AI hyper-personalisation 'Da Vinci Code' remains elusive

Nearly every marketer (91%) is now using AI within their martech platform, with its potential for efficiency gains seen as “an exciting opportunity”, but – and there is always a but – a lack of integration and data quality are still holding back most from realising its full potential, especially for hyper-personalisation.

That is according to the latest annual State of Martech research from Clevertouch Consulting – now in its sixth year – produced in academic partnership with the University of Stirling.

The study, which draws on insights from more than 600 senior marketers across the UK, EMEA and the US, shows that the vast majority (75%) of marketers have less than 60% of their martech integrated, with four in 10 putting this figure at under 40%.

For many, AI is being applied on top of disconnected systems, compounding existing inefficiencies rather than solving them. A slim fraction of respondents (7%) are leading the way and have over 80% of their martech integrated.

This lack of integration is accompanied by significant gaps in martech users and usage.

Four in five marketers said no more than half of their team are martech users. And when it comes to using the tools, only 31% regularly use at least 60% of their martech, with the rest (69%) using under that. Part of this can be explained by the fact that 57% now outsource any capability of their martech to a partner, a 10% surge from last year.

The report maintains these findings underscore a major shift in investment strategy for 2025. When it came to choosing the top investment priority for 2025, “system implementation and improvement” jumped from fourth position last year to first position this year, outranking campaigns, services, people and software licences (in that order).

The extensive use of AI is joined by the revelation that platform migrations are accelerating. Even though 91% expressed satisfaction with their primary marketing automation (MA) or marketing cloud (MC) platform, 70% have switched this platform in the past three years (up from 51% in 2024) and the percentage planning to migrate within the next year has almost doubled for 2025, jumping from 15% to 28%.

The survey points to a desire to avoid “AI FOMO” and misalignment between vendors’ long-term roadmaps and business needs as the primary drivers behind this change.

These migration plans align with organisational priorities. When marketers picked their organisational priorities for both the previous and next 12 months, stack expansion came top of the list: a majority (62%) expanded their stack last year and more than two thirds (67%) will expand again this year.

As well as a push to integrate AI-native solutions, the survey showed migration plans are being driven by marketers proving the value of tools to CFOs. Positively, 89% can measure the ROI of martech investments and 72% are able to show its wider impact on customer experience and business growth too.

However, the use of AI has not yet resulted in achieving certain campaign ambitions. Hyper-personalisation remains a long-standing priority for marketers, with 86% believing hyper-personalised campaigns are highly relevant. Yet only 8% typically run such campaigns (down from 11% last year), suggesting a continued disconnect between intent and implementation.

Of those who feel blocked from carrying out these campaigns, data quality (45%) and unintegrated systems (42%) were highlighted as the main blockers.

Clevertouch Consulting CEO and co-founder Adam Sharp said: “The State of Martech 2025 reveals that while AI has rapidly taken hold, martech as a whole is struggling under the weight of its own complexity. The solution isn’t more tools – it’s better integration and a focus on simplification. Marketers don’t lack ambition, but they urgently need martech that helps them execute with agility and clarity.”

University of Stirling professor of marketing at Stirling Management School Rob Angell added: “Marketers are upbeat – reporting high satisfaction with what martech enables – but certain ambitions, like true hyper-personalisation, remain elusive: a kind of Da Vinci code still waiting to be cracked. One thing is certain: martech continues to be a fast-moving, unpredictable space.”