B2B marketers are no strangers to change, especially when new technologies are introduced. But one such emerging technology — generative AI — is a bit different from the other trends: it’s pushing B2B marketing into a new and exciting era where teams can finally personalize experiences at scale.
But how are B2B marketers responding to this change? To find out, ON24 surveyed more than 500 B2B marketers across the United States to understand how teams are using AI tools and how marketers think AI will impact the industry in the future.
The findings are compiled in our special report, The State of AI in B2B Marketing in 2024. Here are the key findings you need to know.
Top AI trends for B2B marketers
According to the survey, AI has already taken hold of the B2B universe. In fact, 87% of responding B2B marketers said they were using or testing AI. More than half (53%) report using AI significantly, while 34% are currently testing and building a roadmap to use it.
To add to that last point, more than 8 in 10 (84%) B2B marketing teams say they plan to integrate more AI into their strategies by the end of 2024. This is likely due to the strong feelings marketers have about the potential impact AI will have in areas such as analytics and measurement (93%), promotional content development (87%), audience segmentation (85%) and webinars and events (80%).
Many B2B marketers are currently putting AI to work in areas like content creation. Almost two-thirds (63%) use AI to create promotional content such as landing pages and email copy — the most cited use cases for AI among survey respondents.
This makes sense, considering content creation can be time-consuming, and the need for more content is only growing. With the right AI tools, generative AI can help accelerate content creation by organizing, outlining and producing first drafts for copywriters to perfect.
Nearly half (45%) of respondents using AI also use it for webinars and virtual events. With AI, teams can optimize webinars and virtual events by personalizing promotions, optimizing audience engagement opportunities and automating content recommendations. In fact, AI’s ability to repurpose webinar content helps extend the life of a webinar well beyond its publication date.
B2B marketers using AI are 7x more likely to beat targets
While it’s promising that a large share of B2B marketers have embraced AI, what’s truly eye-opening is the notable correlation between implementing AI and achieving organizational success. Among marketers currently leveraging AI, a remarkable 64% have surpassed their organizational goals, with only 9% failing to meet them. In contrast, 29% of marketers who have yet to adopt AI reported failing to meet their goals.
Further supporting the rapid adoption of AI in marketing, research from 2023 underscores its swift integration into business practices. According to data from McKinsey, cited in the Artificial Intelligence Index Report by Stanford University, marketing and sales functions experienced the highest rates of AI adoption last year compared to other functions. This adoption has had a profound impact on business performance, with 65% of respondents noting an increase in revenue and 41% reporting a reduction in costs.
How AI amplifies B2B content marketing efforts
Any B2B content marketer will tell you that the demand for fresh and relevant content is never-ending. This is why marketers are already capitalizing on AI technologies and using them to generate content, through techniques such as content repurposing.
As previously mentioned, promotional content development was the most cited marketing use case for respondents currently using AI. Using AI to produce content goes beyond landing pages and email copy. About half (49%) of survey respondents use AI for content development, such as e-books and blogs.
Generative AI technology enables B2B marketers to work more efficiently. This provides marketers more time to explore and implement strategies and tactics that may have been previously unattainable due to time and resource limitations. With easy-to-use AI solutions, B2B content creators can quickly innovate within their current processes, seeing rapid returns on investment without the need for extensive training or complex setups.
How AI is essential to getting more value from webinars
AI presents a unique opportunity for B2B marketers to squeeze even more value out of their webinars, virtual conferences and digital events. On average, webinar attendees spend 53 minutes watching a single session. That translates into about 10,000 words of spoken content.
That’s content that marketers can tap into and repurpose for other content with the help of generative AI. Just look at what one thought-leadership webinar can become when AI is put to work:
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- Social posts using speaker quotes from the webinar transcripts
- Blogs and e-books created by AI using key finding or highlights
- Short video clips of key moments of audience engagement identified by AI-powered analytics
- Sales follow-up, using transcripts and other AI
This is really just the tip of the iceberg. By harnessing the power of AI, webinars can be transformed into a continuous stream of authentic, high-value content that can be used across channels to nurture buyers and attract new audiences.
Learn how marketers like you are using AI
It’s clear from the report that B2B companies are not only using AI but are keen to expand their use in the near future. It also shines a light on the importance of using AI if marketers really want to extract more value out of their webinars.
Download the report now to learn more.