• 78% of surveyed professionals expect 2026 marketing budgets to remain stable or rise
• UK lags European peers on AI, prioritising short-term sales over AI innovation
• 45% believe a lack of application expertise is the top barrier to a successful AI project

2nd February 2026: Tension between rapid technological change and stagnant organisational skills is threatening the UK’s marketing competitiveness, according to the European Marketing Agenda 2026.

The report, supported by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), warns that while 78% of CMOs expect marketing budgets to remain stable or grow in 2026, they lack the ‘cross-functional’ AI and digital skills to deploy resources effectively.

Surveying over 1,800 marketing and sales professionals across Europe, Asia and Africa, the report identifies AI as the top strategic focus for 2026 (43%), alongside sales and performance marketing (43%). Brand management was the third (38%) area of focus, followed by the transformation of internal capabilities and marketing operations (20%). 

UK marketers more cautious 
The UK is slightly more reluctant to prioritise Artificial Intelligence compared to their European counterparts, ranking sales and performance marketing (41%) ahead of AI (37%) - behind countries such as Portugal (52%) and the overall European average. Just 5% of European professionals who were surveyed were making no use of AI within their organisation, although fewer than one in eight (12%) globally had professionalised and scaled their AI usage. 

The absence of a comprehensive skills and competency framework to support marketing teams is identified as a key barrier to unlocking the full potential of AI. 45% of respondents highlight the lack of ‘expertise within the team’ as the primary difficulty in selecting and applying AI applications. While just one in ten (11%) have a granular skills framework in place aimed at enhancing skills and capability, along with a dedicated programme and adequate budgets. 

Discussing the report’s findings, Chris Daly, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and vice chair of the EMC Board commented: "AI is reshaping our profession; this report reinforces just how urgent it is for businesses to close the gap between their teams’ AI literacy and the accelerating pace of technological advancement. Organisations must see this moment as a pivotal opportunity to invest in skills development if they are to fully harness AI’s potential, meet regulatory obligations and improve staff retention."

"Building marketing capability is not simply a financial investment or a nice-to-have; it is a strategic necessity. It underpins growth, differentiation and long-term value creation, while ensuring marketing professionals remain equipped to engage with emerging technologies and developments across the sector."

Will the future be agentic?
New forms of AI such as agentic AI, where autonomous multi-agent systems can analyse information, make decisions and act without human input - are highlighted in the report as a major force set to empower and reshape marketing roles across Europe. The disciplines expected to benefit most from these technologies include automated content creation (54%), lead generation and qualification (49%), and automated social media listening (47%).

Upskilling for the future
As the one function set to anticipate as well as meet customers’ needs, CIM has a range of AI capability courses designed to support professionals as they adapt to this shift. Such programmes help marketers enhance performance, build confidence in using emerging technologies and remain competitive in an increasingly digital environment.

For a limited time, there is a 20% discount on CIM training courses, running up until the end of February 2026. A full list of courses can be found here. 

You can read the full report, which was developed by McKinsey & Company and Lukkien on behalf of the European Marketing Confederation, which CIM is a member of, here. 

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:
CIM’s suite of AI courses includes:
•    AI copywriting masterclass
•    AI customer journey
•    AI enabled content production
•    AI for copywriting
•    AI for social media 
•    AI in B2B marketing
•    AI in marketing
•    AI marketing strategy & tools
•    Programmatic advertising
•    AI answer engine marketing
•    AI agents for marketing productivity
•    Performance max in practice
•    Prompt engineering for marketers

For media enquiries
For further media information, please contact the Chartered Institute of Marketing press office at VCCPRoar on cimteam@vccproar.com. 

For CIM media enquiries
James Delves
Head of PR and External Affairs, CIM
James.delves@cim.co.uk 

Adam Jones
PR Executive, CIM
Adam.jones@cim.co.uk  

About CIM 
For over 100 years, CIM has been the universal voice of marketing, championing our industry and its positive impact on organisations, economies, and the wider society. Today, we play a more significant role than ever in supporting, developing, and representing our members and the profession around the world. Always on top of the latest developments, we offer inspiring insights and thought leadership to generate transformative discussion and ideas. 

On an individual level, marketers at every stage of their career find us a trusted and people-centred provider of clear guidance, training, and professional qualifications – especially on their path to being accredited as a Chartered Marketer. If it carries a CIM stamp, it’s taken seriously: proof of the essential skills that boost long-term success for any business. 

We’re at the forefront of all that’s exciting about marketing. Our services build careers and boost businesses. We continue to speak out for our industry, working alongside like-minded organisations to bring on the latest generations of talent and set professional standards for the entire marketing ecosystem. Find out more about CIM by visiting www.cim.co.uk.

About EMC
EMC is Europe’s largest marketing organization, representing over 100,000 marketers across fourteen national associations in Europe, and our members are jointly reaching one million social-media followers and over five million unique visitors to their websites. As a non-profit organisation, EMC works with its member associations to promote education, social guidance, and value creation to marketing associations and the marketing profession all over Europe.