Supporting CMOs when using AI

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming core to modern marketing approaches. From content generation to customer insights, AI offers Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) unprecedented, measurable outcomes, and, as a result, roughly 80-90% of marketing teams now using, planning to invest in, or actively piloting AI tools in operations.

Yet planning is one thing, implementing is quite another. Our perspective from within the industry suggests that while many CMOs and marketing teams understand the importance of AI tools and Large Language Models (LLMs), the relentless pace of the industry means few have had the time or headspace to figure out how to use them strategically and to their full advantage: as of February 2026, 61% of marketing teams are only using AI at an individual level, not strategically. In these cases, a good PR agency who understands how best to utilise these tools can be pivotal.

CMO: a changing role

In today’s marketing landscape, traditional channels like SEO, paid ads, and email are all being revamped to become more AI‑friendly. This shift has intensified pressure on CMOs and marketing teams to move faster and adopt tools that automate optimisation and content creation. This has led to an evolution of the job requirements of a CMO: today, they are deeply involved in selecting AI platforms, embedding them into workflows, and upskilling teams to experiment confidently.

Yet even as AI accelerates execution, the human side of marketing is becoming more important. CMOs are increasingly focused on trust, authenticity, and emotional connection within operations, and these are all areas where AI cannot replace human judgment. Orchestrating new technologies while preserving the creativity, taste, and vision that differentiate brands is crucial, as are in‑person experiences and relationship‑building to earn long‑term customer loyalty.

Boosting your authority

In addition to the above, AI-generated results will surpass organic search traffic in 2028, and this is leading CMOs to reassess the impact of their owned and earned content. With AI systems like ChatGPT now having a major influence over a business’s visibility and reputation within their market, it’s essential that CMOs have a clear Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) strategy in place to make the most out of these AI and LLM models.

For the CMOs looking to develop a strategy, but unsure of how to devise or implement it, Proactive PR has launched a brand-new service: the Optimisation Strategy for Citations and AI Relevance (OSCAR). Designed to help businesses understand their present AI visibility, OSCAR helps CMOs to understand how models are describing their company’s brand, products and competitors, and provides actionable recommendations in order for them to implement.

As a result, the Marketing team they are responsible for will be able to improve content ranking, authority, and citation in AI-generated results, and improve the visibility of their brand.

How Proactive PR supports CMOs

If you’re a CMO and are unfamiliar with your company’s performance across AI, speak to our team about OSCAR! We can uncover how AI platforms describe and position your business with our brand-new service.

Of course, when it comes to creating an overall marketing strategy, our team has the experience and expertise to both support its inception, implementation and benchmarking. Send an email to hello@proactive-pr.com to request a meeting with our CEO James Page, and find out how we can support your marketing efforts this year and beyond!