82% of marketing already consider AI indispensable. What changes in the CMO's role
For 82% of marketers heard by IAB Brasil and Nielsen, AI is already indispensable. It was 69% in the previous edition. In our reading, the study’s most important figure isn’t adoption, but the number-one use: data analysis, at 90%. That brings the CMO closer to the cash register.
What the study found
The second edition of the IAB Brasil and Nielsen survey on AI in digital advertising was released in September 2026. The Consumidor Moderno article brings these numbers: 82% consider AI indispensable (69% before) and 88% of companies have used the technology for three years or more (67% before).
The most cited uses are data analysis and insight generation (90%), content creation (73%) and developing marketing systems (34%). Among the benefits, efficiency (80%), speed (79%), decision support (56%) and customer experience (43%) appear.
The article doesn’t state the sample size or method, so we treat the numbers as a trend indicator.
From production to decision
AI entered marketing through content production, which 73% already do with it. What leads, though, is data analysis, at 90%. Whoever uses AI to read data ends up with more questions about revenue, channel and return on the table.
One detail in the benefits: efficiency and speed are above 79%, and customer experience sits at 43%. In our reading, marketing is using AI mostly to do faster what it already did. The decision gain, cited by 56%, is where the difference lies for those who lead.
The CMO closer to the cash
The article itself states that AI broadens the CMO’s responsibility over financial indicators and business decisions beyond communication. That echoes what Gartner saw in 2025: the marketing budget of 402 CMOs, in the United States and Europe, sat at 7.7% of revenue, and 59% said it isn’t enough.
If the budget doesn’t grow and AI speeds up production, the account left for the CMO is about return. Which channel pays its own cost? Which content generates pipeline? The answer runs through data the team needs to know how to read.
In Brazil, the CMO profile also changed. B2B marketing leadership is already 59.6% of CMOs, and 57% of them are in companies of up to 50 people, according to the Brazilian CMO X-Ray (Driva and B2B Insiders, 2026). In a small company, the CMO usually has a short team and many business questions. We detail that in the B2B CMO became the majority.
What not to delegate to AI
We believe two decisions stay with the CMO and the team: the brand’s positioning and what the company agrees to publish under its signature. AI helps prepare each one, but the choice has an owner.
Questions the CMO can take into next week
- In which decision last quarter did AI analysis change what we did?
- How much of the team’s AI use is production and how much is analysis?
- Who on the team can read a result without depending on a ready-made report?
- What did AI prepare that I signed without reviewing?
To go deeper into use number 1, see AI for marketing data analysis, which comes next in this series. If you want to build that data reading on your team, get to know NorthStar’s marketing intelligence.
Frequently asked
How many marketers consider AI indispensable?
According to IAB Brasil and Nielsen (2nd edition, Sep/2026), 82%. In the previous edition it was 69%. The article we consulted doesn’t state the sample.
What does marketing use AI for most?
For data analysis and insight generation, at 90%. Then come content creation (73%) and developing marketing systems (34%).
Does AI change the CMO's role?
According to the article, it broadens the CMO’s responsibility over financial indicators and business decisions. In our reading, the CMO who only handles campaigns loses ground to whoever links marketing to revenue.
What shouldn't the CMO delegate to AI?
The brand’s positioning and what goes public under the company’s name. It’s our opinion, not a figure from the study.
Sources
- Consumidor Moderno, on the 2nd edition of the IAB Brasil and Nielsen study, Sep/2026. consumidormoderno.com.br
- Mundo do Marketing, on the Brazilian CMO X-Ray (Driva and B2B Insiders), 20/05/2026. mundodomarketing.com.br
- Gartner. 2025 CMO Spend Survey, 12/05/2025. gartner.com
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