Australian marketing leaders are far more worried about how AI systems misrepresent their brands than their UK counterparts, yet they're measuring the problem much less. New research from Contentful found 40% of Australian marketers cite inaccurate AI representation as their top concern - nearly double the 22% recorded in the UK - while only 72% have measured how AI describes their brand at least once, compared with 92% in the US.
The findings, drawn from a survey of 350 marketing decision-makers across Australia, the US and UK conducted with Atlantic Insights, point to a growing blind spot as consumers turn to AI tools for product discovery and purchase decisions. Across the full study, 91% of marketing leaders agreed the future of marketing increasingly depends on persuading the systems that influence consumers.
The measurement gap
Australian marketers' anxiety about AI representation is not matched by their tracking efforts. Charlie Bell, senior director of solution engineering for EMEA and ANZ at Contentful, said the disconnect leaves brands exposed. "For Australian marketers, the question today should be how well-positioned the brand is to be understood, verified and recommended by the systems now standing between us and our customers," Bell said.
Overall, 83% of respondents ranked accurate representation in AI systems as a top or high priority for the year ahead. More than half - 55% - already track how AI tools describe, summarise or recommend their brands. But the country-level gap suggests Australian teams have work to do. "For Australian brands, closing the measurement gap is the first step - our data suggests they may be flying comparatively blind on AI representation at the exact moment they're most worried about getting it wrong," Bell said.
Brand differentiation under pressure
The research highlights a widespread fear that AI-generated content is sanding down brand distinctiveness. Some 85% of marketing leaders believe AI-generated summaries risk making brands sound increasingly alike. At the same time, 95% expect brands with strong, well-defined identities to pull further ahead - a signal that the pressure to manage AI representation is only going to intensify.
For brand managers navigating this shift, understanding how AI systems interpret and surface brand information is becoming a core competency. The AI Learning Path for Brand Managers addresses exactly this challenge, covering how to audit and influence brand presence across AI-driven channels.
AI agents in marketing operations
AI agents already operate across an average of 3.6 marketing functions per organisation, though governance approaches vary widely. The study found 43% of teams allow agents to act across most tasks with periodic review, while 34% restrict them to low-stakes decisions. Another 21% require human approval before any action is taken.
The talent pipeline is shifting too. A quarter of organisations surveyed have reduced or paused entry-level hiring because of AI, raising questions about how junior marketers will develop the skills needed to manage these systems - including the AI for Marketing skills that employers increasingly expect.
Why this matters for marketers
If consumers are using ChatGPT, Google's AI overviews or other tools to find and evaluate products, your brand is being described by a system you may not be monitoring. The Australian data shows that even high concern doesn't guarantee action. The first practical step is measurement: audit how major AI platforms describe, summarise and recommend your brand today. Without that baseline, any strategy to improve AI representation is guesswork.
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