AI may be the new it girl of marketing, but human creativity remains the decisive factor, according to Dentsu Creative’s 2025 CMO Report.
The new report, part of the global CMO Navigator series, reveals that nearly all senior marketers are embedding AI into their daily workflows – from drafting copy and summarising research to predicting consumer behaviour. Yet, paradoxically, as automation accelerates, the demand for humanity, cultural intelligence, and originality has never been higher. Most CMO's believe that AI should give talented people 'superpowers' and not replace them in the workplace.
Balancing AI and human ingenuity
Dentsu’s global chief creative officer, Yasu Sasaki has this to say about the report: "What we clearly see in this report is that while clients are embracing AI at pace, they remain committed to the power of human craft and creativity. As we adopt AI at scale, it places an ever-greater premium on originality and innovation: AI is exceptionally good at prediction but creativity by its very nature is unpredictable. What is most exciting is when AI and human creativity come together to unlock new possibilities, spot new patterns and shape new futures. That’s why we see clients committing to invest more than ever in innovation in 2026 and beyond."
Key insights from the report
Budgets are on the rise. A majority of CMOs expect their marketing budgets to grow in 2025, with 86% in Latin America and 87% in North America anticipating increases.
AI is embedded. Almost every CMO surveyed uses AI regularly, and 88% expect agency pricing models to shift as AI becomes integral to creative production.
Culture is currency. About 84% of CMOs agree that winning share of culture is more important than share of voice, but many admit they lack a proven playbook for doing this at scale.
Intimacy beats volume. About 86% of CMOs say hearing from real customers is “more important than ever” in an AI-driven world, while micro-insights and fandoms are increasingly prized.
Influencers matter. About 90% of CMOs believe influencer-led content drives more engagement than traditional advertising, and 87% plan to work with more creators in 2025.
The report highlights that while influencer marketing is booming globally, South African CMOs are bucking the trend. None of the surveyed CMOs in the country plan to allocate more than 40% of their budgets to influencer campaigns which is a stark contrast to markets like Australia (12%) and the US (10%).
Trust and taste are critical. In an era of Agentic AI, 89% of marketers agree that brand preference, trust, and taste will be more decisive than ever in shaping consumer choices.
Agents of reinvention
Dentsu Creative identifies 10 imperatives for CMOs, ranging from anticipating the algorithm to investing in intimacy and influencing the outcome through creator partnerships. Above all, the report stresses that brands must innovate not only to keep pace with disruption but to remain culturally credible and human in a machine-driven marketplace.
As Patricia McDonald, global chief strategy officer at Dentsu Creative, puts it: “The more we embrace AI, the more human we must become; unearthing the deeply personal truths, grounded in culture, that resonate, differentiate and scale.”
The road ahead
For CMOs, the challenge is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to integrate it without losing what makes brands distinctive. In the words of the report: winning with the algorithm means being both brilliantly automated and brilliantly human.
