Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a focal point of modern advertising, powering everything from media planning to creative optimization. A new global report from programmatic media partner MiQ shows that while 72% of marketers plan to apply AI in more ways over the next 12 months, only 45% feel confident in their ability to apply it successfully. In short, while adoption is rising fast, marketers are signaling an uneasiness in how best to put it to work.

The AI Confidence Curve report, surveying 3,169 marketers across 16 countries, sought to understand usage and readiness levels around different aspects of AI in advertising. Responses paint a picture of an industry in transition — eager to advance, yet still developing the skills and systems needed to have AI fulfill its potential.

“We discovered that most marketers are bunched together at the early stages of a confidence curve,” said Jordan Bitterman, Chief Marketing Officer at MiQ. “We’re at the start of a journey that will ultimately see us all move up the curve as we apply AI to more of our mission-critical work. Usage currently outpaces readiness by 27 percentage points, and we see that as pure opportunity. To close the gap, industry leaders must tap into tools and training.”

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CURRENT USES OF AI IN ADVERTISING
Marketers are already using AI for all kinds of tasks. They are currently most comfortable applying it to social media management (40%), marketing automation (39%), and customer engagement (38%), areas where GenAI tools like ChatGPT are most useful.

Of those marketers who say they are not confident, 40% report that their organization doesn’t understand AI or large language models (LLMs) well enough. This is due to a lack of training and understanding that pushes marketers away from powerful bespoke solutions and back toward more simplified, general AI tools and solutions.

There are many factors holding down marketers’ confidence in using AI tools. Thirty-eight percent cite a lack of training, 42% mention limitations placed on their ability to share data with their chosen tools, and 44% list their inability to track results against the right goals. Many marketers still rely on proxy metrics like clicks or web traffic, which fail to capture AI’s broader business impact. What’s more, nearly two in five senior marketing professionals (38%) admit they’re still building the education, measurement, and workflow systems needed to use AI confidently and consistently. That same number (38%) of both junior and senior marketers say they haven’t received proper training on the tools they already have.

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THE PATH FORWARD
Despite concerns, optimism remains high as adoption accelerates. To increase confidence and move along the curve, the report highlights a number of ways marketers can move forward with purpose:

• Adopt partner-agnostic solutions. AI works best on complete, connected data. Use tools that integrate multiple platforms and sources to eliminate silos and deliver more accurate, representative insights.
• Integrate AI into performance measurement. AI can’t optimize what it can’t measure. Tie AI systems directly to campaign KPIs and outcome data to evaluate results in real time and link adoption to tangible business impact.
• Invest in AI literacy across teams. Confidence comes from competence. With 44% citing internal knowledge gaps, embed ongoing AI training — from interpreting outputs to applying insights — into everyday marketing practice.
• Preserve human expertise. AI can analyze and automate, but humans must still interpret, refine, and decide. Keep experienced marketers in the loop to apply judgment, maintain accountability, and validate recommendations before they go live.

“Every marketer is trying to find the balance between learning and leading with AI,” Bitterman added. “The ones who advance fastest will treat confidence as a capability, something built every day through connection, curiosity, and collaboration.”