Developers expect AI to manage most marketing roles

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A Storyblok survey finds 74% of senior developers believe AI could replace most or all marketing work—but marketers remain skeptical, spotlighting a cross-functional perception shift in AI readiness.

A recent survey by CMS provider Storyblok reveals a striking divergence in how developers and marketers view the future of artificial intelligence in the workplace. Among 200 senior developers surveyed, nearly 74 percent believed AI could handle most or even all of their company’s marketing duties—28.5 percent said AI could fully automate marketing, while another 45.5 percent felt it could manage most tasks. Only 5 percent thought AI should not take over marketing at all. 

By contrast, marketers were notably less confident. Only 18.5 percent felt they could perform a full developer role if equipped with AI, and 32 percent said they could do most developer work.

This confidence gap reflects developers’ deeper integration with AI tools: about 90 percent use AI frequently in their coding workflows, with 34 percent turning to AI for problem-solving before consulting colleagues. 

 Developers view marketing work—often seen as repetitive, data-driven, or process-intensive—as particularly vulnerable to automation.

These findings expose a growing perception rift within organizations that intersects with function, exposure, and tool familiarity. Developers, already fluent in AI-powered workflows, imagine marketing tasks as ripe for automation. Meanwhile, marketers—perhaps more attuned to creative, strategic, and relational dimensions—are more cautious.

This divergence matters for enterprise planning. Marketing leaders need to integrate AI thoughtfully, blending automation with human insight and control to ensure strategic rigor and brand consistency. Aligning AI adoption across teams—with shared expectations, oversight mechanisms, and ethical guardrails—will be essential to maintaining trust and effectiveness.