AI is Reshaping Martech: Are Marketers Ready for the Transformation?
The State of Martech 2025 report has just been released, and the insights it delivers are as compelling as they are crucial for marketers navigating today’s tech landscape. Sponsored by GrowthLoop, Hightouch, MetaRouter, MoEngage, and SAS, this report, based on a comprehensive survey of marketing technology usage, encapsulates the martech environment, including an impressive supergraph now in its 15th year. What stands out? AI is revolutionizing marketing and marketing technology. However, while the tech landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, many brands are still stuck in old habits.
What’s Fueling the Explosion of the Martech Stack?
Before delving into the numbers, it’s essential to understand how the report categorizes martech software growth. The martech ecosystem is divided into various segments: head, torso, tail, and hypertail. The most exciting growth occurs in the hypertail, introduced last year.
As we stand today, the marketing technology landscape boasts an astonishing 15,384 solutions, reflecting a 9% rise since 2024. In the latest analysis, 11,000 new submissions were scrutinized, yet only 2,489 made the cut to the updated list, while 1,211 solutions exited the market, highlighting a competitive environment where 84% of entrants were unable to sustain operations.
Growth Hotspots
The report reveals that five categories are driving this growth:
- Advertising and Promotion
- Content and Experience
- Social and Relationships
- Commerce and Sales
- Data and Management
Each of these categories experienced a robust growth rate between 7% and 10%.
Exceptional Gains in Content Marketing
The domain of content marketing technology has nearly doubled in available tools, signaling a dynamic shift toward enhanced content strategies. Even SEO tools have witnessed significant growth. Additionally, the Sales Automation, Enablement, and Intelligence category has more than doubled from 2023 to 2025, fueled largely by the integration of generative AI and an ongoing push toward technological modernization.
Core Platforms: The Backbone of Martech Stacks
Despite the overwhelming variety of options, foundational platforms persist as cornerstones of marketing technology. For 31.3% of companies, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system remains central to their tech stack. 26% utilize a Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) or Customer Engagement Platform (CEP), while a smaller segment relies on Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs), cloud data warehouses, or Customer Data Platforms (CDPs).
A Shift in B2B Dynamics
Scott Brinker, co-author of the report and VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, highlighted a notable shift in the B2B sector. The “Other” category saw a jaw-dropping 5X increase, now accounting for 10% of responses, reflecting the rise of custom-built martech platforms. While this segment remains small, it marks a fascinating reversal of a trend that previously favored commercial solutions.
The influence of AI agent marketplaces (think Salesforce and HubSpot) cannot be understated. These platforms are not just embedding AI; they are creating entire ecosystems for AI applications. As Scott Simmons, Principal Analyst at the Real Story Group, observed, "Major SaaS vendors are curating entire AI economies," leading to a fragmented AI landscape where each vendor creates their own niche.
The Growing Adoption of AI in Marketing
It comes as no surprise that AI adoption is skyrocketing in the marketing sector, but the pace of maturity varies significantly among marketing teams. A separate survey indicated that most teams are still in the experimentation phase, with only 19.8% achieving broad adoption. Notably, those in the trial stage tend to be mid-market companies.
Key Areas of AI Usage
Where is AI making its mark in marketing? Here are the key areas:
- Content Production: 78.1%
- Segmentation and Targeting: 42.7%
- Data Analysis and Reporting: 38.5%
While many AI tools integrate smoothly with existing platforms, 41% of respondents reported significant integration challenges, with one-third not incorporating AI tools into their tech stack at all.
Emerging Use Cases for Generative AI
Generative AI is revolutionizing how marketers handle data:
- Analyzing unstructured data
- Transcribing meetings, chat messages, and emails
- Scraping websites for customer insights
Additionally, respondents highlighted innovative uses for AI, including summarizing messages and personalizing content. Almost 69% of users reported deploying large language models (LLMs) in marketing workflows.
Transforming Marketing Technology
Brinker and co-author Frans Riemersma, founder of MartechTribe, argue that the industry is entering a hybrid phase where both legacy and novel systems coexist. The goal? To augment older systems with AI before eventually replacing them.
Navigating the Challenges
Marketers face pressing challenges. The relentless pressure to deliver results often pushes them into reactive modes, making it difficult to strategize effectively about AI applications. Yet, as the tech landscape evolves, so too must marketers’ approaches. It’s crucial that they make room for generative AI—it’s not just a passing trend; it’s the future.
Final Thoughts: Embracing the AI Revolution
The conversation around AI’s role in marketing is ongoing, and it’s a vibrant one. A CMO I spoke with underscored the importance of embracing an AI-first mindset. She approaches each project with the question: "How can AI enhance this process?" This proactive strategy keeps her open to the transformative potential of AI.
Marketers should view AI as an augmentative force, enhancing workflows and freeing them to focus on creativity and relationship-building. However, the landscape is complex, and the path to AI integration is fraught with challenges. Companies must commit to understanding and leveraging AI if they are to thrive in the rapidly evolving martech ecosystem.
As AI technology continues to advance, the urgency for marketers to adapt grows stronger. It is time to embrace generative AI and use its capabilities to reshape marketing strategies. The future is here—are you ready to meet it?
