Brands Report Measurable Gains From AI in Performance Marketing
More than 70 percent of U.S. marketers have increased spending on performance-oriented campaigns over the past three years, with the majority reporting concrete improvements in customer acquisition, sales, and retail traffic, according to a new Winterberry Group report.
The survey of over 250 marketing and advertising professionals found that 74 percent of marketers saw gains in marketing effectiveness from their AI investments. Just 26 percent reported little or no effect on performance metrics.
The Core Four Channels
Marketers are concentrating AI efforts on four primary channels: online display advertising (57 percent), paid social (54 percent), direct mail (45 percent), and paid search (45 percent). Retail media networks also gained traction, cited by 37 percent of respondents, up from 27 percent a year prior.
Direct mail specifically showed strong AI-driven results. Forty-two percent of marketers reported improved targeting accuracy, 42 percent saw better return on investment, and 34 percent achieved better coordination across channels.
Measurable Benefits Across the Board
Beyond effectiveness gains, marketers reported concrete operational improvements. Sixty percent cited gains in efficiency through cost and cycle time savings. Fifty-three percent gained better understanding of how individual channels contribute to overall performance.
When direct mail was combined with digital channels, performance lifted. Nearly 50 percent of respondents saw better results from online display and paid social when paired with direct mail. Paid search benefited in 43 percent of cases.
Budget Increases and Direct Mail Growth
Eighty-three percent of panelists plan to grow their direct mail budgets in 2026. More than 60 percent will increase spending by 1 to 10 percent, while 20 percent plan increases exceeding 10 percent.
U.S. direct mail spending is expected to reach $36.6 billion in 2026, a 1.1 percent increase. Fifty-seven percent of marketers cited direct mail's superior ROI compared to other channels.
Implementation Challenges Remain
Integration obstacles persist. Thirty-eight percent of marketers cited difficulty integrating AI with existing systems and workflows as their top concern. High implementation costs ranked second at 36 percent.
No single issue emerged as a principal barrier to continued AI adoption, suggesting organizations are managing obstacles incrementally rather than facing one critical hurdle.
The Next Phase: Omnichannel Orchestration
Marketers identified media planning across channels as the most promising use case for AI in performance marketing. They see the greatest value in optimizing audience selection, channel timing, and content personalization without data silos.
Forty-eight percent of respondents adjusted audience segmentation based on AI insights, while 41 percent reallocated spending among addressable channels based on AI recommendations.
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