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AI investment outpaces operational transformation in marketing, study shows
100% of Asia-Pacific in-house agencies now use AI, but only 4% have integrated it into core workflows. Adoption is outpacing operational redesign.
Marketing teams across Asia-Pacific are adopting artificial intelligence tools faster than they can redesign their operations to absorb them, according to a new benchmark study from the In-House Agency Council (IHAC) and -lution. The research, based on responses from 76 marketing professionals at more than 40 organisations, found that 100% of in-house agencies now use AI in some form. But while 98% plan to increase AI investment this year, only 4% have integrated the technology into core workflows.
Investment outpaces operational maturity
The Race for AI Maturity in Marketing report shows 96% of teams remain in reactive or experimental stages. Most organisations use AI tactically for discrete tasks rather than redesigning workflows, operating models and team structures around it. The investment curve, the study suggests, is moving much faster than the operational maturity curve.
Chris Maxwell, CEO of -lution, said the findings reveal a split between adoption and transformation: "Everyone's using AI to write headlines or generate images. Almost nobody has figured out how to redesign the way their team actually operates around it. That's the real shift that still needs to happen."
Creative tasks dominate, operations lag
AI use is heavily concentrated in creative and content work. Some 67% of teams use it for ideation, 62% for image generation and 56% for copywriting-areas closely tied to AI for Marketing applications. By contrast, integration across operations, workflow and media functions trails sharply. Adoption in marketing operations ranges from just 6% to 38% depending on the task, while media and performance-related use sits between 9% and 28%.
The gap points to a narrow view of where AI creates value. Maxwell added: "The organisations that get real value from AI won't necessarily be the ones using the most tools. They'll be the ones that rethink workflows, systems and capability around them fastest."
Internal barriers eclipse budget concerns
Money is not the primary obstacle. Only 6% of respondents identified budget as a key challenge, compared to 45% who cited IT, legal and privacy concerns. The finding signals that governance, compliance and internal alignment now pose steeper hurdles than purchasing power. Meanwhile, 43% of teams still lack a formal AI strategy.
Despite the scattered approach, some measurable gains are appearing. The report notes that 30% of marketers reclaim more than five hours per week through AI tools. Still, without operational redesign, those hours may not translate into lasting AI for Operations improvements.
Why this matters for marketing professionals
The study makes one disconnect clear: using AI for a few creative tasks will not unlock the larger efficiency and capability gains that come from embedding it across planning, production and measurement. Teams that wait for a formal strategy or let legal concerns halt progress risk widening the gap between spending and real transformation. The next wave of value will go to marketers who move past experimentation and start rethinking how work gets assigned, reviewed and deployed-not just which tool generates the first draft.