"Marketing organizations are racing to adopt AI while simultaneously trying to contain it. About 76.6% of marketers now have AI policies in place, up from 55.3% just a year earlier, per the Association of National Advertisers' January 2026 survey (registration required). Investment is also surging. Nearly 89% plan to increase AI spending, and two-thirds would maintain that investment even during an economic downturn."
"When organizations implement customer data platforms or marketing automation systems, they should start with planning: What business outcomes do we need? What processes must change? How will we measure success? Governance follows planning, not the other way around. But with AI, the sequence seems to have been reversed. Concerned by headlines about compliance risks and data privacy (which 95.5% of respondents cite as a worry), organizations may have rushed to create policies before developing strategies."
Marketing organizations have rapidly increased AI governance and investment: 76.6% report AI policies and 52.7% have cross-functional steering committees, while nearly 89% plan to raise AI spending. Despite governance activity, planning infrastructure is weak: 46.2% lack formal AI planning horizons and 71.6% have no ROI targets. Over half of marketers feel overwhelmed by AI's pace, and 95.5% cite compliance and data privacy concerns. Many organizations have prioritized policies and restrictions before defining business outcomes, processes, and success metrics, creating governance theater with guardrails but no mapped strategic destinations.
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