The CMO agenda for 2025—balancing AI with the human touch

5 ways to be adaptable while delivering measurable resultsMarketing budgets are contracting. Digital channels are proliferating. AI is ascending. Customers want human connection.

Alone, any of those trends could cause a CMO to rethink the approach to marketing and brand building, and those trends aren’t hitting in waves; they’re converging. This complexity demands that CMOs be adaptable while delivering measurable results. Here’s what that agenda will look like in 2025:

Strategic use of AI

In 2025, AI will serve as both a cost optimizer and a growth accelerator. By automating repetitive tasks, such as advertising placement and lead qualification, AI reduces inefficiencies while enabling marketers to focus on high-value activities.

AI will also transform how consumers discover and purchase products. With AI-powered agents handling product replenishment or dynamic pricing, marketers must adapt their strategies to align with these automated decision-makers. Dynamic pricing models that adjust based on demand, competition and consumer behavior are only one way brands will stay competitive in this new environment.

AI-driven analytics will provide deeper insights into consumer preferences, enabling personalized campaigns that resonate on an individual level. By using these tools, CMOs will be able to maximize ROI even with tighter budgets.

Turning channel proliferation into channel mastery
As Google’s grip on the digital advertising landscape continues to slip, marketers will need to adapt to audiences scattered across an ever-expanding array of digital touchpoints. From retail media networks and streaming platforms to gaming environments and local discovery sites, the customer journey will continue to become increasingly fragmented.

Customer fragmentation has been around for a long time. But the dynamics driving it in 2025 will be fundamentally different and more complex than ever. While fragmentation traditionally stemmed from diverse consumer preferences and media platforms, the consumer landscape is shaped by a convergence of technological, behavioral and regulatory shifts that will continue to amplify its impact. And channel proliferation also crosses categories. Netflix competes not only with other streaming platforms but also with gaming.

To succeed in this environment, CMOs will need to adopt an omnichannel approach that integrates data from across platforms to create seamless consumer experiences. For instance, brands can use predictive analytics to tailor messaging for each channel while maintaining consistency in tone and value proposition.

Flexibility will be critical. Marketers will need to be agile enough to pivot strategies as new platforms emerge or existing ones evolve. This will require not only technological investment but also a cultural shift within organizations to embrace experimentation and rapid adaptation.

Becoming part of (someone else's) conversation

Conversational marketing—enabled by chatbots and AI-driven tools—is set to redefine how brands engage with consumers. Platforms such as Perplexity are integrating sponsored follow-up questions into user interactions, allowing brands to insert themselves into ongoing conversations. This represents a shift from traditional advertising to more organic engagement.

To capitalize on this trend, CMOs must prioritize authenticity and value-driven messaging. Sponsored questions or chatbot interactions should feel like natural extensions of user queries rather than intrusive advertisements. Successful conversational marketing strategies will focus on addressing user needs in real time while fostering trust and loyalty.

For example, brands such as Sephora have already demonstrated the potential of chatbots by offering personalized beauty recommendations through conversational interfaces. These initiatives not only enhance customer experience but also drive measurable business outcomes such as higher engagement rates and repeat purchases.

Conversational marketing—enabled by chatbots and AI-driven tools—is set to redefine how brands engage with consumers. Platforms such as Perplexity are integrating sponsored follow-up questions into user interactions, allowing brands to insert themselves into ongoing conversations. This represents a shift from traditional advertising to more organic engagement.

To capitalize on this trend, CMOs must prioritize authenticity and value-driven messaging. Sponsored questions or chatbot interactions should feel like natural extensions of user queries rather than intrusive advertisements. Successful conversational marketing strategies will focus on addressing user needs in real time while fostering trust and loyalty.

For example, brands such as Sephora have already demonstrated the potential of chatbots by offering personalized beauty recommendations through conversational interfaces. These initiatives not only enhance customer experience but also drive measurable business outcomes such as higher engagement rates and repeat purchases.

Embracing authenticity and humanity
Even though consumers will be increasingly comfortable using AI to manage tasks such as search, this doesn’t mean they want businesses to respond to them with AI. It’s quite the opposite: They want the human touch. It’s one thing to use AI to manage a transaction. However, creating and building enduring relationships will require brands to lean into humanity.

When brands use AI to create an emotional connection, people rebel. And consumers are not happy about the experience they are getting with AI customer service chatbots.

The CMOs who learn how to build trust through human emotion will win. It’s not that people are against AI. After all, consumer adoption of AI is on the rise, with four out of 10 people using generative AI, a technology that is only two years old. At the same time, branding has always been about creating an emotional bond, and people identify emotion as a distinctly human trait that separates us from machines.

For example, pet food retailer Chewy incorporates personal touches that emphasize human connection. The company sends handwritten welcome and pet birthday cards to customers, along with personalized product recommendations based on past purchases.

Balancing cultural relevance with long-term transformation

As consumer values evolve rapidly, businesses are constantly seeking ways to remain relevant to people’s values and interests. Doing so requires a delicate balance between responding to current trends and maintaining long-term brand integrity.

Brands must invest in understanding diverse cultural dynamics to create campaigns that resonate deeply with specific audience segments. Multicultural marketing strategies—such as tailoring messages for local customs or aligning with community values—can build emotional connections that drive loyalty. For instance, companies that integrate cultural insights into their marketing see significant improvements in customer satisfaction and engagement rates.

Trends such as the rise of live sports on connected TV allow brands to be more culturally relevant. For instance, Nickelodeon collaborates with the NFL to produce family-friendly, “Nickified” broadcasts of select games. These broadcasts feature unique elements such as virtual slime cannons and appearances by popular Nickelodeon characters. This innovative approach not only introduces the sport to a new generation but also allows brands to integrate their messages within a culturally resonant context.

But brands need to tread carefully. Attempts to tap into cultural norms can come across as phony unless those norms align with the brand’s values.

The CMO agenda for 2025 is defined by complexity but also by immense opportunity in the context of the need to be more efficient. By balancing AI with the human touch, CMOs will deliver growth that is both sustainable and impactful.

Featured in Ad Age