The marketing world is changing a lot and very fast. One of the main points in the latest AI report by HubSpot in collaboration with SurveyMonkey is that while AI delights marketers, consumers are still cautious about it. The findings sum up the message quite straightforwardly: AI is not a sci-fi fantasy anymore; it is a must-have for the strategy, just not any way.
Marketing Leaders Are Diving Big into AI
This HubSpot report shows that 75% of marketing executives believe that the future of AI should be the focus of the next 12 months. In its 2025 AI Trends report, HubSpot notes that 98% of organizations plan to maintain or increase their investment in AI during the year. Besides the automated generation of content, the AI instruments are not only around but are dominating the whole marketing process. More and more teams are using AI not only to tailor the advertisements but also to improve the raw data for the scoring processes and, in some instances, to prompt the researchers to draw conclusions based on the data; actually, they are doing it in minutes instead of nine hours.
Even though consumers are mostly positive about AI, they still keep a careful stance. Only a few (19%) say they are excited when AI-driven discussions take place. To the contrary, as many as 34% are worried about that. McKinsey’s 2024 Global AI Consumer Sentiment Report shows that only 22% of consumers fully trust brands’ AI implementations.
A pretty high share of 82% still selects human support even if AI is more effective. Such a difference underlines a key aspect for marketers: speed and automation alone will not win the trust of the audience; it is the collaboration between human and AI that will.
Four Tensions Defining AI Adoption
One of HubSpot’s report findings is how the marketing team must tactfully handle four key areas of trade-offs:
Trust vs. Innovation – Creative usage of AI at high speed may leave consumers who are hesitant behind. Openness and AI fairness have become the basis for trust building.
Efficiency vs. Experience – The utilization of AI can improve the workflow, yet the personalization part cannot be left to the machine only. The audience might even be completely turned off by the lack of empathy in their automated solutions.
Automation vs. Authenticity – Consumers are now demanding and valuing the genuine and humanized face of the brand through which they interact. So, the purpose of AI should be maximally supportive to the human workforce rather than replacing it completely. For instance, chatbots can be the answer to all the easily resolvable queries, but humans remain the only option that can satisfactorily deal with complicated issues.
Data Usage vs. Privacy – According to the survey data, 84% of consumers expect full disclosure regarding the usage of their data. Consequently, brands are required to have the practice of open disclosure. Handling of data ethically is not only a choice, but it is what is anticipated by consumers.
How Marketers Are Responding
Deloitte’s 2024 AI in Marketing Report finds that companies combining AI with human oversight see a 27% higher engagement rate in campaigns than AI-only approaches. Brands are starting to reassess the AI approaches, taking into consideration the opposing views. To cite an example:
Human-AI Collaboration – Smart teams are leveraging AI for tasks like content optimization or lead prioritization while human experts are personally engaging with top-tier prospects.
Consumer Education – Businesses make a considerable amount of money in the field of communication — talking about AI’s part in the business is the key to success.
Segmented AI Use – Automation is not suitable for every touchpoint. Intelligent segmentation guarantees that AI contributes to an area where it makes the most difference.
These methods demonstrate how the use of AI is moving to a new phase, the phase that identifies that AI use is not seen as a staff replacement but rather a customer experience innovation by giving human agents the technological support.
Lessons From Early AI Implementations
Imagine a B2B SaaS company that uses artificial intelligence to provide tailored recommendations for the use of email. The AI delivers the most suitable resources to the user based on the user’s prior operations, but a human marketer reviews the suggestions to make sure that they accord with the brand voice. What would the result be? One that merges authenticity with efficiency.
By the same token, e-commerce brands are allowing AI-powered chatbots to manage the FAQs section of their businesses, while human customer service representatives are in charge of the difficult issues. The users feel good about the situation when AI is perceived as a helper rather than a replacement.
Why This Matters Now
The HubSpot report is very clear on one point: the next big shift in marketing is not just a technological one but also a relational one. The use of AI will be extensive; however, brands that are not open, empathetic, and true will lose the trust of their customers. Conversely, those who will adeptly utilize AI will gain the triple benefit of efficiency, insight, and trust.
For marketers, this is an exciting time. AI is a game-changer for the impossible scenarios of the past few years. Still, the brands that will succeed are those that never lose sight of the human touch.
McKinsey notes that companies investing strategically in AI see 3x faster ROI on marketing spend compared to non-AI adopters.
Conclusion
The HubSpot AI report from HubSpot sketches a picture where technology is taking over the marketing department very quickly, which is becoming more automated, data-driven, and AI-powered. Although the AI is getting powerful, the report states that it will still be a human-centered domain. The marketers who accomplish this combination of efficiency and empathy, automation and authenticity, and innovation and trust will win in the next AI-driven marketing era.
It is like a guide for workers who want to solve their problems on the spot, showing ways that AI could be implemented not only to match the set business goals but also to align with the rhythm of consumer expectations.
FAQs
1. What is the main insight from the HubSpot AI report?
The report shows quite an opposite situation: on the one hand, marketers are really ready to put AI into practice, on the other hand, consumers are very watchful and skeptical about AI. Therefore, the report concludes that there is a need for both trust and a human-AI balance.
2. How can marketers bridge the AI trust gap?
By a high level of importance being given to transparency, always maintaining personal communication, using AI in the right way, and, above all, looking after consumer feelings constantly.
3. Does AI replace human customer service?
Not really. AI is built to be most productive when it is applied in the supporting roles of humans, managing repetitive tasks, and therefore, making it easier for humans to do the complex, detailed, and varied interactions.
4. What are the biggest tensions in AI adoption for marketing?
Marketers are most conflicted over these types of issues in AI adoption – the paradox of Trust vs. Innovation, Efficiency vs. Experience, Automation vs. Authenticity, and Data Utilization vs. Privacy.
5. How can AI enhance the customer experience without eroding trust?
If an organization chooses a very cautious and selective manner of AI use, keeps human supervisors in control of AI activities, is upfront and honest about the AI role, and thus, creates an environment that reflects genuinely tailor-made customer relationships by AI, then AI can be a great tool in customer experience enhancement while preserving trust.
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