Lookbook
AI is reshaping marketing, though not always as the headlines suggest. Adoption is accelerating across discovery, creative, and operations. Many marketers are separating hype from real change. Consumers are experimenting, technology is evolving, and organizations are racing to keep up.
In this Lookbook, EMARKETER explores how AI is transforming marketing from three angles: how people search and discover, how technology is redefining creative and workflows, and how organizations are adapting. These insights reveal where AI is delivering value and where marketers should act with intent.
millions and % of population (redacted)
US Generative Al Users, 2025-2029
AI Adoption + Search & Discovery
Note: internet users of any age who enter a prompt into a large language model (LLM) generative Al system via any device at least once per month
Source: EMARKETER Forecast, June 2025
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How Policy Shifts—from Tariffs to TikTok—Will Reshape Commerce and Advertising
AI is evolving faster than any marketing trend, and separating progress from noise takes perspective.
With EMARKETER’s forecasts, analyst expertise, and market data, keep up with how AI is reshaping discovery, creative, and organizational strategy. Use our insights to focus on efforts where AI drives measurable impact, helping your teams experiment with confidence, scale what works, and stay in front
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In 2026, there will be 133.0 million US generative AI users, a 9.8% YOY increase, according to EMARKETER’s forecast.
Key Stat
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1.
We forecast that less than 40.0% of US internet users use genAI tools monthly, but adoption is climbing and expected to reach a majority by the decade’s end. Search and discovery are leading use cases, with conversational prompts beginning to become more common than keyword-based queries. But users tend to experiment, rather than integrate AI into their routines. This signals that AI discovery remains a supplement, not a substitute for traditional methods.
AI adoption is expanding, but engagement is limited.
AI is reshaping discovery, but search remains the foundation of online exploration. Curiosity about AI is soaring, but consistent use remains shallow. Generative AI (genAI) tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are changing how people search for information online, yet they account for just 3.3% of discovery time in the US, per August 2025 Comscore data analyzed by EMARKETER. Traditional search engines still dominate. For example, in August 2025 alone, Google saw over 29 billion visits. Bing outperformed the top four large language models combined in terms of visits according to our Comscore data analysis. People are experimenting with AI for discovery, but it’s not replacing where they watch, read, or buy.
What’s happening?
About 69.0% of US AI users trust information from genAI tools, but skepticism remains around accuracy and bias, according to January 2025 Attest data. Consumers use AI tools without abandoning search. New ChatGPT users slightly increased their Google sessions, per a June 2025 Semrush study, showing genAI engines add to, rather than replace, traditional search behavior.
Users trust AI but still use search.
Visibility, authority, and trust still matter. Today, AI sits between brands and consumers, interpreting and reframing information before audiences see it. Yet, GenAI engines drive less than 1.0% of referral traffic online, per BrightEdge research, and most haven’t introduced scalable ad models. With AI changing how information surfaces online, marketers are prioritizing visibility more than ever. Some 61.2% of companies plan to increase their SEO budgets because of AI, according to data from Smarty Marketing.
What it means for marketers
Search isn’t dying, it’s merging with AI. Marketers should invest in SEO while considering AI visibility, including tracking how often their content appears in AI summaries, chat responses, and conversational interfaces.
Plan for evolution, not extinction.
As AI crawling tools parse and summarize entire sites, clean formatting and structured metadata are essential. EMARKETER recommends clear paragraph headers, detailed specs, and natural language descriptions for accurate brand information.
Structure content for AI readability.
GenAI engines enable discovery. Brands should begin to track where and how they appear in AI results, testing content types and platforms to understand what drives visibility.
Consider AI's place in the funnel
Principal Analyst, AI in Advertising and Commerce, EMARKETER
Nate Elliott
AI aims to shift from helping consumers to acting for them, learning preferences and completing tasks automatically on their behalf. For marketers, this means discovery and purchase could merge into a single moment. This raises new questions around persuasion and privacy: If an AI recommends a product, is it acting in the consumer’s or brand’s best interest?
AI is moving from assistance to action.
Marketers are offloading repetitive tasks to AI while maintaining strategic control. A majority of marketers surveyed by EMARKETER and TransUnion would delegate resizing and formatting (57.3%) and rapid A/B testing (54.9%) to AI. Yet, over 90.0% called human involvement critical or very important for evaluating or generating AI-driven creative assets, underscoring that AI is a powerful enabler, not a replacement for creativity. Marketers see the next phase of creative evolution centered on data fluency and concepting, with 73.2% citing data analysis and insights and 59.8% pointing to creative strategy as essential future skills.
Creative workflows are becoming hybrid.
AI is evolving from a chat-based assistant to an active collaborator that can generate assets, manage workflows, and even complete transactions. Retailers and Big Tech are testing autonomous agents for shopping, travel, and content discovery, from Amazon’s Buy for Me to Walmart’s shopping assistant. These systems blur the line between search and action, turning browsing into buying with fewer human touchpoints.
