The AI experimentation phase is over. What we're seeing now is a full-scale race — marketers sprinting to deploy AI across their organizations before competitors do, boards demanding measurable outcomes instead of pilots, and an industry convinced the winners will be decided in the next 12 months.
But speed without strategy creates problems. And when you look past the headlines, a more complicated picture emerges. Teams are moving fast, sometimes at the expense of the customer experience. And there's a widespread belief that "we're ahead of our competitors," even though the math doesn't add up.
This blog breaks down the key AI marketing trends for 2026 and beyond. It combines the findings from our 2 recent reports, The B2C Marketing AI Impact Report and The B2C Buyer Experience Report, as well as third-party research. Keep reading to see our findings!
Marketers Are Optimistic About AI
- 92% are optimistic about how AI is changing marketing (source: Invoca).
- 90% of marketers say they will increase AI spending in the next year (source: Invoca).
- 77% believe AI is their biggest growth opportunity (source: Invoca).
- 84% feel AI is making their jobs more strategic (source: Invoca).
The Race for AI Supremacy Is Heating Up
- 81% of marketers think the AI winners in their category will be determined in the next year (source: Invoca).
- 80% say leadership is pressuring them to show AI wins quickly (source: Invoca).
- 80% think pausing AI initiatives would cause them to miss targets (source: Invoca).
- A statistically improbable 82% of marketers believe they're adopting AI faster than their peers, signaling overconfidence in the pace of deployment (source: Invoca).
AI Adoption Has Surpassed the Pilot Phase
- Only 15% of marketers are still in the “wathful pilot” phase of AI deployment (source: Invoca).
- 58% of marketers are in a “fast but controlled” phase while 25% are sprinting (source: Invoca).
- 88% of marketers are prepared to lead if AI deployment pace doubles (source: Invoca).
- Among marketers already using AI, 93% use it to generate content faster, 81% use it to uncover insights more quickly, and 90% use it for faster decision-making (source: SurveyMonkey).
- 73% of marketers say AI will improve personalization strategies (source: Contentful).
- 60% of marketers reported using AI tools daily in 2025 (up from 37% in 2024) (source: Social Media Examiner).
Reasons Marketers Are Hesitant to Adopt AI
- 45% of marketers fear adopting AI too fast will lead to backlash within their organizations (source: Invoca).
- 73% of marketers believe generative AI introduces new security risks (source: Salesforce).
- 54% of marketers say gen AI training is important for using it in their role (source: Salesforce).
- 70% of marketers report their employer does not provide gen AI training (source: Salesforce).
Marketers Are Gambling on Speed Over Customer Experience
- 56% of marketers would rather risk harming the customer experience than lose the AI race to competitors (source: Invoca).
- 74% of marketers agree that rushing AI deployment can harm customer experience, yet 84% are confident they can scale AI quickly without causing that harm (source: Invoca).
There Is a Gap Between Marketers’ Perception vs. Actual Consumer Sentiment About AI
- 85% of marketers believe consumer sentiment toward AI interactions is "very/somewhat positive” (source: Invoca).
- However, only 37% of consumers felt positively about their interactions with a brand’s AI (source: Invoca).
- 30% of consumers are indifferent to AI assistance. Marketers can win them over by providing top-tier customer experiences (source: Invoca).
- A whopping 60% of consumers say they feel forced to use a brand’s AI. Offering an option to speak to a human agent can fix this issue and improve satisfaction (source: Invoca).
Gen Z and Baby Boomers Hold Wildly Different Opinions About AI
- 51% of Gen Zers feel positively about interacting with a brand’s AI (source: Invoca).
- Only 5% of Baby Boomers feel positively about interaction with a brand’s AI (source: Invoca).
- 48% of Gen Zers feel more valued when a brand integrates AI in the customer experience (source: Invoca).
- Only 1% of Baby Boomers feel valued when a brand integrates AI in the customer experience (source: Invoca).
- 49% of Gen Zers believe AI makes the customer experience feel more personal (source: Invoca).
- Only 4% of Baby Boomers feel AI makes the customer experience feel more personal (source: Invoca).
Tips for Marketers to Improve AI Experience
- 39% of consumers said quicker access to a human would improve AI experiences (source: Invoca).
- 22% of consumers said smarter responses would improve AI experiences (source: Invoca).
- 19% of consumers said more personalized interactions would improve AI experiences (source: Invoca).
Many Marketers Are Overlooking the Richest Data Source
- Only 37% of organizations systematically mine phone conversation data to improve their AI or ad performance (source: Invoca).
- Only 21% of marketers can feed call conversion data to ad platforms in near real time (source: Invoca).
- 75% of marketers need 2-7 days to take action on new call data (source: Invoca).
Start Investing in the Future with Invoca's AI
Invoca is the AI-powered conversation analytics leader. Our solution uses artificial intelligence to analyze phone conversations at scale, giving marketers and contact center teams accessible and actionable data they can use to better serve their customers.
Marketers can reap the benefits of Invoca's AI by analyzing phone conversations at scale to determine which calls were qualified leads and which were non-sales-related. They can then pass this conversion data into their adtech platforms in near real time. This allows them to make smarter optimization decisions to drive more high-value calls.
Marketers can also use AI to capture deep insights from conversations, such as the caller’s product or service interests, and retarget them accordingly. This allows you to deliver follow-up messages that reflect what customers actually care about, improving relevance and boosting conversion rates.
Download the Full Reports for More Original Research
- Want to learn how marketers are approaching AI investment? Download the B2C Marketing AI Impact Report.
- Want to learn how consumers really feel about AI in the buying journey? Download the B2C Buyer Experience Report.
