Marketing Among Top Careers Exposed to AI Disruption, Indeed Report Finds
New research reveals 69% of marketing skills are poised for AI transformation, pushing professionals toward hybrid workflows.
2 min readHighlights
69% of marketing skills face AI-driven transformation.
Marketing ranks 4th in AI exposure after tech and finance.
Roles are shifting from execution to AI oversight and strategy.
Source: Image created by Martech Scholars_Indeed study reveals 69% of marketing skills face AI transformation, ranking the profession 4th in exposure.
Marketing professionals are facing one of the highest levels of AI disruption across all industries, according to Indeed’s latest AI at Work report. The study found that 69% of marketing skills are positioned for transformation by generative AI (GenAI), ranking the profession fourth most exposed after software development, data and analytics, and accounting.
A Shift From Doing to Directing
Indeed’s GenAI Skill Transformation Index categorizes work skills into four levels: minimal, assisted, hybrid, and full transformation.
For marketing, most affected skills fall into the hybrid zone—where AI performs routine execution while humans guide strategy, validate outcomes, and manage quality.
The report notes:
“Human oversight will remain critical when applying these skills, but GenAI can already perform a significant portion of routine work.”
Marketing Tasks Most at Risk
Tasks such as administration, documentation, and text processing face the highest AI transformation potential. These include drafting, information retrieval, and analysis—areas where AI tools already excel.
Meanwhile, communication tasks are increasingly classified as hybrid. For example, the report highlights how communication appears in 23% of nursing roles—AI can handle routine language tasks, but human empathy and interpretation remain irreplaceable.
How the Skills Were Scored
The research team analyzed nearly 2,900 skills using large language models, including OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4. Each skill was rated on problem-solving demands and physical necessity.
Marketing, with high problem-solving needs and low physical requirements, ranked as a prime candidate for AI transformation.
A Change From Earlier Research
Previous research by Indeed suggested no skills were “very likely” to be fully replaced by AI. But this updated report identifies 19 skills (0.7%) that now cross that threshold, marking incremental progress toward end-to-end automation of narrow, structured tasks—not broad job replacement.
The Bigger Picture
Across the labor market:
- 26% of jobs show high exposure to AI transformation.
- 54% are moderately exposed.
- 20% show low exposure.
The impact, however, depends on how quickly companies adopt AI, redesign workflows, and reskill employees.
Marketing vs. Other Professions
Software development leads with 81% of skills exposed, followed by data & analytics (79%) and accounting (74%). By contrast, nursing shows just 33% exposure, underscoring the resilience of human-centered work.
Marketing’s ranking reflects its reliance on cognitive, digital, and screen-based work—areas that AI can increasingly assist.
Not All AI Models Perform Equally
The report emphasizes that model choice matters. Results varied across AI models, meaning businesses must test tools within their own workflows rather than assume consistent performance.
Looking Ahead
Authors Annina Hering and Arcenis Rojas stress that GenAI will not fully replace marketing roles, but will reshape them. The key is to develop complementary skills such as strategy, creative problem-solving, and the ability to validate and interpret AI outputs.
The pace of change will differ by company size, industry, and digital readiness. But the overall trend is clear: marketing roles are evolving from hands-on execution to strategic oversight of AI-powered workflows.