Trust remains a hurdle. Over 40% of consumers surveyed by YouGov say they don’t trust AI shopping assistants at all. This signals that agentic AI is advancing faster than comfort levels. For marketers, this early stage is the time to test and learn before AI agents reshape the path to purchase. As AI takes on more autonomous and creative functions, it’s redefining how and where brands can reach consumers.
What’s happening?
AI Technology Innovation Trends
About 91% of marketers called human involvement critical or very important in evaluating or generating AI-driven creative, according to July 2025 EMARKETER and TransUnion “Marketing Measurement Confidence” survey data.
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Marketers expect AI’s biggest creative lift from workflow automation (54.9%), performance optimization (48.2%), and image and video asset production (34.2%), the EMARKETER/TransUnion survey found. Combined with evidence that younger consumers use AI for learning, creating, and shopping, AI-driven video and personalized experiences will dominate the next generation of marketing. Nearly 90.0% of marketers are using or planning to use AI tools to produce and version video ad creative, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). For advertisers, this means moving from one-off asset creation to continuous iteration, using AI to scale production while preserving the trust and cultural nuance that human creativity provides. The opportunity lies in pairing AI’s efficiency with storytelling that feels authentic and human.
AI is redefining video, personalization, and performance.
Analyst, Technology, EMARKETER
Jacob Bourne
"AI advancement continues at breakneck speed, fueled by billions invested despite data access and infrastructure limitations. Chatbots are evolving into ambient AI with greater autonomy. This evolution represents a step toward artificial general intelligence that will reshape the digital landscape, shifting how marketers connect with consumers. But progress won't take a linear, uncomplicated path. More advanced AI will bring intensified pain points around security, hallucinations in high-stakes use cases, and consumer trust, making thoughtful, strategic implementation absolutely essential.”
Business leaders see the promise of AI but struggle to build the foundations. Among US senior executives, cybersecurity (35%) and data privacy (30%) concerns are major barriers to adopting agentic AI, according to an April 2025 EY survey. Another 21% cite the lack of internal policies and unclear regulations, while 17% report the absence of a clear organization strategy. These numbers reveal that many companies are implementing before planning, testing AI capabilities without sufficient guardrails.
Adoption outpaces strategy and safeguards.
Globally, 49% of professionals say lack of AI expertise is the biggest obstacle to adoption, according to February 2025 research from Hubstaff. Other concerns include data privacy and security (34%), budget limitations (32%), and integration with existing systems (31%). These challenges underscore the gap between enthusiasm and execution: companies want to invest, but lack the technical or human capability to implement AI effectively.
Skills, talent, and integration challenges persist.
AI enthusiasm is high, but readiness lags. As AI evolves from simple chatbots to systems that can act, create, and decide independently, organizations are racing to keep up. Many teams are shifting from experimenting with new tools to figuring out how to use them effectively. Across US businesses, excitement is high, but true readiness is uneven. Companies see clear potential in AI to boost efficiency, output, and measurement, yet many are still building the skills, strategies, and safeguards to make adoption work at scale. The result is a patchwork: Some teams are already weaving AI into everyday workflows, while others remain cautious amid privacy, policy, and talent concerns.
What’s happening?
Source: EY, "Al Pulse Survey: Why Agentic Alls a Revolution Stuck in an Evolution," July 29, 2025
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Barriers to Agentic Al Adoption According to US Senior Business Leaders, April 2025
Organizational Adoption of AI
Over one-third of US senior business leaders say cybersecurity concerns is the top barrier to adopting agentic AI, ahead of privacy and policy concerns, according to an April 2025 EY survey.
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AI use at work is growing organically. Only 18% of US employees don’t use AI at work, an April 2025 BambooHR survey found. The pattern suggests workforce adoption is outpacing workplace policy, creating an opportunity for organizations to structure around tools employees already embrace.
Employees are driving AI adoption from the bottom up.
Both consumers and employees expect transparency and management, with 77% of US adults wanting to know how companies use AI, and 79% calling for stronger oversight, a May 2025 MRI-Simmons survey found.
The opportunity: Give consumers the AI transparency they are asking for
Principal Analyst, EMARKETER
Yory Wurmser
“Getting the most out of AI requires good data, clear guidelines, and a long-term vision. You can’t optimize workflows if the underlying data is a mess. Even if the data layer is sound, there are dangers in linking internal information to external systems, especially when innovation is distributed. Most importantly, however, AI is only as good as the overall strategy. AI’s not only about improving operations; it also opens up new opportunities for products and services.”
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Principal Analyst, AI in Advertising and Commerce, EMARKETER
Nate Elliott
"AI will revolutionize discovery and become a dominant feature of how people seek information. But search engines aren't going anywhere. Today, AI tools account for just 3.3% of US online discovery time. Before that number reaches critical mass, AI discovery will simply merge into search through features like AI Overviews and AI Mode. Soon we’ll even see Google default people into a full AI experience for complex searches, just like it defaults people into Shopping, News, and Maps experiences for appropriate queries.”
Analyst, Technology,
EMARKETER
Jason Bourne
Principal Analyst,
EMARKETER
Yory Wurmser
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