The AI Leadership Gap: Why Most CMOs Need To Assign An Owner
The following is my latest take for Marketing Unfiltered. I offer a look inside of why CMOs have to assign an AI lead and how to implement in a 90 day plan.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Over the last month, I have spoken to three different leadership teams where AI dominated the agenda.
In each conversation, the same pattern emerged: executives asking hard questions about AI strategy while Marketing leaders struggled for answers they didn't have...yet…
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.
But you are running out of time.
Where Most CMOs Stand Today
After coaching C-suite leaders in the AI space since 2022, I've identified where most Marketing executives currently sit:
The Reactive Majority hears AI discussed in leadership meetings but hasn't moved beyond surface-level awareness.
They're worried about performance while everyone else shares opinions about AI's potential. Fear often controls the conversation.The Firefighters deal with immediate pressures while having preliminary team conversations about AI implications.
Firefighters know it matters; however, they lack the bandwidth to act strategically.The experimenters tested some AI tools and ran a few prompts every few days. They've seen glimpses of potential but haven't developed systematic approaches.
The Strategic Few are the Marketing Leaders I work with are thinking months ahead, planning where AI fits organisationally and are slowly positioning themselves as internal AI leaders.
The gap between groups three and four is where future careers are being made, and many are being reviewed by their boss and peers.
Why This Matters More Than Your Last Success Campaign Or Biggest Win
Having held both CMO and CGO roles before moving into executive coaching and consulting, I've dedicated the last seven months to going deep in AI.
What I've learned working with companies operating in AI since 2022 is this:
AI has shifted from a set of helpful tools to a workforce transformation driver.
How? We're seeing mass layoffs, we are reading about the hiring freezes unless you can prove AI can't do the job first; Zapier, Shopify and other big orgs have clearly called this out and as their MO for 2025 and beyond.
Fiverr CEO had more strong words about AI and being responsible or not for staff - watch full interview below
Board discussions will now include AI and ROI from implementing AI.
The CMOs who go first will build competitive moats while others play catch-up.
This sort of shift is not new to CMOs, but now, integrating AI, understanding the ROI in AI, while managing headcount and org design, has to be your priority.
The AI promise is exactly what every CMO needs:
Productivity gains without starting from zero
Quicker decisions from analysis (not waiting days to months for an answer)
Improved performance
Cost savings on hiring and agency dependencies
Sustainable competitive advantages.
The Strategic Framework That Will Help Drive Your Decision
Through my consultancy work, I've developed two approaches that consistently deliver results:
Approach 1: The AI Ownership Model
You need three tiers of AI adoption:
The Owner – Your AI champion who integrates tools into workflows and takes responsibility when things break. This high-trust role carries significant status and influence. When they say AI is important, teams listen.
Co-Owners – Team members who don't want to be left behind but aren't confident enough to lead. These are often your retention risks if not properly engaged.
Collaborators – Those who need support learning AI applications, particularly for deadline pressures and knowledge gaps.
Something that is critical in H2 and beyond, everyone needs to be involved in your Department, you will need to place team members in owner, co-owner and collaborators categories and ensure they are all aligned with the owner.
Approach 2: Organisational Redesign
This requires visionary leadership—reshaping teams for the next 24 months, not just filling current skill gaps.
You're planning how the next 6, 12, and 18 months will evolve, repositioning team members, anticipating headcount changes, and preparing for technology that will impact every marketing discipline.
As mentioned in my recent SEO and AI chat with Carl Hendy, it’s an opportunity for SEOs to take on more responsibilities and for CMOs and Department leads to assign an AI leader.
Finding Your AI Leader
Your AI champion likely comes from one of three areas:
Social Media Teams – They've adapted to platform changes, algorithmic shifts, and increased content demands.
Search Marketing – Particularly strong SEO leaders have navigated major algorithmic updates since the early 2000/2010s. They understand technical aspects and have been the interface with Product teams while teaching colleagues.
Growth Marketing Teams – Modern Growth professionals managing paid, organic, and social channels with analytical rigour.
Strong Product Marketers (or PMMs) might also be a strong consideration, they will likely be at the forefront of AI (packaging and pushing out AI product features and sending updates to customers) and understanding the market, without being able to corner of a good percentage of their time, they may struggle to adapt.
CGOs Have A Competitive Advantage
If you are a dedicated Growth department, you have a huge advantage, the core skills within your team are understanding mass shifts, algorithmic changes and informing the business of the
The Essential Skills To Lead Internal AI
Problem Solver - you will need someone who is a problem or puzzle solver. Someone who can understand what is happening, where there are problems and help their colleagues address problems as puzzles and recommend tools and solutions to address said issues
Teacher/Coach - the essential role for AI leaders will be teaching and coaching colleagues how to get the most out of AI, so the prompts, the tools and building with AI.
Comfortable With Change - the person taking on the ownership of AI will be great in an ever-changing environment, someone who can see change as an opportunity and not feel daunted by a constantly evolving landscape
Explains Technical Changes In Simple Language - specialists can struggle to translate technical into digestible language and make it stick without it feeling like jargon, cutting through the jargon and noise will be critically important
Cross-Functional Communicator - Product teams and Marketing teams have to be closer than ever before, being a great connector and communicator will be critically important to ensure Marketing tickets are prioritised, that internal tool (you will want to build your own tools (not just buy more tools) based on your own data and then integrate competitive data) builds are a priority. Marketing and Product departments and leaders will have to be aligned to make the biggest impact. Product leaders are under tremendous pressure now that AI has sped up development, and they are on the hook for AI ROI, including large investments in APIs and token usage.
Influence - this should go without saying; however, the AI lead within your Department should have company-wide influence. Someone who can communicate and hold their own in C-Suite and Leadership team meetings, someone who can use their political intelligence to influence important decisions and be a long-term trusted partner to the C-Suite.
Based on my interactions and experience, Search and Growth leaders typically emerge as the strongest AI owners.
Q: Do you have the right person in play today?
Your 90-Day Implementation Plan
Immediate (Week 1-2):
Create your formal AI strategy presentation (what, why, how, when and who)
Assign a dedicated AI budget
Address Department fears through transparent communication (this is where so many brands have gone wrong - communicated by memo, not by open forums and discussions)
Launch kickoff workshop with approved prompts, tools and processes
Short-Term (30-90 Days):
Audit departmental problems and identify AI solutions
Establish bi-weekly progress updates
Begin cross-functional coordination
Implement weekly training sessions
Understand the future impact of the agentic web
Long-Term (6-18 Months):
Org Design:
Develop an AI-focused hiring strategy
Plan organisational restructuring
Build executive presence for AI champions
Create measurable ROI frameworks
The Bottom Line
Board members and CEOs are asking AI questions that demand strategic answers.
The CMOs providing those answers will shape their organisations' next chapter and place you at the head of the queue to lead the business forward and be the strategic leader.
The question isn't whether AI will transform Marketing—it's whether you'll lead that transformation or be transformed by it…
In this rapidly evolving landscape, being proactive today means being prepared when your business needs to be reactive tomorrow.
» Need help or to chat through AI? Drop me an email on mu@dannydenhard.com
Watch ⏯️: Carl & I Talk About Why SEO Is Such A Strong Potential Leader In AI
I also wrote for Search Engine Journal on how SEO might be the team to lead AI, read here for the variation of this article
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