The vast majority from a pool of around 600 marketers reported concern around technology replacing jobs in their industry with the acceleration of GenAI, which 47% of marketers are utilising already.

This comes amid findings from another Gartner survey of around 800 business executives, undertaken at the tailend of last year, revealing that 26% of marketing leaders plan headcount reductions in 2024 as a result of generative artificial intelligence.

In addition to the forefront statistic, the technological research and consulting firm found that 89% of marketers are concerned about layoffs at their company, and 61% have encountered a technology and/or process change in the last 12 months.

What’s more, a prior survey from Gartner, conducted in May and June last year and on around 400 martech leaders, found that 63% reported that marketing lacks the hands-on technical skills to successfully integrate and operate some of the technologies in their stack.

Iliyana Hadjistoyanova, director of advisory in the Gartner marketing practice, remarked that “Marketing’s use of technology is constantly adapting, and the accelerated adoption of GenAI will encourage greater performance and engagement, enhance creativity, as well as free up time and allow marketers to engage in more thought-intensive work.”

However, “While CMOs cannot fully insulate their employees from change, they must take early action in change management in a clear and transparent manner to ensure employee buy-in and mitigate any negative impacts of change.”

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The director also advocated that “By developing robust talent plans that incorporate the use of GenAI and work to increase skill preparedness, CMOs can mitigate its impacts on employees’ wellbeing, leading to overall engagement and retention.

“These actionable steps must address role transition and fit-for-purpose employee learning, as well as cover technology and process changes related to GenAI adoption.”