How marketing teams are really using artificial intelligence in 2026 — adoption rates, the tasks marketers hand to AI, time saved per day, ROI by channel, and what the next five years look like. Every number links to its source.
Part of the AI Tools Statistics 2026 series by Zekai · 17 statistics · Free to cite with attribution.
A note on dates: figures come from the most recent published studies, chiefly HubSpot's State of AI for Marketers report (surveying 1,000+ marketing professionals in 2025) plus supplementary 2025–2026 industry analyses. Each stat links to its source.
66%
of marketers globally use AI in their role — rising to 74% in the United States
91%
of marketing leaders say employees at their org use AI to assist their work
75%
of marketing leaders whose orgs invested in AI report a positive ROI
1–2 hrs
saved per workday by marketers using AI tools, on average
01How many marketers use AI
AI has crossed from experiment to standard workflow in marketing faster than almost any other profession.
66%
of marketers globally report using AI in their role, with U.S. adoption even higher at 74%.
Channels marketers use AI for — and ROI by channel
Share of marketers using AI per channel (left) and share reporting at least somewhat positive ROI (right). Source: HubSpot, State of AI for Marketers, 2025.
03Productivity & time savings
Time reclaimed from manual work is the most cited benefit — and the data backs it up.
1–2 hrs/day
saved by marketers using AI tools on average — across content creation, research, and campaign management.
Using one of these numbers in an article? You're welcome to — just link back to Zekai. Copy the attribution below:
Source: Zekai, “AI Statistics for Marketers 2026” (https://zekaiwork.com/ai-statistics-for-marketers-2026/)
Methodology & sourcing
Every statistic here is drawn from a named, publicly available source — chiefly HubSpot's State of AI for Marketers report (1,000+ marketing professionals surveyed, 2025), supplemented by 2025–2026 market research analyses. Each figure links to its source so you can verify it.
Figures are reported as published; survey results vary with methodology and sample. Where a number comes from a market research analysis rather than a single primary survey, we label it as such. This page is reviewed and refreshed once per year.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of marketers use AI?
According to HubSpot's 2025 State of AI report, 66% of marketers globally use AI in their role, rising to 74% in the United States. At the organizational level, 91% of marketing leaders say employees at their org use AI to assist their work.
What do marketers most commonly use AI for?
Text-based content creation (52%) is the top use case, followed by email marketing (51%), social media (50%), research and data analysis (48%), and automating brand messaging (41%). Very few marketers use AI to write entire pieces unassisted — most use it for drafts, outlines, and inspiration.
Does AI save marketers time?
Yes — marketers using AI tools save an average of one to two hours per workday. 79% agree AI helps them spend less time on manual tasks, and 73% say it frees them to focus on higher-value work.
What is the ROI of AI in marketing?
75% of marketing leaders whose organizations invested in AI report a positive ROI; only 4% report negative returns. By channel, marketers see the strongest ROI from AI in long-form blog content (68% report positive ROI), social media (67%), and email (63%).
