According to a report by IDC, in 2027, companies will spend more than $30 billion on artificial intelligence (AI)-related infrastructure, platforms, software, and services to support their ability to compete on highly personalised customer experiences.

As businesses increasingly adopt AI to enhance personalised customer experiences, marketing leaders face growing pressure to adapt their strategies and leverage AI effectively.

The key highlights from the report include,

  • Automated journey: By 2027, 45 per cent of traditional business to business (B2B) lead and demand generation efforts will transition to automated sensing, personalised engagements, and content creation, fast-pathing customers to transactional commerce.
  • Search becoming a dialogue: By 2026, 45 per cent of individuals will search for information and engage in dialogue with brands via generative AI (GenAI), forcing marketers to build and optimise for humanised digital AI as the primary customer interface.
  • AI gig agencies: By 2029, traditional agencies will reduce staff by 40 per cent, migrating execution to limited, AI-enabled contractors and focusing their remaining resources on advanced data governance, AI services, and strategies.
  • Marketing’s new hire – AI: By 2028, one out of five marketing roles or functions will be held by an AI worker, shifting human expertise to driving strategy, creativity, ethics, and managing a blended human and AI workforce.

Commenting on the report, Abhishek Kumar, associate research director, head of AP enterprise applications and CX, IDC Asia/Pacific, said, “Marketing leaders must remember that technology itself is not a differentiator but an enabler of differentiations. To stand out, they should focus on creating value-based narratives that build authentic connections with customers. They need to work closely with IT, data, and digital teams to name a few, to establish the necessary AI-infused marketing infrastructure and tools to access accurate customer data profiles in real time and deploy faster, more targeted, and effective campaigns.”