Gartner Survey Finds 45% of Martech Leaders Say Existing Vendor-Offered AI Agents Fail to Meet Their Expectations of Promised Business Performance

• Eighty-one percent of marketing technology leaders are either piloting AI agents, or have already implemented AI agent initiatives across their organizations
• Among leaders who are piloting or implementing AI agents, 89% expect their AI agent initiatives to deliver significant business performance benefits for their enterprise
• Half of leaders say their organizations lack the technical and data stack readiness required for AI agent deployment

Forty-five percent of martech leaders with AI agents in pilots or production say existing vendor-offered AI agent capabilities do not meet company expectations of promised business performance, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.

A Gartner survey of 413 marketing technology leaders, conducted in June through August 2025, revealed 89% of martech leaders with AI agent initiatives say these initiatives are expected to deliver significant business benefits for their enterprise. However, many are hindered by lack of technical stack and talent readiness, and difficulties developing robust data and cybersecurity governance.

“AI agents have promised to revolutionize marketing, but for many martech leaders, vendor-offered solutions are failing to deliver the expected results,” said Aparajita Mazumdar, Senior Principal, Research, in the Gartner Marketing Practice. “To fully realize the benefits of AI, CMOs must also look inward and address gaps in their technical and data infrastructure.”

The survey revealed that AI agent adoption is now widespread, with 81% either piloting or fully implementing these solutions. Just 1% of respondents neither have AI agent initiatives currently nor have any plans to invest in GenAI initiatives, highlighting the technology’s near-universal appeal.

The top use cases for AI agent pilots for marketing technology leaders are content or marketing asset production, cited by 52% of leaders piloting these tools. Other top use cases include content and marketing asset enrichment (49%) and campaign management/optimization (43%).

“AI agents are rapidly reshaping the marketing landscape, with leaders eager to harness their potential for content production and campaign optimization,” said Benjamin Bloom, VP Analyst in the Gartner Marketing Practice. “However, business value is the yardstick CMOs should use to evaluate these investments, rather than vendor hype.”

Despite widespread adoption and optimism, the survey revealed significant hurdles for martech leaders. Half of respondents report their organizations lack the technical and data stack readiness required for AI agent deployment, and half also cite a shortage of technical talent.

“Martech leaders have set ambitious expectations for AI agent implementation, viewing these solutions as critical drivers of business transformation,” said Mazumdar. “However, many are finding that progress is constrained by gaps in technical infrastructure and talent. To unlock the full potential of AI agents, organizations must address these foundational challenges head-on.”

Gartner clients can read more in the report: 2025 Martech Survey: What High-Performing Martech Teams Get Right. Gartner clients can find further information in the associated client webinar: 2025 Martech Survey Findings: Improve Martech Stack Impact in the Age of AI Agents.

About Gartner AI Use Case Insights

Gartner AI Use Case Insights is an interactive tool that helps technology and business leaders efficiently discover, evaluate, and prioritize AI use cases to potentially pursue. Clients can search over 500 use cases (applications of AI in specific industries) and over 380 case studies (real world examples) based on industry, business function, and Gartner’s assessment of potential business value. Clients can access the interactive tool at https://tools.gartner.com/use-case-insights.