The HubSpot Weblog’s AI Tendencies for Entrepreneurs Report [key findings from 1,000+ marketing pros]

Key Findings: The Present State of AI

1. AI is not an experiment — it is integral to advertising and marketing workflows.

When AI first started gaining traction, we frequently inspired entrepreneurs to experiment with AI and see if/how they will undertake it into their workflow.

Nicely, the times of simply experimentation are over, and whereas the robots aren’t taking our jobs, they’re now embedded in our workflows.

Listed here are the details:

• 91% of promoting leaders say staff/groups at their group use AI to help them of their jobs.
• 82% of entrepreneurs say both they or their firm invested in automation instruments for workers to leverage of their roles.
• 66% report that their group builds inside AI instruments particularly for advertising and marketing groups.

As you possibly can see from these stats, entrepreneurs have totally embraced AI as an assistive device. So, if you happen to’re nonetheless not embracing AI inside your group, finest consider your competitors probably is.

2. Although AI has turn into commonplace in advertising and marketing, obstacles nonetheless hold extra entrepreneurs from adopting new AI instruments.

Whereas AI has turn into essential and normalized in advertising and marketing, many entrepreneurs are nonetheless hesitant to combine new AI instruments into their workflows. Listed here are the High 3 issues I’ve pulled from our survey:

• Information Privateness — Nearly all of entrepreneurs in our survey (42%) say information privateness issues have prevented their group from adopting new AI instruments prior to now yr.
• Coaching and Time Funding — 39% of entrepreneurs mentioned investing in time and coaching on new AI instruments created a barrier towards adopting them.
• Too Many Comparable Instruments — 35% of entrepreneurs say there are too many AI instruments that every one do the identical factor however do not join to 1 one other, creating extra issues when adopting new ones into their workflow.

3. AI isn’t taking our jobs.

Whereas I perceive entrepreneurs fear about their job safety within the age of AI, our newest information exhibits that 65% of entrepreneurs champion utilizing AI as an assistive device whereas encouraging others to not turn into overly reliant on it. Why? As a result of AI is evolving, but it surely isn’t excellent.

Now that AI is the norm, are there laws on using AI in advertising and marketing?

In the US? No. At the moment, no complete federal laws or laws tackle the use or growth of AI within the U.S.; nonetheless, different international locations and areas have restrictions and conditions.

For instance, the European Union handed the AI Act, which enforces strict guidelines on AI transparency, bias, and high-risk functions, equivalent to algorithms. In China, firms should register AI fashions with the federal government.

For multinational firms, these laws imply that AI advertising and marketing practices that work within the U.S. may very well be banned in different areas, thus locking them out of main international markets.

So, if you happen to‘re a strictly U.S.-based firm, you don’t have a lot to fret about, proper? Not precisely. Whereas there are no set AI legal guidelines to stick to, many shoppers are divided of their emotions towards how firms use AI.

For example, Coca-Cola confronted harsh backlash from shoppers who referred to as the corporate’s AI Christmas 2024 advert a “creepy dystopian nightmare.”

Audiences had been turned off by the advert’s uneven look and criticized the ethics (or lack thereof) of utilizing AI as a substitute of working solely with artists and animators.

Shoppers additionally fear about how private information is utilized in AI coaching and the probabilities of a knowledge breach that jeopardizes their privateness.

So, how can entrepreneurs tackle these issues? The hot button is to be clear. Let your shoppers know if and the way AI is being utilized in your advertising and marketing technique, whether or not it is in content material creation, information gathering, or communication.

For instance, many media shops embody a observe in the beginning or finish of their weblog posts clarifying that the publish was created completely or with the assistance of AI.

Normal Attitudes In the direction of AI

The Marketer’s Perspective

I discussed earlier that the majority advertising and marketing professionals consider in AI’s advantages however don’t wish to depend on it 100%.

They consider AI helps two core private areas: time and productiveness.

We discovered that 79% of entrepreneurs agree that AI and automation instruments may also help them spend much less time on handbook duties, and 73% agree that they will spend extra time on an important elements of their function.

