Forrester: In 2027, marketing executives will no longer fund AI without scrutiny
82% of US B2C marketing executives expect to make a stronger case to senior leadership for their AI spending.
What's happening
According to Forrester, AI will lose its automatic claim on marketing budgets in 2027: its costs, risks and performance will get the same scrutiny as any other investment. In Forrester's Q3 2026 survey, 78% of US B2C marketing executives say executive leadership demands stronger evidence of value than it did 12 months ago. And 64% of those same executives believe their use of AI is likely to produce a brand-damaging incident within 12 months.
Whose desk it lands on
The executive responsible for marketing. What metric will they use to show senior leadership the return on AI spending?
Our view
The CX Brief's interpretation, not a claim made by the source.
Forrester isn't predicting budget cuts but accountability: AI investment will continue, but the blank check will disappear. And with nearly two-thirds of executives expecting a brand-damaging incident, cost won't be the only thing they have to answer for. The brands that pull ahead will be the ones that pressure-test AI experiences before launch and have a plan ready when things go sideways.
