Why Marketers Continue To Face AI Anxiety In 2025

Forbes

07-05-2025

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Yesterday, I attended the Meltwater Summit in New York City and, unsurprisingly, heard a lot about AI. (And that's not just because I moderated a panel about how AI is impacting the news business.) Meltwater CEO John Box opened the summit by sharing some information about how marketers are using the technology. While martech budgets rise and the pressure is increasing for corporate America to start using generative AI, 43% of marketers don't know how to get value out of it.
Meltwater unveiled Mira, its new marketing-focused AI agent platform, as part of the keynote address. And while Mira is a new tool—which many attendees were excited about—its existence doesn't change the fundamental issue that many marketers are having with AI: They need to learn how to use it, experiment with different functions, learn what it can do and discover its value. Rob Harles, CEO and founder of experiential digital marketing agency dig.human, said on a panel that the No. 1 question he gets from clients is how they can use AI to derive a measurable business impact.
'The harder question to answer is: What does it all mean? That's the question I've had from pretty much every client, which is: I don't know how my bit fits into the overall business plan,' Harles said. 'I don't know if it's driving revenue, I don't know if it's driving acquisition, I don't know if it's driving conversion. I'm not sure if any of this stuff is going to help me keep my customers.'
This question is especially difficult to answer, he said, because there is not a single solution for every client. Brittany Paxman, managing partner of communication strategy firm Point 600, said that while AI can collect and synthesize data, it's really up to humans to bring meaning to it. Point 600 is using AI to put the data together using metrics including history, sentiment analysis and penetration—based on client needs—to help people make better informed decisions. And, Harles added, humans are needed to make AI useful: It's only as good as the questions it's asked.
Humans are also needed to actually do the creative work of marketing and PR. AI is often used as a tool to help enhance and build on creativity, but that can be controversial. Freelance marketplace Fiverr has been leaning into permissive use of AI through marketing campaigns, loudly saying that its freelancers sometimes use AI as a tool to further improve their work. Fiverr recently launched its own AI tool, Fiverr Go, which 'learns' from the style of creators so they can do what they do better. I talked to Fiverr CMO Matti Yahav about this campaign and the use of AI in marketing. An excerpt from our conversation appears later in this newsletter. BRANDS + MESSAGING
Tariffs are having a major impact on consumers' plans and spending. China News Service via Getty Images
Tariffs are dominating consumers' plans and spending—even if they aren't seeing the added costs just yet. The Conference Board's most recent Consumer Confidence Index , released last week, fell nearly 8 points in April alone. The Expectations Index, based on short-term outlooks for business, income and the labor market, dropped 12.5 points last month to 54.4—the lowest since 2011. A recent Gallup online survey found 90% of consumers expect prices on most items to go up.
With these kinds of cautious and uneasy consumer feelings, it's tricky to find the right tactic to encourage spending. Retailers are trying to get a 'buy now before prices change' message out , writes Forbes senior contributor Pamela Danziger. She examined the promotions from mattress company Saatva, furniture retailer Raymour & Flanigan, and intimates brand Bare Necessities, all of which tried to play into this feeling among consumers. Barbara Kahn, a Wharton School professor of marketing, told Danziger that even though President Donald Trump's tariffs are political, they present a universal economic issue that brands can use in marketing: Prices of everything could be on the way up.
'I think something like humor would diffuse any kind of political issue and just make it into something: 'Here's a good deal. Take advantage of it,'' Kahn said.
Premium showerhead manufacturer Afina put one message surrounding tariffs to the test, writes Forbes contributor Roger Dooley. Consumers have previously said in surveys that they would be willing to pay more for products made in the U.S., so Afina created two identical landing pages on its website for the company's showerheads: One labeled 'Made in the USA,' costing $239—what it would cost to make the product in the U.S.—and the other page labeled 'Made in Asia' with a cost of $129. While some people looked at the 'Made in the USA' version, zero bought it at that price. Dooley writes that the huge price difference could have skewed the results. However, a lower price difference would likely cut into the company's revenue, changing its business calculus—which could be more of a problem if money-conscious consumers are buying less. STREAMING
Are ads on streaming platforms actually seen by real people? Photo Illustration by Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Streaming TV platforms bring forward a new take on the old 'tree falling in the woods' question: If an ad shows on a streaming TV platform, did anyone see it? Data released today from media measurement company DoubleVerify reveals some of the issues for this space, and the answer seems to be: Um, maybe? Not all streaming apps properly respond to 'TV Off' commands when the screen is dark, DoubleVerify found, so sometimes ads—that brands pay for—continue to be streamed when there is absolutely nobody watching. Nearly two-thirds of advertisers say it's hard to tell if people are actually seeing their streaming ads. According to DoubleVerify, streaming advertisers stand to lose $700,000 per billion impressions this way.
DoubleVerify recommends that advertisers play a proactive role in making sure their paid ads are broadcast to real people. They should ask partners to ensure that streaming is paused when the screen is off, provide greater transparency for viewability measurements, and continually audit the numbers to ensure they make sense. NOW TRENDING
Saks Fifth Avenue has launched a storefront on Amazon. Photo via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
