Why are marketing budgets staying flat while job responsibilities grow?

The article does not explicitly state the cause. However, it notes that budgets have declined from 9.5% of revenue in 2022 to 7.7% in 2025, while CMOs are now expected to understand AI, build communities, shape culture, and speak finance and technology fluently.

What changes are companies making to the CMO role itself?

UPS has grouped sales, marketing, and communications under a single chief commercial and strategy officer role. Reckitt folded marketing and commercial strategy into one function and gave regional teams more power to build brands locally. According to Spencer Stuart research, a third of Fortune 500 marketing leaders do not have "chief" in their title, 16% carry dual-function titles, and 11% have no reference to marketing.

How is AI reshaping marketing jobs?

A third of marketers expect AI to replace some creative functions, and 19% think it could significantly reduce the need for human creativity. One executive noted that bot traffic has overtaken human traffic faster than expected, requiring CMOs to market to both humans and AI agents. At Reckitt, internal AI tools surface insights and ideas in roughly a third of the time once required.

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CMO budgets flat as job scope expands: marketers now need AI, finance fluency

Fortune AI1d ago6 min read

Key takeaway

Marketing budgets have flatlined while CMO responsibilities have expanded dramatically—executives now must master AI, finance, and data alongside creativity. The traditional CMO title is disappearing as companies fold marketing into broader roles, yet those who can prove business value and adapt to AI-driven change are retaining influence. One-third of marketers expect AI to displace creative roles, and CMOs face a new reality where they must market to both humans and AI agents.

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3 Key Points

What happened
Marketing budgets across the U.S. and Europe have stalled at an average of 7.7% of company revenue in 2025, the same as 2024 but down from 9.5% in 2022, according to Gartner's 2025 Global CMO Spend Survey. Simultaneously, the CMO role itself is shrinking: less than half (49%) of Fortune 500 marketers held the "CMO" title in 2025, down from 55% a year earlier, per Forrester research. Companies like UPS and Reckitt have merged marketing with sales, communications, or commercial strategy under unified leadership roles.
Why it matters
Today's marketing leaders are expected to understand AI, build communities, shape organizational culture, and speak fluently about finance, supply chain, and risk—yet their budgets haven't grown. According to 46% of marketing and finance decision-makers surveyed by Fortune and Morning Consult, the most effective way to prove marketing's value internally is through profitability and revenue growth. CMOs who cannot demonstrate business impact beyond creative excellence risk losing seat-at-the-table authority and resources.
What to watch
A third (34%) of marketers expect AI to replace some creative functions, and 19% think it could significantly reduce the need for human creativity altogether. At the same time, agentic AI (self-directed AI agents) is reshaping who brands talk to: one executive noted that "bot traffic" has overtaken human traffic faster than expected, forcing CMOs to market simultaneously to humans and AI agents. Sephora's CMO warns against "surrendering" to the technology, while Adobe's marketing VP calls this shift the "single biggest" in marketing in 25 years.

FAQ

Why are marketing budgets staying flat while job responsibilities grow?: The article does not explicitly state the cause. However, it notes that budgets have declined from 9.5% of revenue in 2022 to 7.7% in 2025, while CMOs are now expected to understand AI, build communities, shape culture, and speak finance and technology fluently.
What changes are companies making to the CMO role itself?: UPS has grouped sales, marketing, and communications under a single chief commercial and strategy officer role. Reckitt folded marketing and commercial strategy into one function and gave regional teams more power to build brands locally. According to Spencer Stuart research, a third of Fortune 500 marketing leaders do not have "chief" in their title, 16% carry dual-function titles, and 11% have no reference to marketing.
How is AI reshaping marketing jobs?: A third of marketers expect AI to replace some creative functions, and 19% think it could significantly reduce the need for human creativity. One executive noted that bot traffic has overtaken human traffic faster than expected, requiring CMOs to market to both humans and AI agents. At Reckitt, internal AI tools surface insights and ideas in roughly a third of the time once required.

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