In August 2024, I described how the advertising industry was entering the "walk" phase of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.
At that point, marketers had moved beyond experimentation. The early "crawl" phase incorporated foundational work—using AI to structure data, analyze content, and build taxonomies for creative classification. That stage helped teams improve input quality and prepare for more dynamic use cases.
As confidence grew (the "walk" phase) AI began to appear in production workflows, where it helped reformat assets, generate creative variations, and support optimization against defined signals. Those applications reflected a shift toward operational use, with AI accelerating execution across formats and platforms.
Now, a year later, the latest Mediaocean 2025 H2 Market Report shows how quickly the landscape has changed. Adoption has become more consistent across teams, use cases are expanding, and marketers are preparing for deeper integration.
They are no longer just experimenting—they are deploying generative AI (GenAI) across creative, media, and measurement workflows. We have entered the "run" phase of adoption.
Fully 72% of marketers identified GenAI as the most important consumer trend heading into the second half of 2025. That's a 15-point increase from late 2024. GenAI ranked first across every vertical included in the survey, from telecom and retail to travel and financial services.
From Backend to Frontend
GenAI is now being applied broadly across functions. Data analysis remains the most common use, cited by 47% of respondents, consistent with last year's findings. Market research now follows at 46%, with a significant gain since the previous wave. The use of GenAI on the backend is strong and growing.
What's different this year is that GenAI is being deployed for more creative and frontend applications. AI is now being used for copywriting by 34% of marketers, image generation by 25%, and creative versioning—new to the survey this wave—by 25%. GenAI is now supporting modular versioning, scaled personalization, and adding greater speed and agility to production timelines.
Of all use cases, website development saw the largest jump, increasing nearly 70% since last year. Coding rose 41%. Those responses show that GenAI has moved beyond support roles into core execution, where it can power user experiences .
Broader Impact on Workflow and Strategy
Marketers anticipate broader impacts ahead: 31% expect major disruption in creative optimization over the next 12 months; a nother 25% expect significant changes in media planning and buying. Those expectations point to a technology that is beginning to influence how teams are structured, how workflows are organized, and how strategy is operationalized across channels.
AI agents are expected to play a central role in taking GenAI from individual tasks to broader operationalization. Agents can handle more complex work by connecting to tools like customer relationship management tools (CRMs), enterprise resource planning tools (ERPs), and social media platforms.
What will make agents truly effective is access. Omnichannel advertising platforms will enable agents to plug into the systems marketers already rely on, giving GenAI the ability to take on a more central role within existing workflows.
Where Things Stand Now
The "crawl" adoption phase was about data structure and signal clarity. The "walk" phase was about workflow efficiency and creative scale. The current moment is defined by integration and orchestration.
GenAI is no longer just a tool but a thread woven throughout disciplines, embedded in systems, and expected to expand further in the months ahead. It's powering integrated systems, informing decisions in real-time, and shaping how brands show up across channels.
The "run" adoption phase has begun. And the pace is picking up, already changing how work gets done.
More Resources on Artificial Intelligence in Marketing
AI Skills: The Competitive Edge Marketers Can't Afford to Ignore
How Marketers Are Getting AI All Wrong (And What to Do About It)
From AI Hype to Meaningful Marketing Results: Start With These Three Key Changes
AI Belongs in Your Marketing Toolkit, but Save Space for Humanity, Too
