Marketers face budget losses as outdated AI tools lag behind trends

New research indicates that marketing leaders are intensifying their investments in generative artificial intelligence tools, but many are seeing limited returns, impacting business finances and operational efficiency.

A survey conducted by Hootsuite involving 1,000 social media managers and senior marketing leaders from the UK and US highlights mounting pressures faced by marketing departments. Half of the senior leaders surveyed report increased demands to justify the value of their social and marketing expenditures, while close to one third face budget freezes (28%), concerns over job security (27%), and greater scrutiny from company executives (27%).

One major finding is inefficiency in the deployment of AI within marketing teams. Twenty-four percent of respondents stated that up to a fifth of their marketing spend had been wasted on ineffective AI tools. Sixteen percent disclosed losses of more than 20% of their budgets due to underperforming AI solutions.

Manual intervention

Despite widespread adoption of AI—nearly 80% of social media managers use these tools up to 20 times daily, and 83% of marketing leaders report increased AI spend—anticipated gains in productivity and accuracy have failed to materialise for many. Forty percent of social media managers regularly check and verify AI-generated content, and 47% report dedicating between 11 to 24 hours per week manually scouring social platforms for relevant trends and insights. This comprehensive search, often amounting to three full working days per week, results in an estimated cost of nearly GBP £25,000 per employee annually.

Further, the research notes that over half (59%) of senior marketers perceive social campaigns as underperforming because trend-driven content is often out-of-date by the time it reaches audiences, leaving teams caught in a cycle of manual trend-chasing.

Disconnect on data sophistication

The study unveils a pronounced gap between leadership perceptions and operational reality. Sixty-four percent of senior leaders believe their teams are equipped with AI tools powered by current, real-time data. In contrast, only 39% of social media managers agree, illustrating a disconnect between the solutions that leaders trust and those actually experienced in day-to-day execution.

This disconnect is partially attributed to the fact that many generative AI tools rely on static web data with knowledge cutoffs that leave them unable to provide real-time insights. As a result, marketers are left without up-to-date information needed to respond to rapidly evolving social media trends and consumer interests.

"Real time is the new bottom line. Social moves at the speed of culture and marketers need tools that can keep up - but the truth is, most generative AI tools are already out of date the moment marketers use them. Traditional AI has its place, but falls short for marketers who operate where their customers do: on social. If they can't reach their audience with data that reflects what's happening right now, they can't drive real impact. That's the gap OwlyGPT is closing."

That assessment comes from Billy Jones, Head of Marketing at Hootsuite, who believes the industry must address the requirement for social tools that operate in real time.

Changing attitudes toward AI

The survey also records an evolution in marketer sentiment toward AI. Where previously nearly half (49%) of social media managers were concerned about AI making their roles obsolete, now more than half (52%) stated they could not imagine working without it. Forty-two percent reported spending up to 24 hours per week leveraging AI to inform social strategy. Most leaders (88%) encourage AI use among their teams, and a similar proportion (87%) have introduced formal AI strategies, yet operational friction remains high.

Amidst these challenges, 81% of surveyed senior marketers acknowledged budget wastage on AI that failed to deliver as expected. Nearly a quarter reported losing up to 20% of their marketing budget, while 20% indicated losses exceeding one fifth for similar reasons, underlining the scale of resource misallocation.

New product launch

According to the research, these trends are occurring at a time of rising scrutiny over marketing and social media spend. In response, Hootsuite has launched OwlyGPT, which it describes as tailored for social media and powered by live audience and brand data. The tool aims to help marketers produce timely, relevant content aligned with ongoing conversations and trends.

"This should be a wake up call to all marketers: traditional AI isn't as sophisticated as you think it is. With five billion people spending up to five hours a day online, social is one of the richest sources of real-time data sources available and yet, traditional AI tools still can't harness it, leaving the insights marketers truly need hiding in plain sight. OwlyGPT brings them to the surface, turning insights from real-time social data into real business impact."

That statement comes from Irina Novoselsky, CEO at Hootsuite. She described OwlyGPT as designed to address the fast-changing nature of social media, offering real-time, actionable insights sourced directly from ongoing discussions and audience behaviour.

The research was carried out by Censuswide, surveying a balanced group of social media managers and senior marketing leaders, including chief marketing officers and directors. The findings offer an illustration of ongoing challenges faced by marketers relying on generative AI, particularly the limitations of outdated data and the resulting strain on time and budgets.