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AI adoption is testing procurement’s operating model
Benchmark: AI use is spreading through marketing procurement, raising questions about integration, governance and how organisations measure its value
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How is AI changing marketing procurement in 2026?
AI is expanding from experiments into specific marketing procurement tasks, although adoption varies considerably across participating companies. WFA’s September 2026 AI in Marketing Procurement benchmark, based on responses from 52 companies, examines current use alongside questions about integration, value, governance and the future shape of teams.
- 24% of participating companies regularly use AI for various tasks where it contributes significantly to procurement activities.
- 42% report that AI currently assists with less than 10% of their marketing procurement team’s work.
What challenges emerge as AI use expands?
- Participating companies report AI use across category learning, negotiations, contracts and operations, while negotiation assistants and autonomous agents remain largely in pilot or planning stages.
- Respondents identify inconsistent output, continued dependence on human judgement and integration barriers, alongside questions about how efficiency gains translate into measurable business value.
What does this mean for marketing procurement leaders?
- As organisations adopt more AI tools, marketing procurement functions may face greater pressure to improve visibility into token and API consumption and connect that spending with business value.
- AI may shift some marketing procurement roles towards more strategic work, but participating companies report differing expectations about its effects on team structures and headcount.
What will members learn?
The full benchmark provides detailed adoption data and current use cases, alongside respondents’ experience of efficiency, governance, commercial models, token consumption, supplier approval and risk. Members can also examine team maturity, enterprise controls and reported limitations in current AI use.
