AI is impacting CMOs but this doesn’t signal the end of the role.
Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester, said AI is creating an opportunity for CMOs to step into a new level of growth accountability, one that many have been pushing toward for years.
“As AI agents take over orchestration, execution, and optimization, the CMO role moves up — not out,” Proulx said.
“CMOs will spend less time managing programs and campaigns, and more time making enterprise‑level trade‑offs about where to invest, where to automate, and where human judgment still matters.
“In an AI‑mediated buying environment, growth is no longer something marketing supports; it’s something marketing helps design, measure, and govern across the enterprise.”
Marketing leaders are investing heavily in AI but most companies are struggling to translate that into measurable business outcomes.
A study by Forrester, The AI CMO: Growth Accountability Gets Next‑Level, shows fewer than one‑third of companies directly connect AI initiatives to revenue or profit, even as AI becomes deeply embedded in how customers discover, evaluate and buy products and services.
For CMOs, the mandate to drive growth has not changed but the way growth is produced, proven and governed is changing rapidly.
Answer engines such as generative AI search tools are reshaping brand discovery, while AI agents increasingly participate in both B2C and B2B buying journeys.
Forrester argues that CMOs must navigate a fundamental tension: They need a clear, growth-anchored vision while also making room to lead through the uncertainty this disruptive technology creates.
Doing so requires CMOs to own the role of change leader in order to become a better growth leader — constantly striking the right balance between AI automation and the human touch.
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