Artificial intelligence may be rewriting modern advertising, but marketers are still figuring out how to keep up. A new global study from MiQ reveals a widening tension: 72% of marketers plan to expand their AI use in the next year, yet only 45% feel confident they can use it effectively.
That gap—usage outpacing readiness by 27 percentage points—sums up where the industry sits today: eager, optimistic, and slightly overwhelmed.
MiQ’s AI Confidence Curve Report, surveying 3,169 marketers across 16 countries, paints a picture of a market racing ahead with tools it hasn’t fully mastered.
“We discovered that most marketers are bunched at the early stages of a confidence curve,” said Jordan Bitterman, CMO at MiQ. “We’re at the start of a journey… usage outpaces readiness by 27 points, and that’s pure opportunity.”
In other words: everyone’s using AI, but few know how to push it past autopilot.
Where AI Is Being Used Today
Current AI usage leans heavily toward areas where large language models and automation are already familiar:
- Social media management (40%)
- Marketing automation (39%)
- Customer engagement (38%)
These are the “safe zones”—places where AI augments repeatable tasks, content generation, and conversational flows.
But for marketers lacking confidence, the reasons are crystal clear:
- 40% say their organization doesn’t understand AI/LLMs well enough
- 38% cite a lack of training
- 42% face data-sharing limitations with tools
- 44% can’t track results against meaningful KPIs
Instead of advanced AI, many teams fall back to generic solutions because they lack the data infrastructure or training to adopt bespoke, more powerful systems.
Worse still, nearly two in five senior marketers admit they’re still building the workflows, education layers, and measurement systems required to use AI confidently.
The problem isn’t enthusiasm—it’s infrastructure.
The Confidence Gap: Why Marketers Are Stuck
At the core of the confidence shortage is a measurement crisis. AI thrives on outcome-based optimization, but many marketers still rely on proxy metrics such as clicks and basic web traffic. These KPIs are relics of early digital marketing and fail to capture AI’s broader impact on revenue, incrementality, and full-funnel performance.
Without meaningful measurement frameworks, AI is just a shiny tool—not a strategic engine.
Add in internal data silos, unclear governance, and a lack of hands-on training, and it’s no surprise that teams hesitate to integrate AI into high-stakes campaign decisions.
The Path Forward: Turning Adoption Into Real Capability
MiQ outlines a clear set of recommendations to help marketers progress along the AI confidence curve:
1. Use Partner-Agnostic Tools
AI performs best with complete, connected datasets. Tools that integrate across platforms can enrich models, reduce blind spots, and deliver more accurate insights.
2. Merge AI With Performance Measurement
Tie AI directly to campaign KPIs. If AI can’t measure outcomes, it can’t improve outcomes. Real-time data feedback loops are essential.
3. Invest in AI Literacy Across Teams
With 44% citing internal knowledge gaps, organizations must normalize ongoing training—interpreting outputs, validating results, and applying insights.
4. Keep Humans in the Loop
AI can analyze and automate; humans contextualize, refine, and judge. The most effective teams treat AI as an accelerator, not an autopilot.
“Every marketer is trying to find the balance between learning and leading with AI,” Bitterman noted. “The fastest movers treat confidence as a capability—built through connection, curiosity, and collaboration.”
Why This Matters Now
The report lands at a moment when the ad industry is under pressure to consolidate tech stacks, adapt to shifting privacy rules, and prove tangible ROI. AI promises a path through that complexity—but only if marketers have the skills to use it.
The takeaway is clear: AI adoption is inevitable, but AI maturity is optional. The brands that invest in literacy, measurement, and connected data systems will unlock competitive advantage long before the rest of the field catches up.