With tariffs putting all brands on the defensive, physical and e-commerce retailers are pulling out all the stops to be convenient, affordable and empathetic. Many luxury retailers, however, have been doing that for the last year as revenue growth rates dropped. What's left in their playbook? Saks Fifth Avenue is trying something new : a storefront on Amazon. Forbes senior contributor Pamela Danziger writes that the move isn't unexpected; Amazon invested in the Saks-Neiman Marcus merger last year. And Amazon has been trying to break into luxury marketing for the last five years, so this was a golden opportunity.
But what does it mean when shoppers can buy batteries, high-end leather bags and a toaster all from a single retailer? Mickey Alam Khan, CEO of the Luxury Roundtable, told Danziger that this deal definitely benefits Amazon, and will give Saks a chance to digest the Neiman Marcus acquisition. 'But it must beware of cheapening its luxury luster,' Alam Khan said. 'Real luxury is about elevation, not scale.' ON MESSAGE
Fiverr CMO Matti Yahav. Fiverr Why Fiverr's CMO Embraces AI As A Value-Add, Not A Threat
Fiverr's latest campaign says the quiet part out loud: AI is a tool that can help creators, and creators are going to use it—proudly. Since 2023, the freelancer marketplace has been using its marketing to say that AI needs humans to do the best creative work: With an ad in the print New York Times , a Broadway-style musical video and a new campaign highlighting its Fiverr Go tool that helps AI learn and build off of creators' original work.
I talked to Fiverr CMO Matti Yahav about how he made the theme of the marketplace's embrace of AI for creators into humorous campaigns, and how he personally feels about AI's place in marketing. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity. A longer version is available here .
How did you approach taking something that is deathly serious to people in creative, and making it a fun and humorous campaign?
In this campaign, it was definitely something we had in mind from the get-go. It's a serious topic. AI is controversial, and when I think about marketing, my No. 1 priority is seeing how we can break through the clutter. In today's world, there is so much noise, so many messages, and social media everywhere. So our way to convey this complicated and controversial thing was actually to try to entertain, to try to make it super simple so the audience would be receptive, would understand.
[Turning audiences off is] always a risk. For us, it starts with the core of the product. The core of the product does something good because it addresses one of the biggest concerns talents have with AI, which is creative rights, owning their own creations.
We started from the main value proposition of the product, and then we thought, okay, what's the best way to bring this across this serious message? It can't be in a very hard, serious kind of tone. We want it in our brand style and tone of voice. I'm happy with the way we convey the message, in a very creative and entertaining way.
Do you believe personally that nobody cares if marketers use AI?
At the end of the day, the most important thing that marketers care about is the impact it creates. I think the cleverest marketeers understand that—and their campaign and marketing assets will be a mix of human talent together with AI tools. I think they don't care specifically which AI tools or how much, or what's the share that you want to see, the kind of impact it creates. To create the best marketing impact, you still need the cleverest strategic creative talents in your team. And yes, AI will make it much more efficient and scalable and all of that.
So do they care? They care, but I think they care most about the impact.
What is your advice to other CMOs and marketers trying to build a campaign on something that is controversial to the industry that they are in? The type of thing in which a misstep could be terrible, but doing it right would be great.
My philosophy has always been if you want to create great marketing, you need to take risks. The one thing I can't stand is average marketing that doesn't break through the clutter. That tries to be nice to everybody. That doesn't take risks. At SodaStream, previous companies and Fiverr, I am not afraid to take risks. I think, in general, the whole company is not afraid to take risks.
What's important, and this would be my advice to other marketeers, is stand behind your values. Think [about] the values of the brand, and then it's super okay to have a statement that not everybody will love, but you stand behind it and do some disruptive marketing that breaks through the clutter. Don't try to be nice and do the average thing, because then really nobody cares. It doesn't break through the clutter and it's just another noise. COMINGS + GOINGS Omnichannel media agency Assembly appointed Jason Lim as its first chief media officer for North America. Lim most recently worked as chief planning officer at EssenceMediacom.
appointed as its first chief media officer for North America. Lim as chief planning officer at EssenceMediacom. Software services firm KMS Technology hired Choon Aun 'Chewie' Quek as chief growth officer. Chewie joins the firm after working at SoftServe, and has also held leadership roles at Google, IBM and VMware.
hired as chief growth officer. Chewie working at SoftServe, and has also held leadership roles at Google, IBM and VMware. Workforce management provider nextSource tapped Adam Klaucke as chief growth officer. Klaucke previously was global chief revenue officer for Workspend Inc. STRATEGIES + ADVICE
While bold and creative ideas for marketing campaigns sometimes hit a home run and resonate loudly with target customers, some of them fall flat. Some missteps can be prevented with more critical thinking before the campaign launches. Here are three examples of recent campaigns that did their brands more harm than good—and how the companies responded to criticism.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and a key time to ensure your company is doing what it should to support the mental health of both employees and executives. Coming together and building a strong community can help. Here are steps you can take to make your company a healthier place to work. QUIZ
The pet of a deceased notable figure is the star of a new marketing campaign. Who was the owner of this new 'it' animal?
A. Betty White
B. Karl Lagerfeld
C. Queen Elizabeth II
D. David Lynch
See if you got the answer right here .