66% of entrepreneurs say AI and automation instruments may also help them spend extra time on the artistic points of their jobs.

You realize what which means? Much less busy work and extra time for large pondering. I’d think about {that a} win.

How Entrepreneurs Are Utilizing AI at Work

As I mentioned at first, most advertising and marketing professionals in our survey report utilizing AI of their present function. Let’s see what they’re utilizing and the place they’re seeing probably the most ROI.

Most Well-liked AI Instruments for Entrepreneurs

Picture and design mills like DALL-E and Synthesia are the best choice for 40% of entrepreneurs. Chatbot instruments like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Copilot are second, with 39% of entrepreneurs utilizing them.

Lastly, in third place are SmartAI video or audio modifying AI instruments, equivalent to ones with automated modifying options or AI mild, noise, voice, and/or colour correction.

ROI of AI-Powered Advertising and marketing Channels

As a blogger, it stunned me that e-mail was the #1 channel that entrepreneurs are utilizing AI to create for. However as a blogger, I’m additionally most likely biased.

The bulk (50.77%) use AI for e-mail advertising and marketing and different publication platforms. This share is only a hair above the 50% who use AI text-based social media.

In third place, 47% of entrepreneurs use AI to create weblog posts, articles, and different long-form content material.

For all of those channels, they’re seeing a worthwhile ROI:

• E mail: 63% are seeing at the least a considerably optimistic ROI.
• Social Media: 67% are seeing at the least a considerably optimistic ROI.
• Weblog/Lengthy-Type: 68% are seeing at the least a considerably optimistic ROI.

Generative AI and Advertising and marketing

Content material Creation

The commonest process that entrepreneurs are utilizing generative AI for is text-based content material creation (52%), equivalent to blogs, eBooks, and advertising and marketing e-mail copy. For entrepreneurs who use GenAI to create content material, right here’s what they’re doing with it:

• 53% are utilizing it for content material high quality assurance, equivalent to spellcheck, accessibility evaluate, or writing suggestions.
• 50% are writing copy for advertising and marketing content material like blogs and emails.
• 48% creating photographs for advertising and marketing content material with AI artwork instruments.

Nevertheless, AI isn’t the complete reply to content material creation. Solely 4% of entrepreneurs are utilizing AI to write down whole items of content material for them. The overwhelming majority are utilizing it for inspiration or to offer them an overview and some paragraphs to construct on.

And 46% are solely considerably assured that they might know if the knowledge GenAI produces is inaccurate.

Extra GenAI Use Instances

48% of entrepreneurs use generative AI to conduct numerous analysis, equivalent to market analysis, discovering datasets, and summarizing articles.

Automating direct model messaging or conversational advertising and marketing. (DMs, conversational emails, SMS)

GenAI can also be helpful for branded communication, with 41% of entrepreneurs utilizing it to automate direct model messaging and conversational advertising and marketing.

For all of those use circumstances, the vast majority of advertising and marketing professionals say AI is very efficient, they usually’re saving a mean of 1 to 2 hours of their work day consequently.

The Way forward for AI for Entrepreneurs

We don’t have a crystal ball, however we do have the highest AI predictions from over a thousand advertising and marketing professionals.

Right here’s what entrepreneurs are saying about the way forward for AI:

• 65% of promoting leaders say their group plans to extend their funding in AI and automation instruments over the course of 2025.
• 65% of promoting administrators consider that the majority software program they use may have AI or automation capabilities in-built by 2030.
• 67% of entrepreneurs agree that by 2030, most individuals will use a generative AI device like ChatGPT to help them of their jobs.
• 67% of entrepreneurs consider that AI will considerably impression how they (and different entrepreneurs) do their jobs in 2025.

Because the AI panorama adjustments, we’ll hold tabs on the way it evolves and the way it’s getting used within the office.

Maintain a watch out for extra insights that can permit you to use AI to unleash your human potential — and go away the busy work to the robots.