Key Takeaways
- The report shows many marketing organizations still struggle to turn martech and AI investments into business outcomes because their operational foundations remain fragmented.
- Findings reinforce that marketing agility, integration and cross-functional alignment are now essential to scaling AI effectively and improving GTM execution.
A new report from The CMO Council exposing widespread operational deficiencies that continue to prevent many marketing organizations from translating martech, artificial intelligence (AI) and data investments into measurable business performance.
The council, 2026 Marketing Transformation Performance Audit and Scorecard is an ongoing online self-assessment initiative continuously tracks martech maturity, operational migration and structural transformation as organizations adapt to the accelerating demands of AI-driven business environments.
Despite years of digital transformation spending, the findings reveal many organizations continue to struggle with fragmented data, disconnected workflows, underperforming technology stacks and limited cross-functional alignment.
Why Martech Maturity Still Falls Short for Many Marketing Teams
More than 200 marketing leaders have participated in the assessment to date, with more than half representing companies generating over $500 million in annual revenue.
“As AI accelerates marketing velocity, technology-operational alignment is emerging as a defining competitive advantage. The problem is some organizations are trying to scale AI on top of shaky foundations, and AI exposes every structural weakness,” notes Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council.
Moving from Cost Center to Growth Command Center
The findings show many marketing organizations struggling to evolve beyond a tactical execution role. While only a third of organizations increasingly recognize marketing as a strong growth driver of business performance, many still view the function primarily as a support organization tied to campaign execution and sales enablement.
Organizations continue investing aggressively in martech, but operational maturity remains uneven. Many marketing teams have accumulated platforms faster than they have developed the integration strategies, operational discipline and internal expertise required to generate measurable value.
As AI accelerates the speed and scale of execution, fragmented systems and disconnected workflows are creating even greater operational friction. Only 1 in 4 chief marketers report being highly advanced, adaptable and agile in embracing emerging martech solutions and innovations. Nearly half believe their marketing stacks are functioning but could be better.
By the numbers, 34% admit they are struggling with fragmented “Frankenstack” environments and integration challenges and 37% say they are challenged and lagging in identifying, specifying, integrating and deploying solutions.
GTM Has Much Room for Improvement
As AI accelerates customer engagement and market velocity, organizational responsiveness is becoming a defining competitive advantage. Yet many marketing organizations continue operating with reactive workflows, delayed decision-making and fragmented execution models that limit adaptability and competitive performance.
The findings suggest many organizations remain overly focused on tactical campaign activity instead of long-term enterprise value creation. This includes:
- 75% do not yet view their teams as highly agile, adaptive and opportunistic
- 52% say there is still significant room for improvement in go-to-market execution
- 30% say their teams are lagging in critical operational areas, underperforming and falling behind competitors
- 36% heavily prioritize short-term performance marketing over long-term brand building
The 2026 Marketing Transformation Performance Audit and Scorecard remains open for participation and will continue tracking martech maturity, operational migration and structural transformation trends throughout the year. Marketing leaders can participate in the ongoing self-assessment and access the findings by clicking here.
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