The Supermetrics 2026 report has just dropped: only 6% of European marketers have truly deployed AI in their operations beyond POCs, tests, and ad hoc actions. Yet 80% feel increasing pressure to adopt it. 89% of shareholder boards are demanding it for greater efficiency!
The gap between ambition and execution has never been more visible.
And meanwhile, the rest of the world is not waiting.
American and Chinese marketing teams are industrializing AI at a pace not comparable to Europe (more than 50% vs 6%!!!). Each additional month translates concretely: shorter production cycles, better-optimized campaigns, lower unit costs. The gap isn’t widening in theory; it widens in performance and in market share.
For teams moving now, it’s the inverse: a real lead over their European competitors still in deliberation.
The inhibitors are well known: scattered data, under-pressure teams, difficulty linking AI to tangible KPIs. Thus, only 18% of French marketers currently trust AI (half as much as in the Netherlands!). It’s not a lack of willingness; it’s often the absence of a concrete first step. Too much thinking, not enough action?
Identifying a single use case to industrialize in the next 90 days is enough to get started. For example: automate the production of social posts across 3 markets, generate and test 10 creative variants for a paid campaign, set up automated reporting that links AI content to media performance.
This is the approach I’ve seen applied by teams like Nextage.ai: a single concrete problem, solved with AI, to derive actionable learnings and then decide with clarity.
94% of European teams are still in the testing phase. For those who hesitate, it’s a real competitive risk. For those who act, it’s an opportunity to widen the gap while the window remains open.
Full report: https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/only-6-marketers-fully-implemented-084900160.html
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