marketers need training to realize the potential of generative AI

While marketers are excited about the opportunities of generative AI to transform their work, many feel  unprepared to take full advantage of it, with 43% saying they don't know how to get the most value out  of the technology.

And while 54% of marketers believe generative AI training programs are important for them to  successfully use generative AI in their role, 70% say their employer does not yet provide generative AI  training.

“Generative AI has the potential to transform how marketers connect with their customers by powering  more personalized, automated, and effective campaigns — quickly and at scale,” said Stephen  Hammond, EVP and GM, Marketing Cloud at Salesforce. “But as companies look to adopt the  technology, they need to unify their first-party data and leverage trusted AI innovations to ensure safety  and accuracy.”